Two car-related thoughts - Buffalo and the Aztek, and chick cars

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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'm trying to save space here; thus, the two-in-one posting)

Thought number one – Buffalonians, why do you like the Pontiac Aztek so much?

In SUV-crazy Denver, I’ve only seen one Aztek on the road, but in Buffalo, where SUVs are uncommon despite the snowfall, the roads were filled with 'em.

There’s no Pontiac offices in Buffalo, so executives forced to drive the vehicles aren’t a factor. The only thing I can think of is that there’s a large “car subculture” there who are attracted to Camaros and Firebirds, and that the Aztek everyone else thinks of as the most gawd-awful thing on the road actually appeals to that crowd. Considering a rotten economy, and Super Bowl and Stanley Cup losses, the sight of the Thruway or the Youngmann bumper-to-bumper with Azteks (okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but still …) is another blow to the city’s image.

Thought number two – is the Volkswagen Passat a “chick car?”

Time’s running out on my Contour (for those across the pond, “my Mondeo”). 96,000 miles, and still running nicely, but the time is coming to look at a new vehicle.

I do like the Volkswagen Passat, but I hear time and time again that “all Volkswagens are chick cars.” Sure, the Cabriolet is, and some claim the Golf Jetta too, but the mighty Passat?

I also like the Subaru Outback, but in the Denver area it seems that the vast majority of Outback and Forester drivers are women. Are Outbacks now chick cars too?

Is there such a thing as a manly vehicle that’s not a huge SUV, sports car or pickup truck?

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My goodness. I had to look up the Aztek, as I didn’t know it. What a hideous car!

The Passat certainly isn’t a “chick car” over here in Europe. It’s mostly driven by sales reps (the TDI diesel versions), fathers with large families (the stationwagons). The sales rep Passat driver is one of the most anti-social drivers on the roads here. A chick car it ain’t, but I think it’s one of the most unimaginative, boring cars out there in that class. It IS reliable and comfortable, though.

Had to look up the Subaruy Outback as well… it looks like the same car we call the Subaru Legacy. They’re pretty rare here, so I couldn’t give you a good demographic. The popular Subaru here is the Impreza GT Turbo, but I’m told that one’s unavailable to the US. That’s definately not a chick car, BTW. 0-60 in 5.8 seconds!

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[hijack]

The US has the Subaru Legacy as well. The Outback just a somewhat beefier, four wheel drive version of the car.

[/hijack]

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That’s interesting… all Legacies are 4WD here! Funny.

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AFAIK, the only VW that’s considered a “chick car” is the Cabriolet and sometimes the New Beetle. I’ve been partial to VW’s since my first real Beetle. If I were to buy a new car, it would likely be a Jetta GLX with the go-fast VR6 engine!

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Elmwood, I live in Colorado Springs, and would agree with your that a majority of the people who drive Subaru’s here, which are all All-Wheel Drive in the US, are women. My friend’s mother has an Outback wagon, which isn’t a bad car. The sedan looks a little manlier, but it still has lots of female drivers, at least in town.

My choice of vehicle fits in all your catagories. I drive a Jeep Wrangler, which is quite possibly the smallest SUV available, without compromising performance. I’ll admit that my speedometer has never gone past 95 MPH and probably never will, but where can you go faster than 95 legally in Colorado? And how many sports cars can get to half of the places this great state has to offer? With no modifications made to it, I can go almost anywhere I want. If you have the money to make mods, they are cheep and easy to find. Even if you choose the 4 cyl engine, you’ll have enough power to do almost anything off road, with just a little dip in on road performance. Anyway, enough of my free commercial for one of my three dream vehicles, and the only one I can afford right now (Other 2 are a Porche 911 Turbo 4S, and a Harley Fatboy).

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The Aztec really isn’t that bad, once you get used to seeing it. Someone at my college has one, and they actually look pretty good up close. There are definitely uglier vehicles out there.

At least it looks different from all the other cars.

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Ummm… Coldfire are you saying women are too pussy for a fast car?

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Not at all, Carina. I’m merely saying that it doesn’t really conform to the stereotype “Chick Car” - say, a VW Golf Convertible or something.

I mean, here’s an Impreza GT Turbo. Not a chick car by far. Yeah, I know stereotypes are stupid. But you know what I mean.

Jeep’s Phoenix: just to do you a favour, I looked the Aztek up again. There’s no way in hell that I’ll ever think of that as a goodlooking car, sorry. :wink:
But hey, to each his own, of course.

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Phew, I thought I was gonna have to challenge you to a drag race, Coldfire !

FWIW I wouldn’t be seen dead in a Volkswagen, and I think the Aztec is awesomely ugly, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. I’ve only seen two here in Denver.

I don’t get the masculine/feminine car thing, myself. Elmwood I know that several years ago, Subaru found that a high proportion of their buyer demographic were lesbians, so they have pursued that market rather aggressively. (I learned that in a marketing class at Metro, which happened to be taught by a lesbian professor.) Perhaps that’s one reason. Personally I like Subarus, I have owned one, and I don’t think they are unmanly at all.

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Alright, well, add another vote for the amazingly hideous Aztec. We have our share here in L.A.

As for VW’s being chick cars? I tend to think only the Cabrio is. But the Passat? Definitely not. Especially the current model. Maybe I could undrstand the previous model, but this one is a lot bigger and just has that manly look.

