Stereotypes attributed to car brands

[everywill]

Something I've never been able to catch onto is car brands. The people associated with them, the demographics attached to them, the quality associated with them. I feel woefully uneducated in this area. Can someone give me a runthrough of this area? Looking at a standard used car site I see

Acura
Alfa Romeo
AM General
American Motors
Aston Martin
Audi
Bentley
BMW
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Daewoo
Daihatsu
Dodge
Eagle
Ferrari
Ford
Geo
GMC
Honda
Hummer
Hyundai
Infiniti
Isuzu
Jaguar
Jeep
Kia
Lamborghini
Land Rover
Lexus
Lincoln
Lotus
Maserati
Maybach
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz
Mercury
Merkur
MINI
Mitsubishi
Morgan
Nissan
Oldsmobile
Panoz
Peugeot
Plymouth
Pontiac
Porsche
Qvale
Rolls-Royce
Saab
Saleen
Saturn
Scion
Smart
Sterling
Subaru
Suzuki
Toyota
Volkswagen
Volvo
Yugo

I don't know where to begin.

[August West]

Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I'm male.

[brownie55]

Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I'm male.
You too? My wife is, also, just deeply closeted.

[Lamar Mundane]

Volvo = Middle aged, liberal, NPR listener. Easily distracted driver.

[Shagnasty]

Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I'm male.

That was going to be mine.

BMW drivers (like me and my wife and her family) are the biggest pricks that you would ever have the misfortune to come across. BMW drivers tend to be well to do and attractive but very aggressive, career focused, and have an almost pathological sense of grandiosity combined with an utter disregard to the feelings of the masses.

[LionelHutz405]

Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I'm male.

Crap, me too then. How am I going to break it to my girlfriend?

I've heard the Toyota Rav has a reputation as a 'chick' car. It does seem to be usually driven by a female.

[CapnPitt]

Cadillac, Lincoln, (rest your soul) Oldsmobile = Old drivers who really shouldn't be in charge of cars that large.

[Shagnasty]

Also:

Bentley = old money or someone that wants to look the part

Cadillac = showoff old codger

Dodge = all over the place. Big honking pickups with giant engines to sports cars

Ferrari - wealthy showoff

Honda - relaible and boring

Hummer - like a BMW driver x 10 with more mass

Jaguar - pretty but buy 2 so that you will have a spare so that you won't be stranded all the times each is in the shop.

Lamborghini - pricks exotica

Land Rover - capable of real off-road capability but that is unthinkable to most of the housewives that drive them.

Lexus - reliable luxury.

Lincoln - made bigger than most cars so that their degenerating drivers can have a bigger challenge parking. Lots of crash protection but unfortunately the victims don't usually have the same benefit.

Mercedes-Benz - like a toned down BMW with worse handling.

Nissan - reliable

Porsche - for people that couldn't pass the personality screening at the BMW dealership. Preferred by youngish males with blonde hair and men undergoing a mid-life crisis

Rolls-Royce - marketed towars sheiks and drug king-pins. They will send a mechanic out to adjust your sun visor if you need them to.

Saab - made for aging ex-hippies that have money now.

Smart - makes you feel like a European and look just as ridiculous.

Toyota - boring and ultra-reliable

Yugo - Eastern bloc engineering at its finest. No working examples now exist nor have they since 6 months after it was introduced.

[d1a1s1]

We just had a thread over at a BMW forum, that I'm a part of, on BMW drivers. Its a bit long but there are some very good points brought up...by owners and haters alike. I submit this thread in defense of me and my BMW driving brethren.

BMW Drivers defense. (http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=163334)

But while Im here, can I add a type of vehicle vise brand? If so, Id like to add any driver of a mini-van. Too many kids to control, loves wall-mart, and has a reputation for yelling at the neighbors kids.

[Argent Towers]

On campus:

Jeep Grand Cherokee: frat guy.

Jeep Liberty: sorority girl.

Old, broken-in Volvo, Saab or Diesel Mercedes: indie rocker.

Brand-new Infiniti, Mercedes, Lexus, or Audi: Asian

[Duckster]

Hummer - like a BMW driver x 10 with more mass

Are you referring to the vehicle or the owner?

[Philster]

That was going to be mine.

BMW drivers (like me and my wife and her family) are the biggest pricks that you would ever have the misfortune to come across. BMW drivers tend to be well to do and attractive but very aggressive, career focused, and have an almost pathological sense of grandiosity combined with an utter disregard to the feelings of the masses.

Not anymore. Now anyone can afford these over rated cars; even underpaid, non-career minded people who like everyone.

[desdinova]

Merkur was a weird Ford product manufactured in Germany in the mid to late 1980s or so, though I think it was only sold in the United States. Principal Seymour Skinner was revealed to drive one which should tell you everything you need to know.

Peugeot is French, so if you drive one people would probably assume that you are French also, and therefore wear berets and obsess over Jerry Lewis. I don't think they've ever been sold on any significant scale in the United States (I've maybe seen one in my entire life).

Yugo - Eastern bloc engineering at its finest. No working examples now exist nor have they since 6 months after it was introduced."It gets 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene!"

[Leaffan]

Mercury - For Ford drivers who make $300 bucks more per year.
Honda Civic - Pizza's here.
Smart - Tree hugging environmentalist who brings cloth bags to the grocery store.
Yugo - Put it in "H."

[Leaffan]

Merkur was a weird Ford product manufactured in Germany in the mid to late 1980s or so, though I think it was only sold in the United States. Principal Seymour Skinner was revealed to drive one which should tell you everything you need to know.

Peugeot is French, so if you drive one people would probably assume that you are French also, and therefore wear berets and obsess over Jerry Lewis. I don't think they've ever been sold on any significant scale in the United States (I've maybe seen one in my entire life).

"It gets 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene!"
Holy shit. 2 out of the 3 car brands I mention, and a Simpson's reference to boot!

[rocksolid]

Crap, me too then. How am I going to break it to my girlfriend?

Just tell her straight, chances are she'll be pleased her sex life is about to improve :D

[mamboman]

(older model) Volvo - we know our car is so safe and so heavy that if we hit you, you're one who is more likely to die. So what do we care?

[Dorjän]

For Subaru = lesbian, I'll have to add an exception for the WRX Sti. I can't picture too many lesbians driving a road-legal rally car :D

[rocksolid]

I realise there's probably quite a big difference but i'm going to chip in with UK viewpoint here anyway:

Alfa Romeo - Either people trying to be flash but can't quite afford flash, or people wanting something a bit different. Can be hard to tell which.
Aston Martin - Clearly more money than sense, made their money being an arrogant arse to people
Audi - People that want prestige without looking like an arse
Bentley - Footballer
BMW - Used to be like the US attitude, now they've just become chav
Chevrolet - American
Chrysler - Wants to be American
Ferrari - Small penis, obviously. Unless it's a classic, in which case, car lover.
Ford - Depends on the model.
Honda - Ditto
Hummer - Incredibly small penis, also want's to be American.
Jaguar - Old school Brit or working class made good later in life. Probably wears a blazer and is a member of some kind of working mans club.
Jeep - School run mom, thinks she's keeping the kiddies safe.
Lamborghini - As Ferrari
Land Rover - Highlander thingies: Middle class bird or hairdresser, probably owns wellies but doesn't know what mud looks like. Defender - Farmer or other type of worker who actually uses the 4x4.
Maybach - Simon Cowell or American
Mercedes-Benz - posh bird or old banker
Morgan - Old school Brit, probably flew Spitfires during the war
Porsche - Flash prick. Deserves to find a lamppost at 120mph
Rolls-Royce - Idiot. Inherited cash, no understanding of what makes a good car.
Subaru - Boy racer. Very cool if you are a chick though.
Toyota - Knows a well built car.
Volkswagen - Thinks they know a well built car.
Volvo - Thinks every car on the road is out to get them.

Just observations by the way, i of course do not just people by stereo-types ;)

[Rick]

Dick O'Kane the author of How to Repair your Foreign Car (http://www.amazon.com/How-Repair-Your-Foreign-Car/dp/0385015283) ( a very funny book on repairing 1950s-60s vintage foreign cars) had a section on how different nationalities had different attitudes on building cars.
Going off memory here
The British. The brits build cars that need to be tinkered on. Regularly.

The Swedes. The Swedes build strong strapping cars that will go over under or through any obstacle.

The Germans. The Germans build technological marvels. When they break you must take them to the high priest from the factory for repair.

The French. Ahh the French, who can understand the French?

Great book, if you are a car person, and can find a copy, read it. (looks at Tuckerfan and Johnny LA)

From my own experience when SAAB advertised that "We don't build cars, we build SAABS" there have never been truer words spoken in any advertisement anywhere. Them cars are strange.

[EmAnJ]

I drive a VW: hippie outdoorsy person who gets very defensive about their choice of car, ESPECIALLY if it's a TDi.

[Diceman]

Honda: doesn't really care about the car, as long as it runs.

Scion: just got license, begged parents to buy him/her the car. In 10 years will be mortally embarrassed at the ugly-ass car he used to drive :p

As for the "Volkswagen = hippie" connection, there is one (and only one) exception: it's OK to drive a New Beetle if you are tall, because they have a ton of headroom. This exception does not apply to the old Beetle, or to (God help us) the Microbus. If you drive either of those, then there is no possible way that you are not a hippie. Even if you are tall enough to piss on Shaquille O'Neal's head.

