People Prefer Angry-Faced Cars

fatalfury writes "Researchers from the University of Vienna asked 20 males and 20 females to rank vehicles based on their appearance. The list of traits included arrogant, afraid, agreeable, disgusted, extroverted, sad, and others. Cars with 'meaner' traits (such as BMW) ranked higher, whereas cars with 'nicer' traits (such as Toyota's Prius) ranked lower. With billions spent on developing new products in the automobile industry, this could spur a trend in meaner-looking cars and perhaps explain why sales of the Prius and other green cars are slow to take off with average consumers."

Comments

As a non-driver

[raju1kabir]

This doesn't surprise me too much; people who drive seem to be so much more tense.

Re:As a non-driver

[Goffee71]

As a driver I look at the driver of the other car, not the model. If its an idiot on their phone, doing their makeup, eating, flipping through radio stations or CDs, having a row with a passenger - I give them miles of road, regardless of model.
As an aside, most cars look pretty cool compared to my little old Renault. However, if I see a Prius on the road, all I'm reminded of is a beached whale - they're just the ugliest things ever.

Re:As a non-driver

[caluml]

I know that for some reason it is *much* easier to be nice and let a VW beetle out from a side road than a BMW or SUV.

BMWs, Jags, Mercs tend to never say thankyou for being let out. They seem to assume that they own the road. Therefore I deliberately don't let them out.
Also, I notice - they're the last to switch their lights on when it starts to get dark - or when there's fog/spray on the motorways. I put that down to them assuming that everyone "can see them because they're so important, in their important car".
Psycho-analyze that. :)

Re:As a non-driver

[Chatsubo]

When I moved from a rather ordinary looking ford to a BMW, I noticed a sudden and drastic change in the way traffic around me responded.

The biggest of this is, when I'm cuising down the fast lane (my driving habits didn't change all that much, actually these days I tend to cruise a bit slower), people tend to get out of my way much quicker.

From the get-go I've suspected that this is because my car looks "angrier" and that people somehow feel that the guy sitting behind the wheel is exuding that same aggressiveness, and thus just want to get out of the way.

However another theory I have is that people assume BMW == asshole and expect me to be excessively aggressive because of that.

The again, I've thought much about how certain cars (like my poor BMW) get a bad rap for having "asshole" drivers... if a BMW driver doesn't signal, he's a f&^% bmw driver, if another driver does the same, he's just a f&%^ idiot. Maybe it'll turn out to be based more on the cars' looks than anything else. The car looks angry, therefore the driver must be angry, therefore he must be an asshole.

Yes you're right

[superskippy]

Yes, you're right. A survey of just 40 people will change the direction of car design, especially since they spend billions on car development, but they haven't thought to ask people what they thought of the appearance of cars.

Re:Yes you're right

[Fallus Shempus]

Not only 40 people, but 40 people in Vienna prefer BMWs to Toyotas, anyone got a map?

Re:A to B

[D Ninja]

There's a simple rule to buying cars. Never buy a new one. You'll invariably be conned out of thousands over silly cosmetic details. Buy used, and put your pocket before your pride. You might need what's in there later on.

Really? Never? Hmmm...let's see...

The first car I bought was a used car. It was $8,000 at purchase price. Not too bad given milage/condition/etc (and I had it inspected by my own mechanic). However, over the next two and half years, I spent ANOTHER $8,000 getting the stupid thing fixed up, etc, etc. There were weird problems that kept cropping up. I kept holding out thinking, "This will be the last thing I need to fix." Of course, that wasn't the case. The breaks giving out (while I was driving) was the last straw.

Instead, I bought a Toyota for $13,500, brand new, and I haven't had a single problem (except for a flat tire) since then. That was almost 4 years ago. I have a warranty, I know all the problems with my car (no shady history), and I keep a good record of all the mechanical work I do on my car (get regular oil changes, etc). I will *never* buy a used car ever again.

Additionally, someone will probably respond and say, "Your car depreciates in value so fast...it's a bad investment." Um. What? When is a car an investment? Last time I checked, anything that DEPRECIATES in value at all is not a real good investment. My car exists to get me to the places I need to go, and I need to feel safe and comfortable while doing so. That's it. I'm not trying to make money off my car. I will drive it into the ground (or until it starts costing me a lot).

Alright. I'm off my soapbox now.