You Are What You Drive

Troutster52

The premise that “you are what you drive” is a concept that has been debated fiercely since the advent of the automobile. I contend, with limited caveats, that this is a factual truth. Now before you write off my article as a one-sided plea to evaluate people based on their automotive budget, I want you to make an effort to remove the monetary aspect of this paradigm for just a moment. Obviously, as we look at all cars on the road, (and in yards, fields, museums, etc. for that matter) it is hard to remove entirely the financial part of the equation. However, assuming all of us had equal financial footing, if we had the exact same automotive budget, not everyone would choose the same vehicle. It is in our choices that we define ourselves.

Continue reading after the jump!

Just as with any material possession, people desire to find a vehicle that fits their personality and one they can identify with. Few would contest that people at the same financial level express themselves by the type of clothes they choose to wear, the breed of dog they choose to own or the color they choose to paint their home. However, when presented with the concept of expressing yourself with an automobile, the knee-jerk reaction from most is to disregard this idea as bunk. This is due to the excessive flexing of financial muscle that is so often tied to high dollar vehicles. A car purchased simply because it is expensive would trump my argument. However, that is not typically the case. Even millionaires don’t all have the same car. Each vehicle, practical or impractical, expresses something different. Audis, Land Rovers and Lamborghinis are all different, despite their higher price points. Let me expound on this premise, attempting to remove the financial aspect.

If everyone was given a budget of $40,000 towards a vehicle, given a large enough group, there would be an unlimited variety of different vehicles chosen. It would be an infinitely diverse group of vehicles, including everything from an F150, to a Prius, to a VW Van, to a Willys Jeep, to a Corvette, to a Supra, to an Eldorado to a Mini Cooper, to a Subaru Legacy, and so on.

With or without the budget, everyone chooses to get a vehicle that they are comfortable driving that fits their personality. Even assuming everyone in the entire group chose an F-series truck, they would range in vintage from 1948 to current, in 4×4 and 2WD trims, all cab configurations, transmission types, engine types, bed styles, colors, trim levels, and the list is unending. Even someone that has limited options because of a utilitarian aspect like the need to transport a family could choose anything from a ten passenger van, to a Honda Odyssey, Chevy Suburban, Ford Flex and so on. It is in their personal identity and personality that each chooses accordingly.

For example, I am most comfortable driving a pickup truck on a daily basis. Although I don’t have anything against luxury brands like Audi, BMW, Lexus, etc, I doubt I would ever own or drive one simply because I don’t think it is a good fit for my personality and identity. Also, although I appreciate Corvettes, NSXs, Cobras Roadsters, Solstices, and other two-seater sports cars, I think a 2+2 or a muscle car is more my style in the performance end of vehicles. I simply don’t think that I am cool enough to have a car with essentially no utilitarian aspect at all. Give it a little more girth, and an attempt at a back seat, and I feel like it belongs in my life like a flannel shirt on a lumberjack. Automotive enthusiasts are not alone in this very selective automotive opinion-forming.

I spent some considerable time working in the rental car business and I contend the most popular lie that people tell themselves and others is “I don’t care what I drive as long as it gets me A to B.” If that were the case, then there would be no question that everyone who has ever said that would drive shapeless inexpensive fuel mileage vehicles and the only thing that would vary is how many people or how many things it could carry. In Rental Car Land it is very common that even customers that use that exact quote wouldn’t be content driving, even for a short time, any of a number of deviations from their preferences: Chevy instead of a Toyota, or a four door instead of two, blue car instead of red, and the complaints go on. Remember this is from someone that said all they need is A to B! Even weighing heavily on unexciting features like safety, reliability, price and fuel mileage still presents a choice. There might be seven models that fit the bill in those categories but you still have to pick one model, pick a color, a transmission and a trim level, among other things.

Those of us that belong to CarDomain have a unique appreciation for the automobile differently than a typical civilian. However, CarDomain member or not, there is no question that there is a correlation between personal identity and the vehicle one chooses to drive. I contend that the diversity of vehicle types, configurations, colors and styles are essential to personal expression and the enjoyment of the automobile. Despite automotive love or “indifference,” everyone chooses to express themselves in some way by the car they drive. For those of us that choose to modify cars, or those of us that have bottomless pockets, the possibilities are even more endless. No matter if the chosen vehicle is a Chevy Beretta, a Chrysler Imperial or a Ferrari Testa Rossa, one expresses personality and individuality in that choice. We can learn as much about a person by this selection as by any other means of personal expression.

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Posted at 2:22 am in Chris Trout

Comments

86fiero_gt
Aug 16, 2009 at 7:58 pm

what dose this say about me, i sold a 1986 fiero and bought a 1996 monte carlo, i sold a monte carlo and bought a 1992 mazda 323

74Furyous
Aug 15, 2009 at 8:23 pm

Make mine a Ducati 1098 R Troy Bayliss please.

retroman
Aug 15, 2009 at 6:17 pm

I’ve own 5 vehicles, 2 Dodge Spirits(one R/T, one base model), ’66 Mustang ‘vert, ’00 Buick Century, and a Ford Festiva. I don’t think I see a common thread with my buying habits, except I love muscle cars and sleeper type cars, but I would get a Ford GT or other super car given the cash. Also the insurance is cheaper with a big ol’ grandma sedan like a Buick.

