‘Tis the season … for those luxury car commercials in which people with more money than you take advantage of year-end deals and gift their significant others a new Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, or Audi for the holidays. As many folks have pointed out on social media in recent weeks, this is borderline psychopathic behavior. Who makes such a huge purchase without involving their life partner? Saturday Night Live jumped into the debate this weekend with the skit “December to Remember,” satirizing Lexus’s holiday deal branding and pointing out exactly why one doesn’t just go out and buy a Lexus and have it wrapped in a bow for Christmas.
Okay, so the punch line for the skit is obvious—”Give the gift of Lexus, definitely talk it over first”—but the journey to that point is a hilariously unexpected, almost worst-case scenario for the fantasy, car-commercial world of holiday car gift giving. SNL cast members Heidi Gardner and Beck Bennett are the story’s tense couple, and the week’s host Timothy Chalamet plays their son. After giving Gardner’s character one last surprise gift box, which holds a Lexus key, Bennett’s character rushes the family outside to see the car. Financial issues immediately come to the fore, as do some personal issues (and lapses in financial competence) plaguing Bennett’s character, and, well, just watch the family’s descent into interpersonal misery.
Car shopping represents most households’ second-biggest purchase next to their homes, so whether you’re thinking it’s a December to Remember, the Season of Audi, a Mercedes Winter Event, Happy Honda Days, or Toyotathon time, make sure every financial stakeholder involved is, well, involved.
