I see this a LOT around here. ("Around here" being east central Florida.) I was a mortgage broker for over 20 years and have had a RE license for over 35. The vast majority of buyers go for the biggest, fanciest house they can (just barely) afford, thinking their income is going to rise real soon now so it won't hurt quite so much in the very near future. They're invariably disappointed. I've seen homes in high-roller developments with zero furniture (!) but with first, second, third and even fourth mortgages. With both people working, if one of them has a cold and misses one day's work, they're in foreclosure. But they look successful while it lasts.
I was also in the local tourist development bureau. We collected and spent the bed taxes (about $2.5MM/yr) on advertising to bring in more tourists - sort of a financial perpetual motion machine, funded by other people's money. We got a new ad agency, and the guy's pitch was that nobody takes their super-duper $100K truck off road, but they want it to look like they can. (And in most cases, as off-road as these trucks get is parking on the lawn at somebody's yard sale.) He said 90% of ALL purchases is for image and nothing more. He holds that when most people get their hands on a little money, they promptly buy stuff which tries to show that they have a LOT of money instead of a little - keeping up with the Joneses is a very powerful motivator, and they often keep up with them right into bankruptcy court (my wife the lawyer filed more than a few cases for people like this). His ad agency is very successful - he's figured out what people think they want (as opposed to actually need) and sells it to them.
Why are there so few single cab pickup trucks? Because most pickup truck buyers are buying an image instead of a work vehicle or a tool, and the manufacturers are only too glad to provide these luxo-trucks which as we have noted, are really, really expensive and have high markups.
Those few of us who want single cab, no or few frills trucks because we plan to actually USE them as trucks are in the minority. And what? You want a manual transmission, too? Good luck . . .
I do suppose it is a mostly harmless way for people to spend their money, but personally, I'd rather stash my bucks in income producing assets instead of absurdly expensive, rapidly depreciating shiny new toys.
I guess we're just out of step here on TBN. So be it.
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida