This morning on the way to work I saw a person driving a Hummer and I 
thought to myself "Geez, what an ASSHOLE"! Now, this person wasnt doing 
anything to make me think that other than driving a big ugly car. They 
certainly werent driving poorly. In fact, later on I noticed them stop 
to let someone out of a gas station driveway so the actual evidence is 
that they werent some jerk. Still, there is something that just 
screams "I am a selfish pretentious jerk" about a Hummer. 

This got me thinking about how image and what we project to the world 
is related to the kind of car we drive. It seems so silly and yet I am 
obviously guilty of it as my thoughts this morning about the Hummer 
driver indicate. I know that I have other thoughts abotu drivers of 
other cars. For instance, whenever I see someone driving an Aztec, I 
think to myself "Now there is a person who doesnt mind driving an ugly 
car" ;) 

I am not the only one though. There was a certain ad run by the right 
wing Club for Growth that strongly implied that people who drive Volvos 
are politically liberal. People often associate pickup trucks with the 
south. SUVs have a kind of rugged American image while mini-vans just 
scream "soccer mom". 

I drive an old beat up VW Jetta. I guess I always think of VW drivers 
as being kind of like me. Which, when you think about it, is kind of 
stupid. I mean, folks buy cars for all kinds of reasons besides image. 
It is after all a way to get from point A to point B.

So? What images do you usually associate with different makes and 
models of cars?

46 responses total.

I thought that Club for Growth ad was pretty funny.  I'm tempted to get
a bumper sticker that says "Volvo-Driving Liberal Freak", except I'm not
sure anyone would get it. ;)


When I see a Geo Metro or Ford Aspire, I tend to think, "there's a poor
bastard who can't afford a real car."

I never heard of any of these.  This year we have had to drive since I am sick
so Jim has insured his 1987 Dodge Colt.  What image does that project?
He used to drive a green bike with a purple fork.  I have a white Raleigh with
a bit of purple and turquoise trim as well as a very rusty Gitane.  
Does the age of the car say more than the name of it?

What my car says about me is "this is the car I bought" (or rented,
or leased, or borrowed). No more and no less. 

resp:2 - Gosh, I guess a 1987 Dodge Colt would say to me "this person 
doesnt really care about what kind of car they drive so long as it 
runs" ;)

resp:3 - That isnt what it says to me, rcurl. Nya Nya :)

Re #4 re #2: it may "say" that to you, but that might not be true. There
are many reasons why a person may be driving a 1987 <whatever>, and they
may in fact *care very much about what kind of car they drive* - and have
chosen that car because they do care. But, of course, you are just playing
the game.  8^}

Of course, a lot of people do buy a car because they like the image it
projects.

In one extreme example I just read about, a guy who owned a '91 Volvo
240 along with a couple other cars chose to park the 240 at a nearby Wal
Mart, because he didn't like the way it looked in his driveway.

The 1987 Dodge was not bought by Jim, it was given to him by a friend, as was
the 1986 car (Toyota?) that is waiting to replace it when the exhaust system
can no longer be patched.  Jim fixed plumbing and chimneys for both donors.
But he is somewhat selective about what he lets people give him.  

First I heard of walmart parking lots cancelling out the "carma" of
Volvos.  But I suppose it makes sense.

There are certainly people for whom image influences their car choices. 
I know that rcurl isnt such a person and yet, I think you can still 
tell a lot about a person based on what kind of car they choose to 
drive. It isnt always right of course but I bet it is a lot of the 
time. 

Anyhow, it is just interesting. The whole marketing of cars thing. 

(In fact, the image of the car to me does influence my car choice, but not
its image to others.) 

Fair enough. 

SUVs scream "soccer mom" to me.  So do minivans.

To me, SUV's scream "free lodging", particularly when you consider the
often high cost of staying in hotels and ryokan in certain areas of Japan.
It's true I don't need my Toyota "Surf" (called 4-runner in the US) to
go off-roading, but it has proven quite handy for hauling our bikes and
doubling as a mobile hotel when we road trip.

Heh.  We even put a (cheap) form of tatami in the back.  Very comfortable.

We carry our camping gear on our bikes when we road trip.  It leads to some
unexpected invitations for free campsites in yards, often including breakfast.
Anyone ever offer SUVs free parking overnight so they can sleep there?

On our last two bike trips totalling 3 weeks, we had planned out most of it
to stay with friends, but also stayed with a carpenter when we got stuck in
a heavy storm and waited it out at a lumberyard, stayed with the owner of a
museum in Dundee when it got dark and we asked about a park, stayed with a
total stranger who yelled at us from his porch to ask if he had a place to
camp, with a neighbor of his;  next trip we camped in two orchards and with
the mother of someone training two young steers to pull something down the
middle of the road.  The SUV would most likely have scared them away.

You can also put bikes on trains, probably a lot cheaper than you can put cars
on trains.

Re #13:  I have to admit that I'd never thought of them that way.

The "cheap lodging" thing is one reason why my next car will probably 
be a station wagon. I figure I can put the seat down and put a futon in 
the back and then save myself a bunch of money on hotel rooms if I 
drive to California or something. 

Station wagons and vans are both even better than SUVs for that.  Most
SUVs I've seen were surprisingly small inside.

I used to have a little Nissan pickup with a cap, and I'd camp in the back
of it on occasion.  It even had screens on the cap windows.

I car-camped in my station wagons for many years. I built a platform in
the back with panels that lifted up to access storage underneath. I used
just a foam pad and sleeping bag. Also had curtains on the windows.....

I like the idea of a panel that would allow storage underneath. Hmmm. 
Well, when I eventually get a station wagon, I will have to look into 
that. 

In case it helps - I welded up a 1/2" angle-iron framework that fitted
the full back and used 1/2" plywood panels that could be lifted out.
You just don't want to sit up suddenly from sleep. 

Hmmm. Well I wont be welding up any framework ;) 

You could probably make something similar out of wood, if the extra
weight isn't a problem.

My wagon already has a lockable storage compartment under the load
floor, but I doubt anyone makes them like that anymore.

If you won't have any passengers, you can gain more storage space by
taking out the passenger seat and leaving it at home.  This is an old VW
dune buggy trick.  On most cars with bucket seats, taking one out only
requires removing a few bolts.  (On VWs it was even easier -- they just
slid off the tracks.)

We slept in a Jeep once.  How do you ventilate and keep out mosquitoes.

You *could* cover the windows with mosquito netting, although I didn't.
This was a while ago, mostly out west, where there were few mosquitos
and repellent took care of them. 

I have seen screens that can be put in car windows. Or rather I have 
seen grates that are designed to allow a person to leave a dog in the 
car with the windows down. It would be pretty easy to put some 
screening on those things. 

You could glue that magnetic strip stuff you can buy at craft stores to
some screening cut to the right shape.

It seems easier to tent.  Jim once made a car tent to fit over the back of
a hatchback car.

It depends on where you plan on sleeping.  If you'll be staying at
campgrounds, a tent is fine.  If you're going to be sleeping in truck
stops and highway rest areas, you can't pitch a tent and you need the
extra security of a hard-sided vehicle.

I can't sleep in a truck stop or highway rest area, they are much too noisy.
How secure is a hard-sided vehicle with the windows open for ventilation?

Depends on how far they're open, naturally.

You need very little ventilation at night. If it's freezing out, the
windows might ice up a little from your breath, but no harm in that.  (I
crossed the country once in February in my wagon-bed. I stayed mostly in
State parks (not many people were camping in February!). The cat got used
to it and would go out the window to do what cats do and then would return
and climb into my sleeping bag with me.) 

Try sleeping in a closed car in August and you might think you need more
ventilation.  Even a screened tent gets pretty hot and moist inside.  A
screened tent in a snowstorm was more comfortable once the wind picked up and
dried things out a bit.  People exhale moisture.  It condenses on cold
surfaces  and then drips on the sleeping bag and if it is down, the bag no
longer insulates.

Yeah. I just want something so that I can sleep in rest areas. When I 
go on road trips, I like to drive until I am tired, pull over to sleep 
for a while and then get up and start driving again. Sleeping in rest 
areas is cheap and also would save me the hassle of trying to find a 
hotel that allows dogs. 

Re #33:that's why leaving a couple of windows open a crack is useful. But
even August nights are usually cool. Condensation is not a problem in a
car, if the roof liner doesn't have places from which moisture can drip.
(However there was one night in Death Valley when it was too hot to sleep
in the car, so I slept outside. This turned out to be interesting as the
desert floor was crawling with insects, although none of the biting
variety.)

Most states don't want you to sleep in rest areas -- probably for
various reasons like pressure from the motel industry, concern about
drug dealers, the homeless, and other "undesirables", etc.  Basically,
this means you can't stay the night, and you can't set up a tent or
otherwise make yourself at home.  I don't know of any state that forbids
getting a "nap" - the simplest solution I've found is to park away from
the busy part, put the front seat all the way down, and use a blanket,
pillow, etc., to make myself a bit more comfortable.  It should in
theory be possible to sleep 1 hour and drive 2 hours indefinitely,
albeit not much fun.

People on motorcycles have a few more options, mostly due to the
motorcycle being smaller and easier to hide, but also because of the
clothing and such.  For instance, anything that's good at 70 mph is
generally also going to keep you warm while you sleep under the far back
picnic table, and most bugs can't bite through it either.  The
motorcycle itself can be rolled off the pavement and out of sight.

The opposite extreme seems to be motorhomes.  There's a whole culture of
people who've retired, sold their house, bought a motorhome, and live in
it year around, up north in the summer, down south in the winter.

Bicycles are even easier to hide and they get a lot more sympathy, except if
you are too close to a big city.  If you are in a car, people will tell you
to go to the nearest state park, only 30 minutes away by car but three hours
by bike.  There are less bugs on a picnic table than under it usually.  One
time we tied our tent to the legs of picnic tables when it was pouring rain
and we were under a picnic shelter with a cement floor that would not easily
take even steel stakes.  Unfortunately the local men's club that built the
place extended the floor out beyond the roof.  And did not slope it outwards.
Now we have acquired something that does not need staking.

Re resp:36: This varies a lot from state to state.  I'm not sure where
you can find out whether it's legal if it's not posted.  It's not always
safe, either -- the scum of the earth travels the Interstates.  A
station wagon, at least, has the benefit of not looking blatently like a
camping vehicle.

The local law enforcement people are almost certain to be up on the
state rules, and are more likely to be friendly if you ask up front.
Ohio and Pennsylvania have lots of rules which they post very visibly -
but of course that varies by state as well.  The local tourism people
are another possible resource - although they're likely to be friendly,
they may not be as up on local rules, and they may be unduly influenced
by local motel interests.  They'll probably know about state parks and
such however.

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss