Gender benders: Crossing stereotypical lines when it comes to vehicles / LJWorld.com

Lawrence and Douglas county

By Jared Duncan

June 29, 2009

Andrew Neubauer, Lawrence, owns a Honda Fit and says when he first bought the car it was fairly emasculating. But it only cost $12,000 and gets good gas mileage. So who gets the last laugh?

Photo by Richard Gwin

Recent Kansas University graduate Andrew Neubauer sits inside his Honda Fit. About 80 percent of Honda Fit owners are females, but Neubauer doesn’t mind. All that matters is the price, gas mileage and that it works. He takes pride in his “sissy” car.

Imagine yourself walking out of a store to a parking lot when a bright pink Volkswagen Beetle pulls in and catches your eye.

The engine stops, the door opens, and out steps a 6-foot-tall man with a shaved head and bushy black beard.

At the same time, a black Ford F-150 pickup parks right next to it. The driver cracks the door open just enough to let her high heels hit the pavement while she fixes her dress.

Even as forward-thinking and progressive as we believe we are, you have to admit that this scenario is unexpected, to say the least. Gender stereotypes are still well in place in terms of appearance, especially in transportation. “Guy” cars are strong and fast, while “girl” cars are small and sleek.

As hard as it may seem, Lawrence resident Amy Mowery thinks society should try to break free of gender stereotypes.

“Gender stereotypes can be very damaging and are ingrained at a very young age,” Mowery says. “Bringing gender stereotypes into cars overlooks the many different reasons people purchase a car.”

Brent Fredricks, business manager at Laird Noller Automotive, 935 W. 23rd St., agrees that gender stereotypes are becoming outdated. He says he sees no pattern of what vehicle women or men are flocking to.

“In 10 years in the business, I’ve learned that you can’t pigeonhole what people are going to buy,” Fredricks says. “You start doing that, you’re going down the wrong path.”

Even though Fredricks is confident that you can’t classify a vehicle based on gender, the rest of America is not quite as sure. The popular Saturday morning NPR program “Car Talk” recently held a poll of the ultimate “guy” and “chick” cars of all time. Thousands of listeners e-mailed the show, each with a solid opinion of what constitutes a masculine or feminine vehicle. The Volkswagen Beetle was voted the No. 1 “chick” car, and as for the “guy” cars, the Ford Mustang won the top spot, with one listener arguing that it has “a backseat guaranteed to be too small for your mother-in-law.”

Someone else who is still noticing specific differences between male and female car buyers is Terry Coffey, salesman at Jack Ellena Honda, 2112 W. 29th Terrace. Coffey says that he never tries to judge what a customer wants based on gender, and he usually shows both unsure men and women buyers the Honda Accord for its comfort and convenience. However, he does say that both genders are very concerned with appearance, especially color.

“Ladies will usually go for red or very bright colors,” Coffey says. “Men on the other hand will go for beige or silver, something that won’t show dirt.”

Even if consumers are more concerned with comfort and economy, they still may feel the sting of buying a car that doesn’t quite fit their image. Just ask 2009 Kansas University graduate Andrew Neubauer, who owns a Honda Fit.

There’s nothing especially feminine about the Honda Fit. It’s short, small and sleek. However, according to Road and Travel magazine, over 80 percent of Fit drivers are female. This fact, combined with the car’s appearance, bothered Neubauer when he bought the car.

“At first it was fairly emasculating,” he says. “It’s like someone took the ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ laser and pointed it at a mini-van.”

Even Neubauer’s roommates would give him a hard time about the vehicle. The more he drove it, though, the more confidence he found.

“It’s still a little embarrassing when you’re trying to take a girl out,” he says. “But, it cost 12 grand, its gets 30 to 32 miles to the gallon and it gets me from point A to point B.”

Neubauer says he hope his story can inspire other men to take pride in their vehicles, no matter what they drive.

“There was this one time I was in Overland Park and a guy in the exact same car pulled up next to me,” Neubauer says. “He looked over and gave me the solidarity fist, and I said, ‘Yes! We both are guys driving sissy cars!’”

Car Talk, the witty auto show on National Public Radio, did a survey of listeners at its Web site, www.cartalk.com, to find out “guy” and “chick” cars. Here were the results, with commentary:

CHICK CARS

1. VW Beetle

“The VW Beetle. A chick car, definitely. And made to be so. How? I know of no other automobile with a FLOWER VASE as standard equipment.”

2. VW Cabriolet

“All teenage girls classify them as cute. ‘Nuff said.”

3. Mazda Miata

“I discovered this phenomenon when I got a Miata. ‘Girlie car.’ That’s all I heard.”

4. VW Jetta

“Anything by Volkswagen is a chick car. VW realized this years ago and joined forces with another company to sell guy cars — they called that company Porsche.”

5. Dodge Neon

“Neons are Barbie cars: little and cute and rounded in the hips. Even in black, they are feminine and adorable, only just a bit tougher, like Tattoo Barbie.”

GUY CARS

1. Ford Mustang

“A backseat guaranteed to be too small for your mother-in-law.”

2. Chevy Corvette

“I believe the main aspect that determines the male/female state of a car is based on the engine-compartment-(hood)-to-cab-length ratio. A car such as a pickup or Corvette has a large hood-to-cab-length ratio.”

3. Chevy Camaro

“... with twice the horsepower needed. Used to show other guys how manly you really are.”

