The Car as Status Symbol

I've always had very mixed feelings about cars. I've always liked certain cars, such as BMWs and Audis. When I was a teenager in Paris I used to make regular pilgrimages to the luxury car showrooms to drool over the Lamborghinis and other such objects of beauty. However reality and fantasy are two different things. My first car was a Smart. It was small, but it was incredibly comfortable to drive. My second car was a "banger" - a 1984 Fiat Panda which was held together with bits of wire, tape and hope. I think it's still floating around county Cork somewhere, but that maybe wishful thinking. I'm now looking at cars again. Should I be looking at a car as a status symbol or purely as a means of getting from A to B? Or maybe I need to strike the balance somewhere in the middle ground..