Put Martina Navratilova in a car ad, and it will forever be known as a “lesbian car”.
Wasn’t there an advertising campaign for the Jetta, a few years ago, that featured two young guys who may or may not have been a gay couple? The one where they picked up a chair that was on the sidewalk, then threw it out again when they noticed a bad smell? They weren’t exactly identified as gay in the commercial, but a lot of people thought they probably were. Anyway, that may have had something to do with the Jetta acquiring a gay-friendly brand image.
Post first, research later - that’s my motto!
Anyway, I was mistaken - the ad I was remembering was for the Volkswagen Golf, not the Jetta. However, there was a “gay” commercial for the Jetta as well. cite
My vote goes for what the car at the GM Pavillion on The Simpsons said:
"Hello. I’m an electric car. I can’t go very fast, or very far. And if you drive me, people will think you’re gay…"
Flamingly dressed animatronic robots then chant, "One of us! One of us!"
I remember that a certain stereotype was that a white Rabbit or Golf Cabriolet would probably be driven by a blonde named Donna. One of my flight instructors, a straight man, drove a Golf. Golfs are also somewhat popular with “racer boys”. In another thread I said I was considering buying a Golf because of its size and practicality. So I never considered them “chick/gay cars” (except for the white Cab stereotype).
I also considered buying a Jetta a couple of times. It is a comfortable car, and has a massive boot for carrying stuff. I also liked at you could carry your snow skis inside. Again, I never thought “Jetta = Gay”. If there’s any stereotype I’ve noticed, it’s that they seemed to be very popular with Hispanics. What turned me away from the Jetta is that they didn’t seem to age well. Many of the older ones I saw on the road had oxidized paint and just looked shabby. I didn’t know if Jetta owners just didn’t take care of them, or if Jetta paint was particularly prone to aging in the hot California sun.
Manduck: I remember that Golf commercial. Those guys did not seem gay to me at all. (I’m about to make a gross generalization.) Can you imagine gay guys picking up shabby furniture off the street? Or dressing as they did?
Hmm… what do these cars look like?
Vokswagen Jetta
First shot we get of the car is the bulging, curvy rear end sticking in our faces. Coincidence? Maybe, but it’s a nice looking car. Am I a metrosexual for loving clean design?
Let’s take a look at the Subaru Outback. Will I guess it’s … um… ah… practical. Quite the no-nonsense web site.
Tell that to my husband, who drives a convertible Volkswagen Cabrio. He’s straight - last time I checked. I also had a Cabriolet until December.
Just got back from running an arrand. The closest parking space was between a new Jetta and a beat-up Subaru Legacy wagon.
The Jetta has a blue and yellow equals sign sticker in the back window. The Legacy has a thin rainbow sticker along the tailgate.
Hmmmmm …
Oh, yea, I have owned 2 Sciroccos, a Rabbit, 3 Cabriolets and currently drive a Cabrio. Is it because I’m gay or because they are well built, reliable cars that are fun to drive and run well? Bend over and let’s find out, shall we? 
Seriously, I thought GQ was the place for facts, not WAGs. Do you have any evidence for your claims that VWs are widly seen as chick cars and that guys won’t drive them?
I don’t think anyone’s really done a scientific survey on this (nor would I expect anyone to). However, I can tell you for a fact that most people in at least the Seattle area, my age, are quite aware of that stereotype. It’s really to the point of it being common knowledge.
Furthermore, I’ve seen jokes on various TV shows (though I can’t recall any at the moment, damn) that have made jokes in regards to VWs being chick cars. So this certaintly isn’t just one person who began this idea.
For clarifcation, “my age” = 19
jeevmon and I just bought a Forester and neither one of us is a lesbian. I am not particulary ‘girly’, though that might not be said for the husband 
. . but the reason we got it was because we have two dogs that need to actually fit in the car with us. Of course, there is that stereotype that lesbians like dogs, right? Maybe that’s it.
