Whether you like it or not Molgrips, cars communicate to others something about their owner.
It’s why when offered a company car, the company will have a say in what it is. Many companies only offer BMW/Audi/VW/etc simply because of the image they portray (i.e. stable or yuppie or exec).
If I turn up in an old VW Bus, it communicates something totally different (but sometimes equally desirable).
It’s just the way the world works and it has come about because creative people like investing emotion and effort in things in order to make them their own. This includes cars, houses, clothes, etc, etc.
It’s why I like buying bikes which are made in the country of origin. It’s not because it makes them better, it’s because the company owner has taken the hard route. That decision shows emotional and creative investment. I appreciate that and can roughly put a price tag on it’s value to me. Others don’t care, or find something else that represents that instead (Brant/Sam/Cy coming on here, Investment in racing, innovation, class leading customer services, etc).
I didn’t see the Top Gear Saab thing (although I’m going to try and find it). But it sounds like they were invested in what they were doing. It might not have been profitable, but for me, it was evident in the end product even recently, despite what others are saying on here.