FQ,
I think your analysis of the behavioral side of satisfaction is spot on. Humans are great at rationalizing and celebrating the positive while ignoring the negative or down playing it (Happens a lot on the training ranges....

). In your example, my 'Vettes are Ducati motorcycles. For the money, they are slow, heavy and still expensive to maintain when compared to Japanese Bikes.. I overplay the handling, the 2 cylinder power band, the sound and the style points to make the choice seem more logical.... but the fact is that I just like Ducks! (1996 900SS/SP, had an '01 748 for a few years also at one point).
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So, as much as I value logic & rational thoughts, empirical evidence suggests that I will make decisions like this based on more subjective factors. (....
he says after driving an SRT8 yesterday....)
-RJP