#4003305 - 08/31/1405:51 PMWhat makes a "chick car?"
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The wife and I were having this conversation this morning when she was waxing philosophical about the new Shelby Mustang and I teased that they were going to pull her "chick card" for wanting a muscle car instead of a Beetle. She made a very crude hand gesture at me said some very harsh things at the same time.
So it got me thinking about why the old Bug was a Guy Car but the new Beetle is a Chick Car.
Cooper Mini - Guy car. Miata - Chick car, but can be driven by metrosexuals and gender role confused guys. Beetle - Chick car. Jeep Wrangler - either way, but the chick has to be hot. Smart Car - Chick car, but the kind that shouldn't be driving Jeeps. And really, really weird dudes.
And I don't really have an answer.
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Interesting. I think the current Mini is right there in the girly camp.
#4003311 - 08/31/1406:08 PMRe: What makes a "chick car?"
[Re: Dart]
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,961arthur666
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I'll take the bait...
A real man or woman can drive whatever the hell they want, and not care what the insecure dweebs around them think.
As for the Miata, those who are into appearances only would call it a "chick car". But, if a lightweight roadster with longitudinally-mounted 4-cylinder, 4-wheel independent suspension and a engine note tuned specifically to sound like a Lotus Elan, and is the most raced car in history, doesn't appeal to you, well you're not really a car person, You just want people to think you are.
Last edited by arthur666; 08/31/1406:10 PM.
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#4003312 - 08/31/1406:15 PMRe: What makes a "chick car?"
[Re: Dart]
Mostly, I think it is a style thing like rims, paint, (yellows, goofy greens, etc) and sound because underneath they are similar in performance or nearly so. i.e. 2014 Beetle is slightly slower then 2014 Mustang from 0-60. But, there is just something wrong with a dude driving a Beetle, even if it has sweet paint, rims, and Magna flows because the rest of the Beetle field says I plain, boring, and lovable. Basically it comes down to a dude's car has an aggressive look and sound by default from the OEM while a girl's car is softer and less threatening on the whole. I personally, think rims have a huge impact on the perceived "sex" of a car as well as the deep rumble of a V8 or turbo V6. Paint colors just reinforce the notion who owns it, i.e. black = dude, yellow = girl. BTW I thought the Miata was the car to have for autocross events, so I thought that was a gender neutral car, no?
#4003318 - 08/31/1406:23 PMRe: What makes a "chick car?"
[Re: Dart]
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Mini most def a chick car here in SA. A lot of soccer moms drive Toyota Fortuners here as well, and think they can tailgate and speed with impunity. False sense of safety with the big SUV.
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#4003320 - 08/31/1406:30 PMRe: What makes a "chick car?"
[Re: Dart]
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Paint can say a lot about gender appeal of a car.
The Fiat Abarth in black or red looks like a guy car, but in white or yellow is definitely a chick one, IMHO.
Canary yellow vehicles usually signal a B-bag, in my experience.
The Pontiac Grand Am was a chick car, too - I never knew a guy that owned one.
I'll also agree that one can be all man and drive a pastel blue Beetle, but that don't make it right.
Then again I'm the sort that is going to put a small Hello Kitty modified to wear a French uniform on my airplane, so take it for what it's worth.
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I used to drive a '95 Crown Victoria Police Cruiser, but the yearly maintenance and the weekly cost of gas was too much. My parents decided it was time to buy a new truck, and offered to give me (free) a 2004 (yellow!) Chevy Aveo. Say what you want, and I get very confused looks while driving it believe me, there's something to be said about owning a paid for -fuel efficient- vehicle.
I've recently had to rent a car for a couple of weeks thanks to an incompetent neighbor driver (seriously, she hit my cab yellow car while it was parked!?), and due to a mix up I was offered an upgrade package free of cost. I was driving a 2010 Chevrolet Impala for the better part of 2 weeks w/ no plans to give it back 'til I absolutely had to. I'd be lyin' if I said I don't think about parking my Aveo downtown for a day or two, but I'm afraid even in Detroit, no ones gonna steal it...
"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in ruttin' command here."
- Jayne Cobb, "Firefly"
#4003341 - 08/31/1407:03 PMRe: What makes a "chick car?"
[Re: Dart]
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 6,870Wireman
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Over here, it's more "Chick or hairdresser's" car. The modern BMW Mini, modern VW Beetle (but not the old one), the first generation Audi TT, and the Mercedes SLK class of vehicles fall into that.
I don't really consider SUVs to be women's cars, since the whole Chelsea Tractor thing is more of a lifestyle statement - it just happens to be that more women than men are delegated to taking care of the kids.
#4003345 - 08/31/1407:07 PMRe: What makes a "chick car?"
[Re: Dart]
Trucks = guy vehicle. Girls can drive them and they look pretty hot behind the wheel. Just understand that one out of ten knows how to drive one correctly.
Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro = chick cars. All of them. Fully 99% of them I've seen on the road have a girl behind the wheel. Usually with gigantic sunglasses, their hair pulled through a baseball cap into a ponytail.
Corvette = guy car, specifically, an old guy car.
Ford Focus ST, Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer, Mini Cooper = guy cars. They scream testosterone. They have turbocharged engines and can actually be turned with a steering wheel.
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Originally Posted By: WangoTango
Any automatic transmission is a chick car.
You have no idea how deflating it was to find out that the F-150 truck only comes with an automatic transmission. Since it's a huge fleet seller, companies only want automatics as the art of a stick seems to be a fading one and they just didn't want to replace clutches all the time.
Heck, I was describing three-on-the-tree the other day to a twenty something year old and might as well have been giving instructions on how to work a mule team.
Click to reveal..
On the Miata, even Pixar thinks they're chick cars - literally.
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Originally Posted By: arthur666
I'll take the bait...
A real man or woman can drive whatever the hell they want, and not care what the insecure dweebs around them think.
As for the Miata, those who are into appearances only would call it a "chick car". But, if a lightweight roadster with longitudinally-mounted 4-cylinder, 4-wheel independent suspension and a engine note tuned specifically to sound like a Lotus Elan, and is the most raced car in history, doesn't appeal to you, well you're not really a car person, You just want people to think you are.
As an owner of a '96 M NA and the son of an owner of a 2001 NB I'm with Arthur. Those that think Miatas are chick cars don't know Miatas, or simply don't know WTF they're talking about. Probably haven't driven one. I used to hate them. Then I drove one. Loved them ever since. A car weighing in at about 19000 1900 lbs changes your idea of what hp/torque is needed to have fun. And I don't even like convertibles. Shifting gears is a dream, the handling spoils you for just about anything else short of spending $50k and it even has decent storage. I prefer the NB, which looks like a baby Viper when you sit in it, but I like my NA since it reminds me a LOT of my old '82 RX7, but with a convertible top.
Top Gear even named it the best British sports car. Even though its a Mazda, they claimed it due to the Elise styling.
I'd say chick cars these days are probably domestic, large, 2WD SUV's. In truck-owning families, men seem to get trucks, their wives Chevy/Ford SUV's. I don't know any men with Tahoes or Expeditions.