As far as the Jettas and Golf/GTIs, I don’t perceive them as chick cars either. Infact, while on the road here in L.A., I look for these things, particularly when I see any Golfs/GTIs, and I see just as many men driving them, as I do women.

So, maybe the whole chick car thing being applied to all VWs is regional.

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I live in a neighborhood with a very large lesbian population (West Highlands/Berkeley, in Denver), there are Subarus everywhere. Then again, Subarus supposely have always been very popular in Colorado, and I’m told in Alaska too.

If it means anything, it seemed that a disproportionately large number of people driving boxy old Toyota Tercel wagons are butch women. I’m also told that Honda Accords are very popular among gay men, and for some reason Asian Indians. I can understand butch lesbian women driving “rugged” vehicles like Subarus and trucks, but what’s the deal with gay men and Accords?

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You had to post a picture of one from the year (was it '97?) that they came with those horrible gold rims. Yeah, there is no turbo version of the Impreza available here. No WRX either. The base model is a pretty nice car, though. That’s what my roomate has. He’s a huge Impreza fan. They just redesigned it a bit for '01, and I think it lost something, though.

As for the Aztek, I’ve seen it up close. It’s even uglier than the pictures make it look. Haven’t seen any privately owned ones, which I consider a good thing. And I’m at the other side of Upstate NY from Buffalo.

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Well, I agree that the Aztek is frigging hideous. They are pretty rare here in the Chicago area, I’ve maybe only seen 2-3 on the roads and I’m all over the entire metro area.

The Passat is a family car just like the Taurus, Accord, Camry and so on. Its not a chick car per se, but it isn;t a guy car either. Its just a fairly nice mode of transportation. Not for those passionate about cars, but still a good choice if it fits your preferences.

In Chicago, I agree that the Jetta is a chick car, but I know this is regional. I like the Jetta, it looks very good and is a pretty good buy IMHO. That said, its the stereotypical “young club chick with a trust fund, trying to pretend to be able to afford their lifestyle” car. Its the whole, nice german car, but not as expensive as a Benz or BMW thing that they buy. Its a broad generalization, but its frequently played out, and its widespread.

The Outback isn’t a chick car per se either, but its a station wagon. Its a cool rugged wagon, but still a wagon despite what their PR tries to tell you. Station wagons are the territory of the soccer mom, grocery getter from way back. These stereotypes are falling with the beefing up of wagons, and stay at home dads, but I’d say that the majority of Outbacks are going to be women who want to be a little testosteroney, and not men. The simple fact that women like the lower vehicles to make it easier to enter, mean they’ll tend towards the mini-SUVs and wagons.

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Here… in the bay area, Jetta’s are guy cars and Beamers are chick cars, and Mercedes are elderly chinese cars, as well as balding middle aged men cars.

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FWIW: The US will be getting the Subaru Impreza WRX (with 250hp) when the all-new Impreza comes out in a year or two.:smiley: Also, at the Detroit Auto Show this month GM confirmed it will re-do the styling of the Aztek.

I would have to agree that the Passat is neither a chick or a guy car, it’s a family car. The Jetta and Cabrio qualify Volkswagens “chick” cars. The Passat is rather sedate in its styling but still very individual when you compare it to its competition. If you like the Passat you should check out the Audi A4. Under the skin they are the exact same cars, but you pay a small premium in price with the Audi for better materials and better fit/finish. Also the Audi interiors are absolutely gorgeous, best in the biz(IMHO).

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FWIW, Pontiac had set sales targets of 75,000 for the Aztek. In its first 5 months, it only sold 11,201. So, Pontiac is heavily considering a redesign. That’s something they usually don’t do for about the first 3 years or so.

Personally, I can’t stand the way the Aztek looks. I hear that it’s one of those “love it or hate it” type cars.

I really like the Passat. It’s a great car and (other than the seat-back reclining knobs) I like the interior better than the A4. Give me an S4 however, that changes the story all together.

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elmwood, Jettas are chick cars (I just read a survey where they ranked chick cars, and the Jetta and Cabrio were up on top, along with the Neon and Bettle). The Passat, though, is pretty cool.

nowalls99, are you pretty young? The only guys I see in Colorado driving Wranglers are white guys with baseball caps who are trying to desperately hold onto their waning, frat-boy youth.

My GF drives a Subaru Forester…maybe there’s something she’s not telling me…:slight_smile:

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Now I’m gonna have that jingle running through my head all day.

“Testosss-teroni, the San Francisco treat”

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I had to jump in on any discussion that involves Subaru’s and Colorado. :slight_smile: Is the WRX really going to be 250hp? I had heard 227, but that it was still not entitely settled, and the extra boost would kick ass.
Second, the Subaru Market really has three distinct segements from what I can tell. There is the Outback, and Forester models that does seems to cater to Women, and wanna-be backroad runners. Then there is the basic Sedan and coupe of the Impreza and Legacy which are mostly driven by guys as a daily driver in high ice and snow areas. Then there is the station Wagon. The wierd thing is I have never seen a ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ type driving a Subaru station Wagon. They are almost all snagged by serious hikers, and mountain bikers, and skiiers to carry there shit to the mountains for serious trips.