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."

As a non-driver

This doesn't surprise me too much; people who drive seem to be so much more tense.

Re:As a non-driver

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.

Re:As a non-driver

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. :)

Re:As a non-driver

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.

Re:As a non-driver

I hate the new (post 2001) BMWs. Their fronts and back look like they are angry at me. Why a car's ass would be angry at me, I'll never know.

Re:As a non-driver

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.

Re:As a non-driver

The car looks angry, therefore the driver must be angry, therefore he must be an asshole.

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?

Re:As a non-driver

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.

Re:As a non-driver

You obviously have never encountered a Chrysler PT Cruiser

I always let a PT Cruiser go ahead of me. About five seconds later, I realize that it's actually not either the start of a funeral procession or Grandpa Munster.

Re:Fiat Multipla - does not look bad

I prefer cars that look like a college woman.

- curvy exterior
- firm
- no blemishes or rust

That's why I prefer...

... 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...

Yes you're right

Yes, you're right. A survey of just 40 people will change the direction of car design, especially since they spend billions on car development, but they haven't thought to ask people what they thought of the appearance of cars.

Re:Yes you're right

Not only 40 people, but 40 people in Vienna prefer BMWs to Toyotas, anyone got a map?

Re:Yes you're right

In Austria they only prefer BMWs because of the better 'roo-bars.

Re:Yes you're right

100% of the people I just asked agreed with you on that.

Angry test subjects.

I'd be angry too if I wasted my time being part of a "study" that includes only 40 people.

Excuse me?

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?

then this is a mutant

Really, this car can't be described with just "angry" or "happy." [autocult.com.au]

Re:then this is a mutant

Looks perverted to me - two ugly cars humping.

The angriest-looking car in the world...

... is the Triumph Herald Vitesse [wikimedia.org].

Re:The angriest-looking car in the world...

Here's the same car on a better day [flickr.com]

Cars are ugly these days, why?

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?

What about a flex-faced car?

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.

Have you seen the honking Prius 2.0?

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 [wikipedia.org]

Re:A to B

There's a simple rule to buying cars. Never buy a new one. You'll invariably be conned out of thousands over silly cosmetic details. Buy used, and put your pocket before your pride. You might need what's in there later on.

Really? Never? Hmmm...let's see...

The first car I bought was a used car. It was $8,000 at purchase price. Not too bad given milage/condition/etc (and I had it inspected by my own mechanic). However, over the next two and half years, I spent ANOTHER $8,000 getting the stupid thing fixed up, etc, etc. There were weird problems that kept cropping up. I kept holding out thinking, "This will be the last thing I need to fix." Of course, that wasn't the case. The breaks giving out (while I was driving) was the last straw.

Instead, I bought a Toyota for $13,500, brand new, and I haven't had a single problem (except for a flat tire) since then. That was almost 4 years ago. I have a warranty, I know all the problems with my car (no shady history), and I keep a good record of all the mechanical work I do on my car (get regular oil changes, etc). I will *never* buy a used car ever again.

Additionally, someone will probably respond and say, "Your car depreciates in value so fast...it's a bad investment." Um. What? When is a car an investment? Last time I checked, anything that DEPRECIATES in value at all is not a real good investment. My car exists to get me to the places I need to go, and I need to feel safe and comfortable while doing so. That's it. I'm not trying to make money off my car. I will drive it into the ground (or until it starts costing me a lot).

Alright. I'm off my soapbox now.