Pontiac: likes sporty-looking cars, but can't afford a real sports car. (This would be me, if I was in the market for a new car.)

[Rico]

<mod>

Ford F-150 Pickup Truck - loves moving threads to their proper forums.

Moved to IMHO.

See?

</mod>

[mswas]

The difference between a BMW driver and a Hummer driver is that the BMW driver has a little bit of class and sophistication. The Hummer driver doesn't realize that they are driving a low performance piece of crap that has as much in common with the manly military vehicle as a Chevy Suburban. The Hummer driver doesn't have a clue, whereas often the BMW driver bought the vehicle knowing what they will get.

Cadillac Escalade: Drug Dealer.

[Translucent Daydream]

Around here the vast majority of Mitsubishis "That I Have Seen" are driven by black people*, except for those little eclipses type jobs. New eclipses are driven by 19 year old blonde highlighted sorority girls on a cell phone, and the older ones are driven by some hispanic dude*, usually right below the steering wheel.

*I am not a racist, so don't even try to spin it that way. I grew up driving the old worn out 79 model white trash Chevy Longbed that smoked and backfired. I even had a mullet and a Def Leppard tape.

[Priam]

Honda: doesn't really care about the car, as long as it runs.

Scion: just got license, begged parents to buy him/her the car. In 10 years will be mortally embarrassed at the ugly-ass car he used to drive :p

Now let's be fair here: only the xB is particularly terrible. The xA (in my experience as a driver) is for exciteable young women on a budget who still giggle and consider anything "cute" or for men who are secure in their masculinity (I fall somewhere in-between). The tC is just terribly, terribly boring.

[kunilou]

Pontiac: likes sporty-looking cars, but can't afford a real sports car. (This would be me, if I was in the market for a new car.)

Either that or "thinks it's still 1978 and a G6 is a Firebird."

Chevrolet - because I need a car, that's why!

[Thudlow Boink]

Here are the Car Talk lists of...
Ultimate Chick Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Guy-Chick-Cars/chick.html)
Ultimate Guy Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Guy-Chick-Cars/guy.html)
Ultimate Lesbian Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Gay-Lesbian/gay-chick1.html)
Ultimate Gay Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Gay-Lesbian/gay-guy1.html)

(I don't understand why gays and lesbians get a list of ten, but straights only get five apiece.)

[Like Fry]

Subaru here too, guess Ill have to inform the GF.....


Fry

[Really Not All That Bright]

Mitsubishi Eclipse - sorority girl, or rice boy.

Hyundai Elantra - how incredibly fucking boring. (Next time I'm buying something interesting, and I don't care how many times it breaks down. Who wants to ship a Renault Sport Spider to me, eh?)

[Fastidiots]

i find us hetero diesel vw owners are generally fiercely pragmatic, and slightly euro. also, there are a subcategory of us that use divine mileage as an excuse to drive like maniacs (at least in Calgary).

[Hey, It's That Guy!]

Honda: doesn't really care about the car, as long as it runs.


You're damn right!

[Uzi]

..whereas often the BMW driver bought the vehicle knowing what they will get.

What? A vehicle with a non-functional turn signal?

I own a Subaru WRX. My wife won't be surprised to find out I'm a lesbian!:p



edited: Moved the stick out tongue smilie to the appropriate sentence, hehe!

[Ludovic]

Kia Rio - cheap bastard.

<--- resembles that remark.

[ScareyFaerie]

I drive a Seat - it's a Porsche-style engine with a VW chassis. I guess that makes me confused. Oh, and the car's red. Woohoo!

[Rick]

Here are the Car Talk lists of...
Ultimate Chick Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Guy-Chick-Cars/chick.html)
Ultimate Guy Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Guy-Chick-Cars/guy.html)
Ultimate Lesbian Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Gay-Lesbian/gay-chick1.html)
Ultimate Gay Cars (http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/Gay-Lesbian/gay-guy1.html)

(I don't understand why gays and lesbians get a list of ten, but straights only get five apiece.)
Reading the list I see that I am also a lesbian,
"Volvo Wagon. The official car of professional intellectual lesbians everywhere."

[BobLibDem]

Volvo = Middle aged, liberal, NPR listener. Easily distracted driver.

Unless the Volvo is bluish-green. There's something about an aqua Volvo man.

Hondas: people who want a car to go from A to B. Period.

Chevy S-10s: I can't afford a better pickup

Hummer: I've got money to burn, who cares about mileage?

Subaru: Effeminate men and masculine women.

VW: Suckers who think they got a deal

Cadillac: Pimps

Saturn: tree-huggers