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Old 10-10-2009, 05:59 PM   #1
banyan
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Post What Your Car Says About You

Education level, tech smarts and wealth are just a few traits your ride can convey.

Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Forbes

Porsches smack of success. Hondas preach practicality. And, according to a recent report, Chevys proudly proclaim of their owners, "I don't use the Internet."

Your car implies more about your life than you might think. While 13% of Chevy owners don't use the Web, by contrast, less than 3% of Honda owners remain in the technological Stone Age. The antithesis of flashy, Honda owners are usually pragmatic and well educated; 70% boast a college degree or higher, compared with 35% of Chevy owners and 45% of Ford owners.

The data was released in the spring as part of this year's New Vehicle Experience Study by San Diego-based market research outfit Strategic Vision.

"Honda buyers buy primarily for the trust and dependability they find in our vehicles," says Honda spokesman Chris Naughton. "Typically, highly functional vehicles deliver less image because customers didn't purchase for image."

Education level and computer savvy are just a couple of the things your car says about you. We collected demographic data on 10 prominent auto brands from the manufacturers themselves, as well as from neutral sources like Strategic Vision. It turns out, your wheels also give clues to your age, gender, income level and marital status--even your political leanings.

Mini Mindset

If you'd like to cultivate an image of sophistication, try buying a Mini Cooper. The line of Lilliputian hatchbacks appeals to urbane buyers with median incomes of around $125,000. But aside from wealth, Mini owners are a tough bunch to pin down, demographically speaking, since the car has broad appeal.

"It's a certain mindset," says Nathalie Bauers, spokeswoman for Mini USA. "People who relate to the brand, there's no age to that."

Bauers says Mini owners fall into four categories: brand enthusiasts, who relish the car's British racing roots; design aficionados, who like the car's simple elegance; social butterflies, who want to be part of the Mini community; and gas misers, who crave the Mini's fuel efficiency.

Some of the latter group trade down from trucks and SUVs not because they feel financially crunched by high gas prices, but because they want to be conscientious and reduce their impact on the environment. These "right-sizers" like the Mini's eco-friendly image; all Mini models get at least 34 miles per gallon on the highway. Says Bauers: "Many of our customers are people who get a smaller car because it's the right thing to do."

Gray Area

While Minis appeal to several different types of people, owners of the classic English luxury vehicle Rolls-Royce can't be pigeonholed beyond the fact that they're rich.

"As you can imagine, our customers do not really take surveys," says Rolls-Royce spokeswoman Karen Vonder Meulen. "The one common thread that all our customers share is a passion for life and most truly love cars."

Indeed, well-known Rolls owners range from royal families to rappers. Recording artist T-Pain, who ranks No. 9 on Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings list, owns North America's first Rolls-Royce Drophead.The fire-engine-red coupe boasts a 12-cylinder, 453-horsepower engine and a top speed of 150 miles per hour. Base price: $435,000.

Similarly, the Bentley trademark screams wealth--typically at least $5 million in investable assets, to be precise--but in a softer voice than some of its competitors.

"Our cars aren't as brash as some other performance-car manufacturers," says Stuart McCullough, a Bentley board member. "We tend to be understated, quintessentially English. That reflects the mood and style of our customers."

Such restraint can be considered especially important in the current climate. With unemployment rates skyrocketing around the world, many auto enthusiasts would rather drive an understated gray Bentley than a flashy red Ferrari.

"The most opulent part of a Bentley is on the inside," says McCullough. "Rich people are very aware of how others see them at the moment, the choices they make. Now is not the right time to be seen to be spending money when you're laying people off at your factory."

A note to those wealthy employers: Think twice about splurging on even an understated new car. If you see scads of Hondas in your company parking lot, their savvy owners may be wise to your ways. If you only see Chevys, you might be able to get away with it.
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Old 10-10-2009, 06:10 PM   #2
quentinberg007
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Hopefully I'm not judged by the interesting folks over at VWvortex. My GTI is on stock wheels, struts, and springs, so they probably don't claim me.
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Old 10-10-2009, 09:49 PM   #3
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

My Piaggio MP3 probably tells the world that I'm a nerd.
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Old 10-10-2009, 11:54 PM   #4
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My Forester tells the world that I love women........


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Old 10-11-2009, 12:08 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondaslayer View Post
My Forester tells the world that I love women........


Hear that SOA Blog... Next tagline for the Fozzie
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Old 10-11-2009, 12:24 AM   #6
quentinberg007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondaslayer View Post
My Forester tells the world that I love women........


