# Stereotypes attributed to car brands **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 4, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729 "2007-06-04T18:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![everywill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@everywill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everywill)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/1 "2007-06-04T18:06:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/2 "2007-06-04T18:47:21Z")
Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I’m male. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/3 "2007-06-04T18:57:37Z")
[QUOTE=August West] Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I’m male. [/QUOTE] You too? My wife is, also, just deeply closeted. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/4 "2007-06-04T18:58:45Z")
Volvo = Middle aged, liberal, NPR listener. Easily distracted driver. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/5 "2007-06-04T18:59:09Z")
[QUOTE=August West] Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I’m male. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/6 "2007-06-04T18:59:49Z")
[QUOTE=August West] Well let me start you off. I drive a Subaru, therefore I am a lesbian. Even though I’m male. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/7 "2007-06-04T19:01:19Z")
Cadillac, Lincoln, (rest your soul) Oldsmobile = Old drivers who really shouldn’t be in charge of cars that large. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/8 "2007-06-04T19:21:59Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![d1a1s1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@d1a1s1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d1a1s1)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/9 "2007-06-04T19:31:20Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/10 "2007-06-04T19:40:45Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/11 "2007-06-04T19:41:35Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Hummer - like a BMW driver x 10 with more mass [/QUOTE] Are you referring to the vehicle or the owner? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/12 "2007-06-04T19:42:50Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] 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. [/QUOTE] Not anymore. Now anyone can afford these over rated cars; even underpaid, non-career minded people who like everyone. ---
**Author:** ![desdinova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@desdinova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desdinova)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/13 "2007-06-04T19:57:56Z")
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). [QUOTE=Shagnasty] Yugo - Eastern bloc engineering at its finest. No working examples now exist nor have they since 6 months after it was introduced. [/QUOTE] “It gets 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene!” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/14 "2007-06-04T19:58:00Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/15 "2007-06-04T19:59:43Z")
[QUOTE=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). “It gets 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene!” [/QUOTE] Holy shit. 2 out of the 3 car brands I mention, and a Simpson’s reference to boot! ---
**Author:** ![rocksolid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@rocksolid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocksolid)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/16 "2007-06-04T20:11:28Z")
[QUOTE=LionelHutz405] Crap, me too then. How am I going to break it to my girlfriend? [/QUOTE] Just tell her straight, chances are she’ll be pleased her sex life is about to improve 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/17 "2007-06-04T20:26:49Z")
(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? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/18 "2007-06-04T20:30:33Z")
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 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rocksolid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@rocksolid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocksolid)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/19 "2007-06-04T20:38:25Z")
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 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729/20 "2007-06-04T20:51:35Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stereotypes-attributed-to-car-brands/406729.md?page=2)