We say BMW, you say...
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So here we have the kind of real-time social engagement that the Internet originally promised us. A site called Brandtag allows you to enter a 1-word attribute for a brand -- like "quattro" for Audi -- and then creates a page with the popularity of any brand identifier denoted by its size on the page relative to every other tag used, i.e. a tag cloud. For instance, one of the biggest words on the Ferrari page is "red," while one of the (many) smallest words is "viagra." Generic descriptors seem to take the biggest places for all of the brands (browse them here) and some of the small words make you wonder -- like "pirate" for BMW. Yet there are some other intriguing middle-sized words that could make you ask, "Is that what more than one person thinks when they see me?" BMW owners should take note that many people apparently see you all as a-holes (NSFW-ish), though take heart that no brand is sacred from this swarm attack. Thanks for the tip, Alex!
[Source: Brandtags]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Allan 3:07PM (5/19/2008)
The Segway one might be one of my favorites. But seeing reliable so large in the VW brand is kind of funny.
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Alex 3:54PM (5/19/2008)
Take a look at Jaguar; it has "hand jobs" in there. That one made me shoot my gum into my sinuses.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers that reference.
tekdemon 2:27AM (5/20/2008)
It is pretty funny that reliable is one of the biggest words on the VW page...of course taking away from this odd positive perception is the fact that HITLER appears to be in the largest font-size.
Oh well, the word reliable on Toyota's page is way larger than VW's, and reliability is really all relative. Apparently the only major negative there is boring, but I suspect that a lot of people buy Toyota's for precisely that reason (I myself did).
Kind of surprising is that truck is also pretty huge.
tekdemon 2:29AM (5/20/2008)
You know what else is really weird...on VW and BMW and Mercedes' pages their own names (ie, the word VW and BMW and Mercedes) are huge, but on Toyota's page it's not one of the largest words around at all.
Very bizarre.
Patrick Austin 4:21PM (5/21/2008)
Jaguar: For men who would like handjobs from beautiful women they hardly know!
Best movie ever.
2004m3driver 3:12PM (5/19/2008)
Someone seriously keyed ASS across my hood. I have him on camera, but apparently it was some stranger who has no relations to me other than the fact that he hates my taste in cars. Blah nothing I can do about it though, because I have no idea who it was and it happened way after I got there so it couldn't haven been someone I accidentally cut off or anything. So many childish haters out there.
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Scott 9:42AM (5/20/2008)
Jealousy is an ugly thing.
blogged to death 3:34PM (5/19/2008)
There's an Top Gear episode about BMW especially the M3 owners / drivers being labeled as well. Seems the other side of the pond agrees. I know over 100 people who own M3s and well...I'd say 60% fit that description.
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Jay 8:35PM (5/21/2008)
You know over 100 people who own M3s? I don't even know 100 people...
prolix21 3:37PM (5/19/2008)
when i bought my 330i i kept thinking i should get a vanity plate that says 'dchebg' or something along that lines, just to re-enforce the image :)
there are a lot of a-hole bmw drivers out there though, but i still like my car and do what i can to reverse that image (ie: i don't drive like a douchebag)
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- 3:39PM (5/19/2008)
I test drove a 1 and 3 series a few months back, I was on an empty 2-lane road going 10-15 mph over the speed limit and people (in old pickups and whatnot) were going out of their way to cut me off and antagonize me. It sucks that people assumed I was an asshat -- if I end up buying a BMW, I think I may end up driving like an arse just to not get run down.
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prolix21 3:54PM (5/19/2008)
try driving a bmw through kentucky with an obama sticker on it. that's an experience in southern hospitality...
bruno 4:22PM (5/19/2008)
That doesn't surprise me. I've lived in the exurbs for a while and pickups have often tailgated and tried to harrass my wife in our car. Apparently when it's a guy my size they are less aggressive, but one did spit on the windshield as he slowly passed in traffic going the opposite direction.
This is our 3rd BMW and probably the last. In years past other cars just didn't handle that well, but in recent years there are substitutes that are good enough for us w/o the hassles involved in BMW ownership.
I'm sure if you live in a uniformly upper-middle/upper class area sans envious haters, you wouldn't notice it, but around here it's a problem. I also note that when I'm in my work pickup they behave too. Perhaps they assume a guy who works for a living might just hop out with a crowbar and that BMW drivers are too worried about staining their slacks or spilling their cappucinos to do something. : )
I also had a new Dodge Ram keyed at the mall 10 years ago, so it happens when anyone is jealous of anything you have. One of the consequences of our materialism-oriented society I guess.
icu812ru469 3:40PM (5/19/2008)
analbomb
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Biscuit 3:41PM (5/19/2008)
We've always joked that when you buy a BMW they sit you down for a training video on how to be a proper BMW driver (read: a-hole). I've never seen a car class so dominated by a single character type.
Unfortunately those people have completely ruined the cars for me. I'd rather take a beating than buy one. :-)
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2004m3driver 3:59PM (5/19/2008)
Don't worry, once you buy one you still get a beating with it. So not only is it Big Money Wasted you get that glorious A-hole tag.
I bought mine because I am a masochist. Its all worth it :)
3seriesisking 4:51PM (5/19/2008)
"I've never seen a car class so dominated by a single character type."
So every single person you've ever actually met that drives a BMW is a stereotype?
3seriesisking 5:02PM (5/19/2008)
My mistake. So the majority of the people are A-holes?
And you would actually say that you have seen more A-holes driving BMW's than any other brand?
ronald.raygun 5:31PM (5/19/2008)
i would say hummer drivers are pretty big aholes, i saw one the other day that said "its a hummer thing" on the back.
stupidmonkey 6:38PM (5/19/2008)
There are always people living up to stereotypes like the riced out Honda Civics and Chevy Prisms.
For me I've had a few cases where douche-bags in BMWs smirk right at me while I'm at gas stations and for no reason what so ever.