Well, first of all, we're talking about Orange County here. I wouldn't dare go to South LA. Ever. It's just not my scene, mainly because I value my life. If I do go to downtown LA, I often take the train up there. So I have no idea how it works in South LA. ("South Central" has been deemed Politically Incorrect by African-American activists, and if you use that old label you may be racist. It's "South Los Angeles" now. Just an FYI, so be careful.)
As for OC, the freeway merging thing works like this...
The following automobiles do not need to signal or wait for appropriate space to merge or change lanes. They simply change the direction and space their vehicle inhabits, and everyone else defers to their superiority. They may make these maneuvers at any time, regardless of traffic, time of day, or weather conditions. They rule the freeway, and they know it. In alphabetical order;
Aston Martin
Bentley
Ferrari
Lamborghini
Maybach
Mercedes SLR
Rolls Royce
The next tier are cars that enjoy basically the same courtesies as the list above, but during inclement weather or particulary heavy road congestion they need to at least make some sort of movement within their lane that signals they need to move. However, under no circumstances do they need to actually use their turn signals, and they still deserve to take over your space as quickly as possible:
Audi R8 or Q7
BMW 7 Series, M6, or X6
Lotus
Mercedes S, SL, CL, or any late model AMG offering
Morgan
Porsche, except Boxster
Spyker
Then comes a big swath of the OC and SoCal roadway, mainly comprised of the Real Housewives of OC going to Nordstrom or the Botox Clinic, and the real struggle for supremacy on SoCal roads. Do not get in their way, and do not impede their route. These cars don't signal and can get fast attention from a valet attendant, but may occasionally agree to yield to fire trucks or ambulances on rainy nights;
Audi, full line
BMW, full line
Infiniti, full line
Jaguar, full line
Land Rover, full line
Lexus, full line
Mercedes-Benz, full line
Volvo, except C30
Next come the niche vehicles and less impressive luxury brands. They can usually get away without signaling, and are often great at posing as cool cars 80% of the time. But when push comes to shove, or during unusual circumstances, they quickly bow their headlights and defer to the superior vehicles around them.
Acura, full line
Cadillac Escalade or XLR only
Chevrolet Corvette, classic restored or late model only
Ford Mustang, classic restored or late model GT convertible
Porsche Boxster
HUMMER, except H2
Volvo C30
Then we have the basic nice family cars, chick cars, or college kid cars. They sometimes use signals, and they sometimes might wave quickly at you when you extend a roadway courtesy to them. But they are often driven by young people whose parents have a car belonging to the upper ranks, and as such they don't neccesarily need to give you the time of day. And if they have good hair or are noticeably attractive, they often get away with murder even though they aren't driving a Maybach. It's all about the attitude and bravado with these ones;
Cadillac, full line
Dodge, Challenger or Magnum Hemi only with at least 20 inch wheels
Chrysler, 300C only
Honda, full line
Ford, late model trucks or SUV's only
GM, late model trucks or SUV's only
Mazda, full line
HUMMER, H2
Jeep, Wrangler or Grand Cherokee only
Lincoln, Navigator only
Mazda, full line
Mini Cooper, full line
Scion, full line
Subaru, WRX only
Toyota, full line
Volkswagen, full line
Hyundai, Genesis sedan only
And finally comes the bottom feeders, and the folks who should know their place. They have no real status, and they deserve little recognition or courtesy on the freeway or major thoroughfares. These are The Untouchables, and they are made up of people who have made bad life decisions, or are wide-eyed tourists who didn't know Hertz offers a Luxury Collection at major airports;
Buick, full line
Chevrolet, full line
Chrysler,full line
Dodge, full line
Ford, full line
Pontiac, full line
Saturn, full line
Subaru, full line
Kia, full line
Hyundai, full line
Mercury, full line
Lincoln, sedans
Got it?
I'm surprised you people didn't know this already!
Given the rarity of Spyker, I'm surprised they fell so low... and with how common Aston, Bentley, and Lambo are in comparison, how high they are. Especially now that the Aston V8 Vantage is out, which competes directly against the Porsche 911, and when one can purchase a second-hand Lambo Gallardo in excellent condition and put a new license plate on it to disguise its age for less than a Porsche 911.
Where does Bugatti go on the list?
And what happens for oddball cars that aren't on it, like Panoz, TVR, etc. There should be a rule... if the steering wheel is on the right, and you're neither a postal worker or a ricer (R32/33/34 Nissan Skyline GT-R excluded, since those are not rice, but rather, a Japanese connoisseur car), you get X privilege too. For when the gumballers come to town
And lastly... you forgot Smart. And why is Caddy so high up? You should differentiate models, I mean a beat Caddy Cimarron should get no perks... EVER.
