http://m.seattlepi.com/business/boeing/article/First-Boeing-747-finally-returning-to-glory-5644685.php

I do actually have some comments on the gist of the article too, I just need a little time to bring them together in a somewhat coherent form.

Decent article but the author has a confusing definition of luxury. S/he mainly focusses on price and branding as a proxy for luxury rather than say, quality and scarcity.

I always get a giggle when Starbucks is used to illustrate quality or style etc in coffee shops. Their experience here was a huge disaster.

This snippet about Rolls Royce should fit in here. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDizPU98sUk

Everyone's pandering to the mass market.  Mercedes recently introduced a car in the US touted as an affordable "luxury" car starting at $29,000, Porsche now makes a huge four-door sedan and a damn SUV.  I'm sure they'll be making a huge ugly pickup truck soon enough.

I remember how pissed I was when I first saw one.  "A PORSCHE??!!"  I mean, from a business point of view I understand branching out and making something other than a sports coupe.  I see far more of the Cayennes and Panamera's than I do 911s or Caymans or Carreras (do they even make the Carrera anymore?).  I see a fair amount of Boxsters, which aren't very inspiring IMO.

When I was in London last, I was like "Damn that new Bentley GT looks good" to which my buddy responded, "I'm just gonna wait for the Chrysler version to come out".

I've read the article now and I wonder if it could be written today?

In any event, the luxury and exotic are often quite interchangeable and this is probably a hang-up when only the international jet-set could afford to travel frequently to enjoy some exotic booze from London to New York, Cap Ferrat to Capri. I don't think it is only Americans who equate the foreign with luxury. I think its part of the human condition.

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I also think that luxury was once more closely aligned with good taste, elegance, and like you said earlier, quality.  I think our modern American concept of luxury is caught up in our strong desire for conspicuous consumption.  I think a lot of Americans see "luxury" as synonymous with "bling" at this point.  Bling is tacky.

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I would honestly be embarrassed to live there.  I wouldn't want any of my friends, family, or coworkers coming over to my house.  If I had a million+ to spend on a house, you better believe it would not be in a place like that.

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Well, at least those have a bit of land.  I always joke about these "mansion" neighborhoods that boast huge houses with 6 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, but they sit on tiny lots where you could reach out and touch your neighbor's house.  You spend 2 million dollars on the house, then the first night you move in you can hear the neighbors next door fighting or copulating.  You might as well get a condo or townhouse.  I can understand small lots or adjoining houses in an urban setting, but this is suburban America we're talking about here.  I'd rather spend most of my money on a nice piece of land. 

I admittedly kind of like the little recreated Austrian town. Haha.