I think some factors you're seeing are that:

• Cambridge is a relatively wealthy place

• lots of tight spaces

• The local population is exceptionally socially progressive

Because Cambridge is wealthy, brands that target people with poorer credit such as Nissan are less common here. Because space is tight, large vehicles like SUVs and trucks are very rare, and those make up a large fraction of Ford, GMC etc's product line. Also the progressive population tends to favor electric cars and quirkier brands like Subaru.

I don't know about Saab, maybe we just have a large international population, some of whom like them?

I have seen several Saab 9-3 around here and there, and several days ago, I have even seen a Saab 9-5 whilst biking around Cambridge.

I am curious how many trucks you see in Cambridge belong to the residents? From what I have seen, nearly all trucks belong to the contractors who work in Cambridge.

Even though Ford does sell a lot of trucks, they do sell passenger cars as well, such as the Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Ford Fusion, Ford Taurus, Ford Escape, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, etc, and virtually all police cars in Cambridge are Ford Explorers.

They cost more and fit in the bike lanes they lobby for

The Saab used to be really popular. It was kind of like the Tesla of its day. Quirky, luxurious but not ostentatious, good design. It's sort of a classic professorial status symbol. It doesn't denote wealth as much as modesty and intelligence.

Unfortunately they stopped making them, and the latter models were rebadged Subaru at least in one case.

If you want an example of an even earlier example of this kind of vehicle, there's a Morris mini that lives near Dali.

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An easy assumption for the Saabs and Volvos might be that a good chunk of the renting population in some neighborhoods are the children of upper-middle class families, many of whom were given the used 2000-2012 era family cars by their parents. Or, by virtue of being the product of that economic class and they simply sought used vehicles similar to what they are accustomed.

I always think (with no proof) that while there’s a lot of wealth in Massachusetts, people here are often careful not to be showy with it, at least compared to some other places. Sort of a New England ethos. That is true in Cambridge which is socially progressive even for MA (though you do now see tech and venture capital bros in supercars in Cambridge…). Anyway, hence the popularity of brands like Volkswagen and Volvo (and Saab back in the day), which have a bit of Euro style and quality, and aren’t cheap, but also aren’t perceived as show-off “I’ve made it” cars like BMW, Audi and Mercedes. They’re also from Northern Europe and good in bad weather.

Among Japanese cars, Mazdas are also often a little nicer (and a little more expensive) than entry level Hondas and Nissans while being non-luxury cars. Basically another option for people who aren’t shopping solely on price, and can pay a little more for a nicer option.

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Consider also that there is a larger than average population of immigrants from Europe in Cambridge working in rech/biotech/academia, and we brought our car preferences with us.

Side note, I'm surprised you didn't mention Subaru, ever other car is a Subaru on our street

Cambridge is wealthy, but people try not to show it because it’s very progressive. What is normally coded “high status” in the US (Mercedes, BMW, etc.) isn’t cool here. Instead, older cars with fancy bike racks or bumper stickers from Ivy League schools show status. This is a cultural feature of wealthy progressive enclaves—Boulder, CO is similar.

Ford is still sort of "all American"; their target market is more conservative than Cambridge. As far as the police, I think I heard that the Explorer interceptor is basically the only new police cruiser sold in America these days.

Volvo makes famously safe cars, which are often sought after by the highly educated for that reason

This. When we first moved to Cambridge, I could not get over allllll the Subarus. Guess what we bought?!

Us too!

No mention of the omnipresent mini cooper? I would say mini and Subaru are the two most over represented brands in Cambridge relative to the rest of the US

I have also seen some Ford Expedition being used as police cars in Boston by the way, so it is not only Ford Explorers. But you are correct that most police cars are Ford Explorers.

Bruh i dont know what your on about, mazda is super popular in the U.S., volvo and VW are much more reliable and comparable in prices to some higher end american cars aswell. Why is this even a post? Your post is not even factual and is just an account of what you have seen.

Also why are you posting this in every Massachusetts subreddit, this is just strange.

Ford stopped making sedans like the Fusion and Focus a few years ago: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-fusion-production-discontinued-sedan/

2018 was the last model year for the Focus. 2019 was the last model year for the Fiesta and Taurus. 2020 was the last model year for the Fusion.

Now, you only have the Mustang.

It’s right over the town line.

In fairness to my husband, he did an entire spreadsheet comparing a variety of car makes/models - and Volvo was definitely up there (especially for safety) - but for price and safety and ease of maintenance/repairs, Subaru couldn't be beat.

Still, we're now just....another one of those goddamn Cambridge Subaru owners. 🤪

How on earth have you excluded Tesla? It’s like every other car during commuting hours in cambridge

People in this area are more apt to have their wealth represented in where they live, not in the vehicle that they drive. Their vehicles are not their identity - the fact that they're located in Cambridge often is. Higher value cars are often a bad investment as well.

Which is often times why you see some souped-up Escalade parked outside a very low rent district - people want others to assume that they're wealthy when they're not - and those who are wealthy often times don't want to attract attention to it - especially if their priorities are more tangible and they don't give a shit about what others think.

Yep, tons of Subarus in my neighborhood

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Did you just call Volkswagen a 'lesser' brand? Compared to what?

Compared to Nissan, Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia (at least here in the states)

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>The local population is exceptionally socially progressive

...except for property taxes, zoning/housing/building, etc. e.g., I'd rephrase this as they're very progressive-brand-conscious regardless of the realities as everything turns into a bank branch.

Road & Track had a good writeup as to how Subaru became pretty entrenched in the area compared to other brands:

>With initial curiosity-driven demand dried up, and the Consumer Reports review echoing maliciously, U.S. Subaru sales ground to a halt.
>
>In 1971, Subaru of America embarked on an ambitious plan to outrun the bad review. As co-founder Bricklin told Automotive News in a rollicking interview earlier this year, "Somebody called me and said, 'Have you seen Consumer Reports?' I said, 'What's Consumer Reports?' [...] At the time, they had a circulation of half a million. So I thought, so what? Half a million people saw it, out of how many million in the United States?"
>
>So Subaru of America decided to focus on markets where Consumer Reports had less sway—as Automotive News puts it, "small towns where the reputation of the local dealer was more important than awareness of the brand he was selling." The American importer targeted rural regions far away from the big cities. Places like Vermont, Minnesota, Washington state, New Hampshire and western Pennsylvania—where hardworking people on a budget might be willing to try a relatively-unknown brand offering cheap, frugal transportation.

You then had the 1973 oil embargo and subaru's use of 4-wheel drive in a family car kind of sealing the deal.

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My street is almost entirely Audi's, Subarus, and the F150's of every contractor working on every other house.

They’re also luxury without being viewed that way which is great for stealth wealth.

Spot on for this grad student's 2010 VW