The one life purchase that defines your values, priorities and commitments

Can a large luxury item purchase inspire others, motivate your contemporaries, and move us towards a more sustainable future?

On average, the two largest purchases in your entire life are your house and your car. What we buy defines our external commitments, our inner values and represents our true lifestyle, thus your car purchase is incredibly important and happens on average every six years! [1]

Walden Monterey blends luxury with sustainable low impact footprints

Walden Monterey blends luxury homes with sustainable low impact footprints

Most people decide their home purchase or primary rental based on affordability with proximity to work, to schools, to family in a safe community they desire. When considering buying or renting any home, sustainability of the home itself becomes less of a factor, compared to how we will ‘perform’ in the home. Homes can have a large impact on the environment with new eco-renovations and can always be completed at a future date.

However, when purchasing a new or used vehicle, one that truly represents you externally to the world, you may have this opportunity as much as twice in a decade. As auto technology and life factors shift, we tend to alter what we buy. We purchase vehicles based on a wide variety of personal and life factors. Some people have the means (aka freedom) to purchase any vehicle that represents the person they want to project to the world. Our cars may be the most visible representation of ourselves to the public, as hundreds and thousands of people will pass them over their journeys on the road. Choosing a vehicle that truly represents you and your values has become a large factor in the decision-making process. If you add into the mix the rising instability of gasoline, climate change issues and ever-increasing innovation of technology to the drive, you end up with a variety of choices to make!

‘High-net-worth’ individuals (aka wealthy folks) with more access to financial resources and capital, have a few key decisions to ponder. They may be more concerned with the external perception of their wealth from others. In addition to this perception, there is also a commitment to representing their inner values to the world. Either way, the vehicle they choose to drive will surely represent them to all who see them, whether they like it or not!

The cars people choose to drive are highly visible, out in public and being seen arriving at work, public events, and generally moving around in their lives. In contrast, only a tiny fraction of people will ever see their private homes (yes, plural), or gain a realistic glimpse into a luxury wealthy life. For people outside of our celebrity culture, it would be extremely rare to gain an insider view of truly how one lives. Few homes are so impressive that they are featured in magazines and online for all to see. Larger luxury items such as boats, airplanes, helicopters, vacation homes, and other real estate, are often concealed from the public, hiding their inner values and true priorities from public view. Unless you are one Sir Richard Branson. He is the rare billionaire who ‘live streams’ to social media from his home on the exclusive, yet rentable, Necker Island resort in the Caribbean. For the rest of us, we will most likely never see your epic pad. If an external perception of wealth and values is truly important to you, get back into your car.

One can surmise that the car someone chooses to drive may be the single most public external display of their inner values and external wealth. In regards to sustainability, the car one drives becomes the single largest icon of your commitment or lack thereof. One person can be performing massive, positive activities in their life, but their car often becomes the symbol of who they are to the public. We greatly encourage positive actions of supporting healthy, eco-friendly brands, contributing to global and local causes, being a philanthropist and always considering your impact on our planet. We know there are many ways to support people and the planet, this is just about one, the car we drive.

For the few in the world who can purchase with ease, we recommend the following 100% EV (electric vehicles) cars to represent your sustainability commitments and values to the world. EVs are not the only options out there and we decided to go full-on electric luxury cars here:

While you may be more familiar with the first three options, the luxurious Lucid Air is the newcomer to the EV industry and it’s already making waves. Currently, in pre-production (pre-orders deposits are $2,500) Lucid plans to release their initial cars in 2019, proudly built in a US-based Arizona factory. As the new EV kid on the block, they have an inspiring mission in the luxury car world, which could motivate some to move the needle even further.

**Lucid Motors - Air initial production model**

“The Lucid Air is the future of luxury. By combining forward-looking design with ground-breaking technology, the Air transcends perceived limitations of space, energy, and time. A new era of luxury mobility is on its way.” [2]

The ability to ‘transcend limitations of space, energy and time’ is an aspirational vision for a luxury electric car company. Americans and people around the globe love cars. A car company that can deliver not only a sexy new model or fast car, but inspire deeper core values, could have a large impact.

When General Motors (GM) first released their now-defunct Saturn line of cars, it helped transform a sinking American car culture, distracted by smaller imports. Saturn boldly focused on real people, the car customers and the people who built them. In the early 1990s, this was truly revolutionary and created a world-class brand almost instantly.

“You weren't so much buying a vehicle as joining a family. This wasn't just a new line of cars -- it was a revolution. By focusing on the customers and the company's workers, it made buying a Saturn feel like an act of patriotism. This wasn't faceless… it was friends and family.
It was America.” [3]

“Owner (of Saturns) enthusiasm went off the charts, as was demonstrated when nearly 100,000 owners attended two "homecoming" celebrations in 1994 and 1999. Proving you can create a different kind of company and a world-class product.” [4]

Learning from Saturn, could Lucid inspire a new American car revolution? The country is seeking an inspirational beacon directing us towards an evolved culture of safety, comfort, and technical innovation encased in healthy sustainability. People are truly important to the planets success and to motivating new actions to reach our goals. Modern cars must stir your gut instincts, flow energy to your heart and then engage your rational mind, creating a transformational experience and connection.

When visiting the Lucid website you may feel something beginning to stir your instincts. You can learn more about the private, jet-like interior and what they value early on. What we find cool is their ability to balance luxury and sustainability, into one beautiful car package. People from all over the world, at any socio-economic level in life, are inspired by true beauty, from a single flower to a massive new sky-scraper. We’re attracted to structures, symmetry, lines, colors and new forms that inspire us to recognize it anywhere we see it. The Lucid car has the ability to move people physically and spiritually, taking them on a real journey while offering them a healthier option for the planet by driving an EV. We already know that one car can not reverse major global challenges, and their vision of the future can inspire people into action. Could it trigger a new movement?

“Americans want to lower their environmental impact, but they’re not going to compromise on performance or comfort. Lucid meets both objectives by creating a vehicle that is superior in both respects - a win-win for people and the planet. What’s more, as companies such as Lucid enter the market, the technological evolution they drive will make lower-priced vehicles more efficient in the long run as well.”

— Nick Aster, Strategic Sustainability at nickaster.com

If you possess abundant resources to declare that you do care for the Earth, and you seek to inspire others to care too, consider the new Lucid model. Attain the luxury you desire along with the positive, futuristic benefits of an EV, plus the ability to move others to, ‘think differently’ (thanks to Apple for that one).

There are so many ways in life to motivate people to positive, eco-actions and help them shift towards a more sustainable lifestyle, yet few can supersede the highly visible icon of the car you drive, making a public statement of what you really care about!

Time to hit the road.