The car you drive can reveal a lot

11-28-2008 | DAVID YOUNG OUR MAN IN PANAMA

ourman@laestrella.com.pa

Your wheels often tell a story. If you are flashing a Lamborghini or a Bugatti beware the tax man or the DEA

Panama Star While colleague Phil Edmonston, our resident car specialist, is away on a promotional tour for his latest book it seems a little unfair to usurp his role, or challenge his expertise, but I couldn’t resist after reading an online report from Forbes magazine, about what you reveal about yourself by your choice of car.

This seemed particularly appropriate when I got to the reference about Lamborghini’s, which has great local significance following the arrest of an accused Colombian money launderer who, at the age of 27, sported two, of the cars costing close to a quarter of a million dollars each

A Lamborghini purchase was compared to the classy, and classic British Bentley which: “will certainly cost you, but it doesn't stand out and scream, ‘I'm rich!’ the way a similarly priced Lamborghini or Bugatti does

When you have two does it spell out “I’m rich, I’m rich” which points to the stupidity of the would be big time narco-gamester in drawing attention to himself by having a stable of expensive cars. The poor sop didn’t realize he was a dispensable sales tool in the line from producer to consumer. It also makes you wonder why an ex-president would buy a Ferrari and flaunt it around town after leaving office

There is another owner of a yellow coupe who likes to cruise up and down the Causeway, gunning the engine and flaunting his wealth. Be careful, the tax man may be watching

While I have my thinking cap on, How is it that gangsters like the money launderer can set up shop in Panama, when, according to a Colombian contact, it was widely known in his home country that he was obtaining his vast funds illicitly

Ask any expat who has endured the Hell-on-Cuba, also known as the Immigration Office, how many hoops had to be jumped through, how may documents produced and how many lines waited in for hours, to get a residency permit. But daily we read and hear of those with criminal records, like the recent Canadian shill man for a pyramid scheme, pornographers, and con men, happily living in luxury homes flashing the results of their illegal activities

But back to the Forbes report. “When you see a red convertible sports coupe zooming down the highway, driven by a fifty something, balding man with a young blond woman in the passenger seat, two words are likely to pop into your head: midlife crisis. That may not be the case at all. He could be giving the car--and even a driving lesson--to his college-graduating daughter

If you believe that one you are an easy hit for the next Panama pyramid scheme

It reminds me of a Canadian of mature years, who frequently appeared in Toronto with nubile young ladies whom he unblushingly introduced as “my niece from Sudbury.” (Sudbury a remote mining town in Northern Ontario, was chosen as a test site for the American moon walkers

Forbes says the car you drive conveys an impression about you, right or wrong. And if perception is important to you, it makes sense to think twice about what kind of car you buy

Just because someone can afford the most expensive cars on the road, doesn't mean they want everyone to know it. There are highly successful people who eschew the bold and flamboyant, preferring instead something more discreet and discerning--like the $246,990 Bentley Arnage T, "the perfect mix of British refinement and amazing performance," says a Bentley spokeswoman.

Just my cup of tea, as the English say. But it does only 11 miles to the gallon. Pity.