My wife's friend said she got a Forester today. I so wanted to ask if she got a girlfriend with it.
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Old 10-11-2009, 11:35 PM   #7
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I care nothing about the "image" my Honda Fit projects. I bought it for its practicality, frugality and exceptional interior packaging. So I guess I do fit into the "antithesis of flashy" category.

Don't know what the Subaru owners are supposed to represent. I guess that depends on which Subaru they own. If it is the STI, then it would project a certain image versus a Tribeca owner and so on.
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Old 10-12-2009, 12:42 AM   #8
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Mine says that I read "Stuff White People Like" as if it were my Bible...
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Old 10-12-2009, 10:52 AM   #9
Yotsuya
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shikataganai View Post
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

My Piaggio MP3 probably tells the world that I'm a nerd.
I think it says you're not hardcore enough to go vintage like all the hipsters who can't afford to keep a 65 Falcon.
I must be an idiot since I'm still mulling selling a five year old Subaru and buying a 20 year old Volvo.
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Old 10-12-2009, 10:57 AM   #10
mhoward1
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My collection of cars tells the world I have mutliple personality disorder.
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Old 10-12-2009, 11:04 AM   #11
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Mine might say, "Asian racer/ricer wannabe white boy" (though, my car doesn't look like rice, it does have a hoodscoop...ZOMG!).
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Old 10-12-2009, 11:34 PM   #12
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Obviously, I am a pretentious prich!
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Old 10-13-2009, 02:31 AM   #13
KidCorporate
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Saabaru.

Mine says that I drive a car that they'd never heard of.
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Old 10-13-2009, 07:11 AM   #14
Italiano
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i drive a yellow car ... I guess i'm a "man child"



I do get some wack looks from people... oh well
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Old 10-13-2009, 08:08 AM   #15
woody06967
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My choices say "bad decisions and fiscal irresponsibility"
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Old 10-13-2009, 08:19 AM   #16
ScoobKing
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I thought I felt my IQ drop slightly when I switched to a Honda from a Subaru. Then I got another Subaru and I ended up finding 2 jobs when the economy really started failing. Thank god it wasn't the Contour I was lookin at. =P
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Old 01-04-2011, 01:22 AM   #17
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My car says "I wanna go fast."
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Old 01-04-2011, 03:57 AM   #18
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Holy random and - as far as I can tell - pointless thread bump, Batman.
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Old 01-04-2011, 04:11 AM   #19
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He is also a new Member..
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Old 01-04-2011, 08:35 AM   #20
kukabuka
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True, but I got to laugh again at
Quote:
Chevys proudly proclaim of their owners, "I don't use the Internet."
Thx tmic-scooby
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Old 01-04-2011, 09:13 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by kukabuka View Post
True, but I got to laugh again at

Thx tmic-scooby
This.
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Old 01-04-2011, 10:06 AM   #22
Masterauto
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Mini buyers are slaves to fashion. No real other reason to buy one.
Why pay an STI price for a tiny cute car with horrendous torque steer that can be crushed by any SUV or truck. Sitting in the back seat leaves you open to instantly getting destroyed by even a minor rear impact. I had a JCW and it was not even fun to drive imho.
It is in base for cute economical transportation that is ez to park in cities.
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Old 01-04-2011, 10:50 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Masterauto View Post
Mini buyers are slaves to fashion. No real other reason to buy one.
Why pay an STI price for a tiny cute car with horrendous torque steer that can be crushed by any SUV or truck. Sitting in the back seat leaves you open to instantly getting destroyed by even a minor rear impact. I had a JCW and it was not even fun to drive imho.
It is in base for cute economical transportation that is ez to park in cities.
This is only partially true. I think you did not truly "drive" the JCW. Minis are very fun to drive and very safe as they are engineered by the Germans to save your ass in an accident. The torque steer is is easily contollable especially if you expecting it. Your sti price analogy only applies to the jcw and I am inclined to agree. But, the mini is a premium small car the looks, feels and drives the part.
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Old 01-04-2011, 10:55 AM   #24
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My STi with gold winter Rotas must convey that I'm either someone with horrible taste or GANGSTA YO!
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Old 01-04-2011, 11:11 AM   #25
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E46 M3, Black (well, dirty), tinted windows (came that way), front and rear tow-hooks in (city parking aids), a few dents and a deep "keying" scratch on one front fender.

255s all around on 4 OE rear wheels (aka waayyy too much offset up front).

What say you?
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