"What you need" vs. "what you can get"

When my dad came to visit last April we spent a lot of time talking about culture, and especially about French and American cultures, and where I fit on that spectrum. An interculturalist himself, Papa has always been a champion of my right to be as bicultural as I damn well please.
Anyway, one of the big themes we discovered was the French preference for "what you need" and the American tendency to go for "what you can get." Concretely, that means that the average Frenchman will "settle" (from an American perspective) for the simplest apartment, car or gadget that will fulfill his basic needs. Anything more "ne sert a rien" (serves no purpose). Meanwhile, his American counterpart will add on as many options as he can delude himself into thinking he can afford, sacrificing his credit rating, free time, and family life in the process (at least that's how Jean-Pierre over in Frogland would see it).
Take the example of automobiles. Americans are more likely to buy newer, larger vehicles with many more options than Europeans (and certainly than a Frog). Meanwhile, the Dacia Logan, which Renault initially intended for emerging markets, is one of the most popular cars in France even as its winning over India, Russia, China and Mexico.