Survey says autos experience gender bender as they age
A new survey released in England reveals that a car's gender changes as it ages. 500 people surveyed by the Bosche Car Service network indicate that when a car is new it's more likely to be seen as a woman, but as the age of one's wheels increases it drops an X- and picks up a Y-chromosome to become male. The reasoning behind the way a vehicle is viewed based on its age actually makes a lot of sense. The author of the report, Jan Walsh, says that, "...when a car is at its newest, sexiest and looking its best, owners relate it to being female. It's like a woman who's spent time on herself to look good and is out on the street attracting attention. As the car gets older we consider a car to be male – it's reliable, solid and gets the job done, much like your dad or granddad." The survey also found that men are likely to see their cars as male, and likewise for women who generally see their whips as female.
You can check out the actual survey results that led to these conclusions by following the Read link below. We did, and considering the relatively small pool of 500 people surveyed, we have to question if these results show a statistically significant change in the way a car is viewed over time or merely encompass a few anomalies that skewed the findings. Then we have to question if we care either way, since it's just a fun survey that outs our cars as transsexuals.
[Source: Newspress.co.uk]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kowell 8:05PM (11/20/2006)
Funny.. I would have seen the gender swap the other way... Cars that have been around a long time used to be very macho and powerfull by as they age, they become a lot more quiet and tuned for everyday life to try to please everybody.
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Howard Kerr 8:55PM (11/20/2006)
I can't say I agree with this survey...partly for the reason cited by Cowell, but also for other reasons.
Having owned 2 dozen cars built in various countries, and having driven another 2 dozen or more cars (and trucks) of various ages MY findings are:
A.) ALL Japanese cars are female (I think the Japanese car companies even design them that way on purpose) and they remain female for all their lives. That a woman/female CAN'T be reliable and or solid for all her life borders on sexism.
B.) The cars I've owned have been a mixed bag of old and brand new. Many of the old ones didn't come across as reliable as they got older, quite the contrary. As most of them got older, they became LESS reliable. Therefore, if they were female or male as new...they became (according to this survey) MORE female as they got older. Men are RARELY termed "high-maintenance", but women........
C.) The British cars I've owned were all considered to be male, and stayed that way, EXCEPT for my Triumph Spitfire. ANY car that makes girls and/or women giggle and say "that's a cute car" is and always will be FEMALE. Even if it is painted in a very "macho" shade of brown (hey, it was the '70s).
D.) Finally, the British have strange ideas about their cars and the reliability of them. The U.S. has no equivalent of that paragon of reliability...Lucas, and unfortunately, we are often the worse for not being able to build cars with "character" like Bristol or TVR.
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Steve R 11:14PM (11/20/2006)
I believe that all cars are female, whether they be my baby, my mistress, or my wife of many years.
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Andy 11:30PM (11/20/2006)
Howard Kerr:
Your suspicion about Japanese autos being built to target female audiences is true. Toyota and Honda design teams intentionally create a soft appearance to help attract female buyers. An aggressive appearance is not considered family friendly.
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Bob_Ericson 12:40AM (11/21/2006)
I've owned scores of cars and consider myself to be a certified "car nut", but I could never anthropomorphize a car - give it a name and gender.
The whole phenomenon is beyond me.
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&$% 1:23AM (11/21/2006)
Funny how my post gets deleted while regular posters that wallow in their own insecurity get to flame the dogshit out of me. Gotta love your double standards. Its okay to call somebody names but god forbid someone should say something thats not quite PC about another country regardless of how true it is. Tell me, how many orthodontists are there in England/UK/Britain/whatever?
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John 9:43AM (11/21/2006)
I've owned a Jeep Cherokee, a Honda Accord, and now an Audi A4. In that order it goes male, girl, and animal (the whole antenna on the roof reminds me of a dorsal fin). I think a lot of how the car looks depends on the which chromosome you assign it. Trucks, SUVs are probably male while sport cars/compact cars are female. Basically it's a lame survey.
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Jason 3:13PM (11/21/2006)
Our current stable includes a Jeep Cherokee, Jeep TJ Wrangler, Dodge Megacab 3500, and an Acura MDX. The Cherokee and the Dodge are definitely male. The Wrangler belongs to my wife and she probably views it as female, I'm not entirely sure (and yes, both Jeeps have names). The Acura... well, it's a nice car, but just doesn't inspire the same type of enthusiasm as the other vehicles and as such I really don't look at it in the same light as our other vehicles. I would have to say it's a girl though. My first car was a Volvo, and it was also a girl (no name though).
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Bill Maher is an Idiot 3:58PM (11/21/2006)
Guess it's back to rehab for #6.
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amarinder 4:55AM (11/30/2006)
This is great job
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Nixon 5:04AM (11/30/2006)
It is looking nice.
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