I think, it’s the surplus of supply that has changed the nature of status symbols.

It was a status symbol to own a Mercedes, now I can easily rent the newest nicest of any car for a few Instagram shots a year.

So this is what many millennials did/do. Chose their status symbol for the current occasion then use something practical the rest of the time.

GenZ was brought up with this mental model and didn’t see any of these rentables as real status symbols.