Most people seeing a brand new top of the range Porsche speed past driven by a middle-aged man may automatically think “mid-life crisis”. A 17-year-old driving a lowered blinged-out Ford Fiesta with a boot filled with oversized stereo speakers screams “Boy Racer“. While a woman around Forty years old taking corners at speed and generally driving aggressively in her Range Rover Sport brings to mind “Anger issues” for some people. Research carried out by sociologist and psychologists reveal that people usually come to conclusions about the characters of people based on the type of vehicle they own.

It’s human nature to judge people. It is one of the ways we order our position in our actual environment. For some of the population, vehicles are simply a faster and convenient way of getting from A to B. For other people, the relationship between them and their cars are more complicated. Emotions such as desire, power, pleasure, and nostalgia come into play. These days many scientists have become interested in the psychology behind the way people drive and the type of cars they drive.

So why do we choose to purchase the cars that we do?

There is often a correlation between the type of car we drive and our other main human drive. Yes, our sex drive! According to a renowned psychologist, men who usually opt to drive BMW cars have similar characteristics to an Australian avian species that prepares to attract a mate by building an ostentatious nest. He has also concluded from his research that the average woman driving Porsche convertibles or similar is showing her assertiveness and board-mindedness. Research has shown that people use vehicles to promote their appeal as a mate, be it consciously or subconsciously. One of the most popular ways to publicly create an initial impression is the car we drive.

Many places where people congregate will have car park spaces, such as office buildings, supermarkets, gyms. Vehicles will be parked alongside each other in these public car parks allowing people to compare and contrast. You may own a pricey house, but people may not know this, and you can’t bring it with you to publicly display, but you can do this with your car. This can be considered as a way of marking your territory. Research showed that men interested in attracting females to pick up tended to spend high on expensive sports cars. While if you were a young couple in a traditional relationship, you would be more inclined to express your nest building feeling by opting for a minivan or some other vehicle marketed as a family car.

Analysis has indicated that if there are two comparable models of the same car, the only difference between the two is that one model will reach 0 – 60mph, 2 seconds faster than the other, and also costs $15000 more, many men will choose the faster vehicle. Even though the cost is of the car may be more than they can afford. The thinking is that the car’s performance equates to your performance when taking someone back to your home.

Analysis of research has given scientists insights into why people choose the cars that they do. The suggestion is that someone purchasing a convertible car does so because they want to be seen and admired by others as they drive by. And a man purchasing a sports car consciously or subconsciously does so because it will only have room for a female companion. The suggestions are people buying a brand new car do so to show they are financially successful, but this may also indicate insecurity and, some people will get the impression the person is trying to show off.