What does your car say about you? Car companies would have us believe that their cars enhance our image, portray us as confident and self-assured personalities and make us attractive to others. The image question sometimes becomes more important than the car itself.
According to a finance company, called Zuto, a BMW 3 Series gives the best impression of an owner who has good taste without being necessarily wealthy. The company surveyed 1,847 people in Britain about which cars make a positive initial impression for the owner, with a massive 94 percent saying first encounters with 3 Series drivers left a good lasting impression. At the other end of the spectrum was the Vauxhall Astra, with 43 percent saying the family hatchback left a poor impression of the driver.
Other factors that affect positive first impressions are tidy interior, fresh smell of the car and good driving skills.
Another research by Cambridge University puts Nissan drivers in a very positive light. Using the latest personality profiling techniques, the university discovered that Nissan owners are the most friendly drivers and much more likely to think of others before themselves, and be far more interested in economic welfare and social justice.
These image questions’ results are confined to the UK. They do not apply to the GCC region where a 3 Series is not necessarily the best for making good impressions. There is no scientific research to indicate which cars make the best impressions in the region. But one can guess that the size of the car and its value enhances the status of its owner. There are other factors too: Personalized number plates; the color of the car; the accessories used and possibly the technologies in the car.
The image question is hard to define in a region where Bentleys and Lamborghinis are sometimes left by the side of the roads. For the owners of elite cars in the region, the image question is more linked to personal achievement rather than the brand of their cars.
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*Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist, based in London.
Email: [email protected]
