People Prefer Angry-Faced Cars 473
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 (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes you're right (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:As a non-driver (Score:4, Insightful)
As an aside, most cars look pretty cool compared to my little old Renault. However, if I see a Prius on the road, all I'm reminded of is a beached whale - they're just the ugliest things ever.
Re:Yes you're right (Score:5, Insightful)
It's conscious, rather than subconscious (Score:3, Insightful)
It's conscious, rather than subconscious, if you ask me. It's not a mystery like "what makes someone attractive" - you look at a car with a "mean" look and you know why. Aggressive angles, sharp lines, etc. And aggressive look equates to engine power and speed with a car.
Nearly everyone likes a "mean" looking automobile; mostly because car makers generally put "mean" looking designs into sports cars or put in powerful engines.
A to B (Score:2, Insightful)
I prefer a car that gets me from point A to point B; safely, efficiently, and comfortably. In that order. This appears not to be the case for most people.
A neighbor of mine one got ~$1500 off the price of his (new) car because it had a bright yellow paint job. His wife was not pleased. His children were furious. He was happy to have "saved" so much money. Most people would say that the paint job saved him ~$1500 off the price of a perfectly fine car. I say instead that the paint jobs of all others cars of that model cost their owners $1500.
When things like a paint job and how "angry" a car looks are determining what cars people buy, you know that the cars themselves are grossly overvalued. If someone can add on 5% to the price of a car because of the shape of its headlights, you have to ask just how much of the original price was based on cosmetics and not on quality. This is important because if its the former, then the modern automobile industry is standing on thin foundations which may end up crumbling when severely undercut by the latest line of cheap Chinese cars, which can be glossed up just as easily as their western counterparts.
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.
Re:Yes you're right (Score:3, Insightful)
Surveys of 20 people or less can make headlines all over the world these days. In fact, the less people you survey, the more likely it is that you will be picked up by news feeds and your results broadcast all over the world. I suspect that if you surveyed 5 people who liked bananas, and took the time to run half dozen statistical tests on their five answers, we could have any colour car we wanted as long as it it was yellow.
Re:As a non-driver (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As a non-driver (Score:5, Insightful)
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 (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, I have to say that in my experience it's not because the BMW looks "angry", it's because the drivers tend to see their BMWs as safety cages, and thus can do what they want, when they want.
My other half used to laugh at my rational prejudice against BMW drivers, until I started pointing out how many times the cars that cut us up on the motorway, or failed to indicate (or both), or tailgated, or slammed across all three lanes of motorway to take the turn-off they hadn't appreciated, or jumped red lights, or (ad infinitum) were BMWs.
I don't know *why* so many BMW drivers are assholes, but the great majority certainly fulfil (and thus propagate) that conclusion.
Chevy Volt redesign (Score:2, Insightful)
This is exactly why I have given up on the Chevy Volt. If you havnt seen it, take a look at the concept version [the-grayline.com] versus the production model [jalopnik.com]. Sure, the changes were made for reasons of aerodynamic efficiency, but it could at least look a little more like the new camaro [annoyingdesign.org].
Anyway, I'll just have to win the lotto and get a Fisker Karma [jalopnik.com].
Re:Fiat Multipla - does not look bad (Score:4, Insightful)
That is gorgeous... and it's mean too, so I guess it's proves TFA's point.
Re:As a non-driver (Score:2, Insightful)
No, the brick on wheels is the Honda Element or the Scion xB. Which are pretty ugly cars, but the Aztek still beats everybody.
Re:As a non-driver (Score:1, Insightful)
I drive an 11 year old SUV. When one of those guys in a BMW tries to force his way in front of me. I keep on going. I look at him like "My truck is old. I don't care about you running into my bumper." They invariably brake.
LK
Re:As a non-driver (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:As a non-driver (Score:3, Insightful)
Why a car's ass would be angry at me, I'll never know.
Why you think a car is "angry at you", I'll never know.
Re:As a non-driver (Score:2, Insightful)
There is a range in the appearance of cars to match the drivers. People tend to pick cars that reflect their personality. This is why the major manufacturs reuse the same car frame with different facias; usually one very doscile, one more average, and one more agressive.
The guy in the agressive looking BMW is *probably* a more agressive person/driver.
Re:A to B (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:What about a flex-faced car? (Score:3, Insightful)
It would be nice to have multiple horns.
For instance a horn with a rising tone for when you are asking to get over, a horn with a cheery toot to thank people, a horn with an upset blat when people cut you off, ect...