Devildog214
Aug 14, 2009 at 7:47 pm

I drive an 87 monte carlo ss, i think it represents me pretty well, its not outlandish, the backseat and trunk can actually be used. Also i think the mods heavily identify you, the car isnt stripped out to race, there are no flashing lights or loud sound system, the rims are stock, its just all about the performance with me.

___nes___
Aug 13, 2009 at 10:32 pm

Damn troutster52 you understand what oldscoob says?

FordRulesAll
Aug 13, 2009 at 8:02 pm

haha!! good one GTwildfire! Anyway Chris it is very true you are what you drive. I drive a Ford Taurus(it was bought used so I didn’t have an exact choice in accessories). I think it mainly shows in my mods, I like the dark clean look(like the oh that’s stock but BAM!!! as you take a closer look it’s very different from any vehicle)okay I guess I can just sum it up to the style of Sleeper car.
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Anyway, I like big cars, if I ever own a 2 door it would be a Mustang. My favorite car is the Ford Crown Victoria. I hate the blingy look. And like it fast. So it shows my personality, Sleeper Car mods=quiet content person, but get to know me I am very different. Big Car=I’m tall and I like being comfortable. Crown Vic is my favorite car=I’m different.
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I hope I made sense!

Biggunna
Aug 13, 2009 at 12:32 pm

I’m on my third Mustang convertible but I had a Denali for a while guess that means I’m pretty consistant? I think the utilitarian aspect is spot on but I don’t know if I am what I drive as much as just a facet of my commuting personality. I’m single and live kind of fast and loose so having a sporty 2 door is easier on the eyes and wallet than an SUV. Yet if were a father of two I would be in a four door sedan that had an impecible safety record…all modified of course.

FuryPaul
Aug 13, 2009 at 11:31 am

Nice piece, Rob. I kind of wonder what someone would come up with about me, looking at my current rides…the only common feature they all share is “Mopar.”
Two Dodges, two Plymouths. Two two-doors, two four-doors. Two 4-cylinders, two V8s. Three automatics, one stick. One hatchback, one convertible, one sedan, one hardtop. One bought new, three used. Two really old (41 and 42 years old!), one pretty old (18 years old), one, well, getting older (nine years old).
The rattiest one in the bunch is arguably the Daytona–the right rear side marker fell off due to rust about a month ago–but 34 mpg makes up for a multitude of sins. And maybe makes up–just a little bit–for my toys being a lot thirstier.
Give me $40k and tell me to buy a car, though, and it’s gonna be either a new Challenger or a ’67 Coronet R/T ragtop in turn-key shape.

GTwildfire
Aug 13, 2009 at 9:24 am

well that means I’m all over the place I guess. If you eliminated all the non-common traits about the 31 vehicles I’ve owned, what’s left is that I’m American and Used…

fortyfordsedan
Aug 13, 2009 at 9:17 am

I think its pretty true. What car you own and what is stock and what is not says something about you and where you are in life. I wouldnt say that its a scientific personality test, but you dont make that claim, just that it can lend some insight to the owner. I would say that some cars on the extreme ends can lend more insight than cars more toward the middle but I suppose that is true with many things.

PureBusiness
Aug 13, 2009 at 7:46 am

This is one of the best articles i’ve read here on the CD.
off-to-work,,so i can fix up my little truck that suits my needs and my personality to a “T”

troutster52
Aug 13, 2009 at 4:13 am

I feel that it is reasonable to think that I can defend myself. Based on your post, oldscoob, it seems as though you took my post way out of context. If you have an older car that you choose to keep running, that says something about your commitment to quality engineering and your appreciation for function over form. That speaks volumes of your character. I understand that husbands drive wives cars and sisters share cars and friends drive roommates’ cars, etc. However, there is a unique story behind everyone and their car and that is what I am trying to say. I had an Olds Achieva for some time that was clearly a beater (pervasive hail damage and several sizeable dents) but I am not ashamed to say I kept it running until it was financially impossible to do so. The article never said that prestine body work or prestine finish were desireable, you read that between the lines and if I portrayed it, it was purely accidental.

oldscoob
Aug 13, 2009 at 3:31 am

this is bordering a prejudice hick politician…In fact, this is terrible. A husband may drive the wifes car of choice, its not his…what have you got to say if you keep seeing him drive it? do you search for these patterns to claim “hey, he is what he drives.” Ridiculous. My own pursuit is just facts, it is not what I want, you got something to say about that? This blog makes me done with cardomain. I am what I am, hopefully on behalf of others who can see through the anti-car glorified here..by the bloggers claiming knowledge. Hey..the body work on my old sube is less than stellar..analyze what I am by it..the welded arches would break your head.