No on the parents/siblings copying each other. My dad and my husband have very different car philosophies--my dad trades in/up to a brand new car for himself every couple years. With incentives and GM card rewards (he always buys a Buick) and trade in value, he isn't paying much out of pocket and has the means to do that. We drive vehicles for 10+ years (either paying them off right away or buying them outright so not a lot of monthly debt). My dad will usually mention when he is buying a new vehicle, but this last time I only knew when they showed up with it. And usually they look the same but he had to take a different color this time. Hubby's parents usually have at least one Honda in their garage and we have never had a Honda.
I will say I have a friend who as a "frenemy" who is constantly copying her. I keep telling her it is going to turn all Single White Female some day. It is pretty creepy.
I do talk to my parents each at least once or twice a week. It was hard when they would go on vacation for weeks at a time and we would maybe get an email every so often. Now with their ipad and now iphones we are able to message more while they are gone. We are trying to set up face time this week (they've been gone for almost 3 weeks).