CATALOG :: Car-O-Scope

ARE YOU A BEETLE OR A BMW?: What Your Car Says About You
by Steve Sheppard

You Are What You Drive

$14.95

D E S C R I P T I O N:
For years people have said things like “you are what you eat” and “clothes make the man” and “you can’t tell a book by its cover.” These are all true in their own way but nothing comes close to revealing a person’s personality and value system as the car he/she drives. America is a car motivated society. After the family home, nothing consumes so much money and time as the family car or cars. They must be purchased, financed, insured cleaned, fueled, washed and waxed. After the supermarket and the bank, the local car wash is the most known spot in town. Stop someone in a medium sized town and ask him where the Baptist church is. He’ll hem and haw and give some vague answer like, “We don’t got one.” But ask him where the car wash is and Bingo, he’ll give you exact directions.

Buying a car is a huge undertaking. If it was just transportation, it would be a simple matter. Do you see people writing letters to city governments about the color of the buses or the trim in a subway? But when it comes to cars, every nerve ending in the human body wants a vote. Don’t you love the smell of a new car? The feel of the leather seats? The shininess of the paint? The sound or silence of the engine? You bet you do.

With all this sensory input at stake, the personality takes over. Why do some men prefer dark suits while others opt for slacks and a sports coat? Why do some women prefer red over white? Why do some people work out everyday, others a few days and others not at all. It’s all about priorities and the human priority is how we appear to other people. Don’t you remember how you used to primp and clean and carefully dress yourself when you first met someone new? Why? Obviously, to make an impression—at least to make the impression you think best represents yourself. And nothing says so much about you as your car. The choices are infinite—perhaps even more styles and variations than houses offer. Why do you pick what you pick? A bunch of people will, after reading the chapter on their car choice, say stuff like, “that’s the only car I could afford.” BS! Every price point in the car market has dozens of choices. Just go to a junkyard and if you have only a hundred bucks to spend, you’ll still have choices and will pick the heap that says, “this is me.”