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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."
... pop-up headlights. It looks like my car's asleep, which is fairly representative of what's going on in my driver's seat too...
A serious follow on from this is what effect does a mean-looking car have on a driver or other drivers. 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.
Also when a BMW tries to cut in to your lane you are much more likely to perceive it as an aggressive deliberate move and block them than a "nice" looking car, where you tend to think "oh, someone's not paying attention!", let them in and then shake your head dismissively.
I'd be angry too if I wasted my time being part of a "study" that includes only 40 people.
and perhaps explain why sales of the Prius and other green cars are slow to take off with average consumers
Uhmm, last time I was in the US (CA), a 2nd-hand Prius with low mileage was actually _more expensive_ than a new one, because everyone wants to have one but Toyota can't keep up with the demand.
Calling Prius sales 'slow to take off' sounds a bit like... Opposite reality?
Really, this car can't be described with just "angry" or "happy."
... is the Triumph Herald Vitesse.
To tell you the truth, there's been one car in the last decade that I thought looked interesting (under $50K, anyway), and I bought one, the PT Cruiser. Why can't they make decent looking cars anymore? Design by committee?
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.
Get your own free personal location tracker
100% of the people I just asked agreed with you on that.
Hmmmm. Not hard to imagine some simple ways to alter the "expression" on the car. Compressed air components acting like face muscles, lights, rotating panels.
Heading to the beach? Happy face. Heading to work? Angry face. On a date? Depends what you are into. Heading in for service? Sad face. Heck. Why not have mood horns as well? Okay, maybe not. Let's not get too crazy.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
In Austria they only prefer BMWs because of the better 'roo-bars.
Old news ... to boost Prius sales, Toyota are giving the 2.0 a face lift. I can't find any good online reference, but spy photos report looks similar to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honking
"Good news, everyone!"
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.
> no, yes, maybe (tagging beta)
Well, there are two kinds of people in the US who buy BMWs: those who love driving and scrape every last dime together to buy one, and those who have a lot of money and buy one because they are owned by other rich people. I think the rich drivers tend to be the bad drivers. In general, it seems that people with money tend to have more arrogance, and that extends throughout their social life, including driving.
In some of the most affluent suburbs around here (especially the ones noted for 'old money'), I've noticed the drivers are exceptionally bad, regardless of make. They are driven as if they were the only driver on the road.
The exception seems to be Volvo drivers. They are the most timid creatures on the road, and seem to be able to happily sit waiting to make a right hand turn until the entire rush hour is over. I believe the whole "Volvo is the safest car" idea to be a self-fulfilling prophecy: Volvos have a reputation for safety, so the overly cautious drivers flock to them and enhance that reputation. The problem is that the traffic around them is less safe because of their penchant for delay.
John
That's still better than what others think of me.
"The car is yellow, therefore the car is a lemon, therefore the driver had lemon pie for dessert."
Wait, what?
I once felt the same way that you do... then I purchased a BMW, and it turns out, with it, you do in fact get a deed stating that you own the road.
Now excuse me, I need to go refill my latte.
Just another ignorant American.
I prefer cars that look like a college woman.
- curvy exterior
- firm
- no blemishes or rust
You forgot to add
- easy to get in and out of.
The enemies of Democracy are
At least in the US, kids are encouraged to anthropomorphize cars from the earliest stages of cognition.
Now, I had the ultimate "angry" car. A 1959 Chevy Impala. The back of the car looked like an animal face with chrome and steel whiskers and evil looking eyes :-) The front had four-foot long chrome harpoons that ran along the front fenders. The hubcaps when in motion, had an effect of spinning chrome abbatoir blades complete with red and black paint. This car was a real can opener and no matter what you drive, it was a *can* by comparison.
I parted with that car when I couldn't afford $1.80/gal gasoline in a 1950s car, but I have different standards now for what I think looks "mean and angry" in a car.
Here is some advice for those who are getting cut off and tailgated: Drive a car that looks like a complete piece of crap. Make sure it looks like there is no possible way you have insurance or brakes. Nobody who actually cares about their vehicle will get anywhere near you. "Rusty old truck" effect is fun.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.