4. Ford F-150 Pickup

“Any car with numbers or letters for a name, or tacked on the end, can become a guy car. For example, F-150 or Civic-SI.”

5. Dodge Viper

“It might be a guy car if there was a movie or TV show built entirely around it. Other examples include Burt Reynolds’ Trans Am from ‘Smokey and the Bandit,’ Nash Bridges’ Hemi Cuda convertible and Jim Rockford’s Firebird.”

Discussion

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29 June 2009
at 7:25 a.m.

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Solomon (Anonymous) says…

I've owned both a Miata and an F-350 dually diesel, crew cab, extended bed pickup. What does that make me?
29 June 2009
at 7:53 a.m.

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vertigo (Jesse Crittenden) says…

A homophobic homosexual. You should kick your own ass.

(that was a joke btw)
29 June 2009
at 8:12 a.m.

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labmonkey (Anonymous) says…

I have to disagree about the Mustang. Most Mustang owners are white-trash fat blonde chicks.
29 June 2009
at 8:36 a.m.

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blue73harley (Anonymous) says…

Solomon - I see the Miata is listed in the top seven at Gay Wheels these days. Oh well, at least you don't have a Yaris. :-)

http://www.gaywheels.com/top_10_1st_q…
29 June 2009
at 8:39 a.m.

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Liberty_One (Anonymous) says…

labmonkey—hey now, my sister-in-law owned a mustang, and she is definitely not blonde.
29 June 2009
at 10:19 a.m.

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Pywacket (Anonymous) says…

I love Tom & Ray. They are such a crack-up—and do have a lot of smarts between them.

I have come up with my own car stereotypes, mostly having to do with the driver's age. If I'm coming up to a red light, I'll scan both lanes of traffic and get behind the cars I deem least likely to contain old drivers. You know—80s Chrysler Caprices, any pickup with a camper topper that is disproportionately tall (especially if there's a little door in the back), any beige Buick…

My shameless stereotyping usually pays off, as the lane with the blue-haired lady in the LaCrosse just sits there after the light turns. ;-)
30 June 2009
at 8:20 a.m.

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LA_Ex (Anonymous) says…

Pywacket, the GM/Chrysler merger never came to be, so for now it's still a Chevy Caprice. ;-)

Weird that the Miata and Neon (in SRT-4 form) are great autocross cars and still considered girls cars. Although I do know of quite a few female racers.

30 June 2009
at 8:45 a.m.

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RoeDapple (Anonymous) says…

Ultimate “guy” vehicle…………

http://www.f650pickups.com/indexb.html
30 June 2009
at 12:16 p.m.

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blue73harley (Anonymous) says…

RoeD - those huge exposed fuel tanks would make me a little nervous! They look cool and give it the “big rig” look but I'd rather go with a fuel cell between the rails.
30 June 2009
at 12:18 p.m.

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snap_pop_no_crackle (Anonymous) says…

IMHO, any ultimate guy vehicle will have treads, not tires.
30 June 2009
at 12:55 p.m.

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Jaminrawk (Anonymous) says…

VW Cabriolet - Hehe. I knew two people with this car. One was a woman, and the other was an “out” homosexual male. My daughters' Barbies also drive a car very similiar to it.
30 June 2009
at 12:58 p.m.

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Irish (Irish Swearingen) says…

I am 4'11” but I love the big vehicles, where you can sit way up off the road. It makes me feel safer. I have never learned how to drive, too old now, but I would own a red Hummer if I ever could buy a car. With forest green interior, yellow stripe down the sides, a hula girl on the dash, rosary hanging from the mirror and one of those knob things on the steering wheel. Fuzzy dice, definitely fuzzy dice.
For real!
30 June 2009
at 2:22 p.m.

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consumer1 (Anonymous) says…

I have a cruiser mc
a monte carlo supersport
and an F-150 pu
and a chocolate lab
a rifle and a handgun
bring on the stereotypes.
1 July 2009
at 4:06 p.m.

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GoliCali (Anonymous) says…

I would love to see more articles from Jared Duncan. This was interesting, creative and had a nice twist of satire interwoven. Refreshing piece of journalism in The Journal. By way of comment, I think the NPR poll really tapped into what is fantasy more than reality or certainly what is happening with the college set. Most, actually all, of us eventually grow up. Many have families and children. The guy and chick cars get traded for the family cars. Sigh!
1 July 2009
at 4:25 p.m.

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beatrice (Anonymous) says…

Why was blue cruising the “gay wheels” site? Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Cars are gender neutral. I personally drive a Saab Uterus. I don't see how it could say anything about me at all.

1 July 2009
at 4:40 p.m.

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Chuckee (Anonymous) says…

Huge! Tell Niebauer there is nothing “sissy” in this economy about owning an auto that costs 12 grand and gets 30 mph. I bet it won't be long before he has a good job and a savings account.
1 July 2009
at 5:03 p.m.

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sallykern (Anonymous) says…

Wow! Some of y'all get kinda homophobic over automobiles in Kansas. I'd like y'all to come on down to Oklahoma to my press conference tomorrow and cheer on our proclamation declaring homosexuals among the root of all evils. Here is a portion: “whereas, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and” http://repsallykern.com/html/news_det…
1 July 2009
at 5:33 p.m.

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tangential_reasoners_anonymous (Anonymous) says…

“You know what kind of car I drive? … A 'white' car.”