Almost every major city in the world, from New York to London, from Shanghai to Sydney, experiences heavy traffic in its thoroughfares. Traffic spares no one, from the teenager in a motorbike to a tycoon in his luxury car, and has often been referred to as 'The Great Equalizer'. Well, almost.

Traffic may hold up a business executive, as well as everyone else, from getting somewhere else on time, but while inside his luxury vehicle, he is spared from the physical discomfort that is often associated with heavy traffic. Whatever make his luxury vehicle is, he is assured a great abundance of ease and comfort, because that is the one primary thing all luxury cars are designed for.

Placing more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities, luxury cars are naturally more expensive than the average car. Built with more modern technology and materials of higher quality, true luxury cars, whether it be a car, a light truck or a sport utility vehicle or SUV, could make a dent in your pocketbook, but it all depends on the size of your bank account.

Usually, luxury cars also boast of features not found in your usual vehicle. Oftentimes, the interior of a luxury car is nothing less than sumptuous, often with interior leather and woodgrain trim. But the best thing about luxury cars is that it brings the owner a certain amount of prestige. Owners of one or a fleet of luxury cars certainly have bragging rights.

American luxury cars can usually be divided into four segments. First is the entry-level luxury segment, where cars have a mean selling price of somewhere between $29,000 and $36,000. Among the luxury car models included in this segment are the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-class, Jaguar X-Type and the Infiniti G35.

Those belonging to the mid-luxury segment, meanwhile, are cars that cost approximately $36,000 to $60,000. On top of this, luxury cars should have the latest technological and safety innovations, as well as a very high level of comfort, to belong in this segment. The Jaguar S-Type, Alfa Romeo 166,Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Buick Lucerne CXS are just some examples of a mid-luxury segment vehicle.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS 460, and all vehicles that cost between $60,000 and $100,000 fall into the high-end luxury segment. Not only are these cars really expensive. They also happen to be of higher quality and more technologically advanced. And as far as comfort goes, the cars in the segment are at least on par with the luxury cars in the mid-level segment.

But for ultimate bragging rights, no prospective owner should get luxury cars other than those that belong to the ultra-luxury segment, where cars cost at least $100,000 or higher. This is where such high-end car manufacturers such as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Maserati come in. Some of these makes may or may not be as comfortable as other luxury vehicles, but the prestige of the names alone are more than enough to propel them into this category of luxury cars.