I didn’t know it was a lesbian car, but hey, I could think of worse things. (Wouldn’t want to drive an NRA car or something.)
It’s pretty much common knowledge around here that VWs are seen as chick cars by lots of guys.
http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2001/January/01.html
Here is a Car guy column excerpt to that end. Referenceing where they did a survey
- Bolding by me*
So the perception is not a WAG the perception is there. The WAG part was suggesting that the perception might might be widespread and strong enough to cause an actual demographic shift toward gay among men who own and drive them. Which I feel is feasible enough to post in the GQ forum.
So what is a non-poser Subaru? The Impreza? The Legacy? The Baja? Or may I only be allowed to non-pose if I go back before 1993, when none of the current 5 base models existed yet?
I drove a non-posing '84 Brat in High School and now drive a 2003 Forester. This may be the new poseur in me talking, but the Forester is about a gabillion times better than that POS ever was. (I called it the 'wurst :)).
(FTR: Straight, married, wife is decidedly non-butch).
As for the OP, I live in San Francisco, and I can’t say I’ve ever noticed more gay people driving Jettas or lesbians in Outbacks. I do, however, remember that Subaru commercial, and it had a few other female athletes in it, not just Martina Navatilova. IIRC there were a couple of LPGA golfers and an Olympic skiier. Now that I think about it, I don’t know if the other athletes were gay or not, but I must shamefully admit I assumed they were at the time.
The heirarchy of real Subarus goes like.
4wd Wagon(I don’t know if it had a more official name)
Brat
GL and DL series
XT
SVX
WRX
Legacy
Impreza
Loyale
Outback
Forester
(and we just pretend the Justy never existed)
(and in case anybody can’t tell, this is all tounge-in-cheek :))
just another anecdotal mee too on the whole vw = chick cars, especially jettas - according to multiple friends and acquiantences from a couple of my peer groups. But its not universal, just among some of the more macho type guys, the types who are likely to call each other ‘faggot’. In any case, I think the Jettas a sweet car, my sis has one that blows away my civic, but I’d be more partial to a GTI if I got a VW. In any case, the whole chick car thing isn’t universal in my experience, I have a friend with a GTI (that he adored) who considers Jettas and passats, and even Golfs ( :rolleyes: ) to be ‘chick cars’ - it was always really fun to talk about his Golf (“it’s NOT a fuckin GOLF man, it’s a G. T. I.” ) when he was drunk - boy would he get pissed off.
just another anecdotal me too on the whole vw = chick cars, especially jettas - according to multiple friends and acquaintances from a couple of my peer groups. But its not universal, just among some of the more macho type guys, the types who are likely to call each other ‘faggot’. In any case, I think the Jetta is a sweet car - my sis has one that blows away my civic - but I’d be more partial to a GTI if I got a VW. In any case, the whole chick car thing doesn’t apply to ALL VW’s in my experience, I have a friend with a GTI (that he adored) who considers Jettas and passats, and even Golfs ( :rolleyes: ) to be ‘chick cars’ - it was always really fun to talk about his Golf (“it’s NOT a fuckin GOLF man, it’s a G. T. I.” ) when he was drunk - boy would he get pissed off.
/edit
Oh, Christ, I guess I’m hosed then.
Ahem
So, what ya doing Friday night, big guy? bats eyelashes
Juli Inkster (LPGA champion) and downhill skier Diann Roffe-Steinrotter are the passengers in question. After discussing the specs of the subaru that they’re in, (in stereotypically mangeek speak) Martina shrugs and says, “But what do we know? We’re just girls.”, or something similar.
Being that I live in the “Motor City,” it seems here (really) that Volkswagens of any type are “Canadian cars” (really, almost all of them I see bear Ontario plates), followed by “black [african-american] cars” – I have no explanation, other than Ontarians aren’t persuaded by the US’ auto industry, and black folks aren’t, either. And where I’m saying “black” I guess you should read “the culture of any race or color that is generally identified as being black,” the majority of which is black.