Survey finds that cars are "key" to a first impression
A Ford Fusion "Life in Drive" survey that polled over 400 single people found that 89 percent of men and 95 percent
of females are somewhat likely to notice their date's car. The survey is part of an upcoming "speed dating" series
sponsored by the Ford Fusion as part of its "Life in Drive" marketing program, which seeks to show how integral a car's
role is in scoring, er, points. It's not just the car, though — 69 percent of females and 47 percent of males also look
at a car's state of cleanliness in summing up their date.
Check out the link to see the rest of the press release — the survey turned up some interesting stuff!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mal Fuller 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
A higher percentage of both sexes notice the cleanliness of their date's car when the floors look like a landfill.
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olderty 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
The other 5% of females are unfortunately blind.
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DRW 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
What a terrible survey. Do you notice your date's car? They could have asked: "does your dates car affect your opinion of them. If so, how does it affect your opinion." Something along those lines. This was clearly a push survey.
When I was in the dating pool (up until 2 years ago), my 1985 Chevrolet Celebrity Wagon never seemed to affect dates opinions of me.
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olderty 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
DRW: It's not the work of the National Science Foundation. It's just a marketing tactic for their press release on the Fusion.
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Jim in Tampa 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I've been told over and over "Never judge a person by the car they drive. Look at the watch."
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SLOTKEY 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
#3 and I'm sure the quality of ass you were getting was on par.
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Rick T 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Jim:
I don't wear a watch. What does that say about me? :-)
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K Smith 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Hmmm... I don't wear a watch either. Something else to worry about... must be this blog.
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WillDaThrill 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Man, you guys are justnow figuring that out? I thought everyone just got cool aftermarket parts just to make their car feel better.
#3 I don't care how tight your game was (if any), you know you never pulled anything close to hotties with a station wagon. When you drop them off after a date and they give you a hand shake instead of a kiss it means you struck out because you we're driving your moms hand me down wagon.
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DRW 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
SLOTKEY...if you really think women care what kind of car you drive, you're either dating the wrong kind of women or you just don't understand women. Women care if you have a good job, a stable personality, are attractive, and are interesting to talk to. Besides, by the time most dates see your car, you've already won half the battle...getting them to go on a date with you in the first place. My car might might have been a factor if I picked up women by calling out to them as a drove by.
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The tECHIDNA 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
From the article:
"A person's car is most definitely an extension of the person," said Ellen Fein, dating expert and best-selling co-author of The Rules."
"You often get one chance to make a right impression and, many times, your car is one of the first personal things your date sees about you. Similar to your clothes, your car says something about you and your style," added Fein.
"The interior trim, leather seats, bold colors all reveal something about you."
This must be from the same school of thought that "anyone who drives a Volkswagen/Saab is gay" and "the bigger/taller the truck, the smaller the manhood." No wonder her book is such a POS.
For the record, I drive a '05 Suzuki Aerio SX (the hatchback version), and I don't care what anyone thinks of me based on what I drive (and yes, I keep my car clean).
If your date is more concerned about what you drive than your personality, you're probably too far in the shallow end of the pool.
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ZoomZoomin' 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
"Women care if you have a good job, a stable personality, are attractive, and are interesting to talk to."
At best, you totally got that in the wrong order depending on the age group. :)
Don't forget the importance of looks v. money shifts from the former to the latter as age increases.
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Steve J 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Women look at your shoes before pretty much everything else. Or so every female friend I've ever had tells me. Very few care that much about the car, unless you failed to clear out the garbage on the floor before you pick her up.
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ZoomZoomin' 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
"bold colors all reveal something about you."
I can agree with that one. Bold colors probably means...
a) You like (or can afford) getting lots of tickets
b) You settled for what was left on the lot
c) You were raised by peacocks
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VW-Guy 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
This must be from the same school of thought that "anyone who drives a Volkswagen/Saab is gay" and "the bigger/taller the truck, the smaller the manhood."
I have a small pee pee, is that why I want a monster truck-ized Dodge Powerwagon?
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Joseph Willemssen 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
The hottest women live in New York, where most people don't own cars.
But, hey, I guess the suburban middle class with upward pretensions needs something to justify their lifestyles and choices.
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Mal Fuller 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Autoblog comments are so educational. For example I never knew before that Saab & VW owners are all gay.
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Source1 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
I drive a Honda Pilot and I am buying another one for our business. It is not the most expensive that I could buy, but really just the best for the money and what I need it for. I doubt that anyone really cares.
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Bryan 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Hmmm, as much as I want to believe that what you drive doesn't affect what women think of you, it probably does. And yes, it's easy to say that those are the women you don't want to date anyway.....
But everytime I see a hot chick riding shotgun in some ridiculous Honda Civic with coffee can exhaust and yellow plastic interior trim, I think, maybe women really *don't* care what you drive!
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Lee Gibson 10:37PM (12/18/2005)
Wow. Just when I think Joseph actually has something valuable to say, he comes out with this gem.
Buddy, you could teach a PhD program on pretentiousness.
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