curious about female opinions on a mans choice in vehicle style (personal, attract)

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well, I guess I meant: in the 70's and 80's, did women care what car a man drove? I'm sure gear heads cared, but I doubt women cared as much as guys thought they did.

I owned a '70 'Vette during that period, and I'm sure the women that I dated loved the car, but I'm not so shallow as to believe it made any difference. (My GF during part of that period even named my car "Mellow Yellow." Our fist date was a weekend in Vegas. Hmmmm.... )

In that era it was popular guys and gals to cruise Van Nuys Boulevard, have chat car-to-car at the lights, and I think it's probable that more decided to pull over for a chat than if I had been driving a mundane car, but I think any success I had was not related to the fancy car. (These days I'm amazed at the idea that we young people met by automotive means. I wonder if they still do that.)

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I'm coming to the conclusion that guys spend on primping their cars, or getting expensive flashy models, mainly to show off to other guys, play their one-upmanship games with each other, and all that. They may convince themselves it's to attract women, but it's all about parading around in front of other guys.

Actually I bought the 'Vette because it really turned me on! (I mean literally, the first day I drove it home.) And yes of course it was a guy-guy thing, "My stuff is better than your stuff." One thing it wasn't was a handicap re: dating women.

Originally Posted by filmsniffer

Yep. If you had a cool car in the high school parking lot, you were popular with many groups, like jocks and pretty girls. To be specific, you got laid. This was the norm in smaller communities.

Like I wish I had a car in high school. I was cursed by living within walking distance of my high school and no way would my parents have bought me a car then. (Later they did buy me a mundane car to commute to college. It was less expensive than 4 years rent in the dorms. I got to choose. That was a no brainer! )

I purchased the Corvette with my fist year salary on my first job after graduating college (engineering) and then got my own apartment. (And yes, I did pay dad rent after I graduated college. It was even my idea, he wouldn't have asked.)

Originally Posted by filmsniffer

Like rich teens with Corvettes...or used muscle cars. Or a customised '55-'57 Chevy with a custom paint job, Ansen Sprints/US Indy mags, and diamond-tuck interiors. Lastly, shaggin' wagons (full size tricked out vans).

Corvettes were pretty much top of the line for off the showroom floor cars, the competition was mostly custom cars hotted up by gear heads and I think a tricked out '57 Chevy is one of the most beautiful cars I ever saw in that era. Other top stock cars were Mustangs, Chevelles, to some degree Camaros. Many of these were customized with speed accessories.

The other end of the "hot" cars were "low rider" cars with their slammed (lowered) suspension, and hydraulic lifts. I have to hand it to the low riders, some of the hydraulic tricks were simply amazing! I bet there is a skill hitting the right switches because I've actually seen these "low rider" cars jump so high they left the ground! I don't know about women, but this man was amazed at the engineering that went into such a vehicle.

Beamers and Volvos etc. seem to me like pretty good cars today, but they hadn't hit the scene in the '70s.

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well....I didn't have school kids in mind, when I asked the question. I was talking about adults, in their 20's, 30's, 40's...

I was in my 20s. I sold the 'Vette in 77 and bought a Civic (how's that for a fall?), sold my motorcycle too (Triumph Bonneville) to pile together enough cash as down payment to buy my first house in '78. I consider that period a big step forward in my maturity that owning a home became more important than owning a hot car. BTW I really liked the Civic, and noticed no difference in my dating than when I owned the 'Vette.

Originally Posted by ItsRick24

I drive an SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe) and it's never affected my dating. Yes, some women out there will judge you by the car you drive, but do you really want someone like that? There's this crazy theory that you're next to worthless if you're not driving a Tesla, or BMW or Lexus.

Except for shallow women, I doubt women care much beyond your car being clean, well maintained and taken care of, no body damage (i.e. not a dirty wreck). Any decent, clean car should be fine.

I have a theory that you are pretty well off if you can afford a Tesla, Beamer or Lexus. I really love that Tesla X but I'm not going to plunk down $75K for a car.

[cyphorx]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well....I didn't have school kids in mind, when I asked the question. I was talking about adults, in their 20's, 30's, 40's...

But technically "highschool kids" are adults in the sense that adolescence is a 20th century construct.
in a strict sense biologically, and base motivations they are adults. and since most states allow you to get a license at 16 (14 in texas if you live in the sticks or meet certain requirements) so for many car ownership is the first adult experience(outside of sex).

Originally Posted by filmsniffer

Yep. If you had a cool car in the high school parking lot, you were popular with many groups, like jocks and pretty girls. To be specific, you got laid. This was the norm in smaller communities.

Like rich teens with Corvettes...or used muscle cars. Or a customized '55-'57 Chevy with a custom paint job, Ansen Sprints/US Indy mags, and diamond-tuck interiors. Lastly, shaggin' wagons (full size tricked out vans).

And that lasted until about mid 20's. But for the most part having ANY TYPE OF CAR pretty much guarantied you would have a girlfriend. you forget it was usually 2 specific types of girls back then who had a car fetish. (I'll get back to that)

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well, I guess I meant: in the 70's and 80's, did women care what car a man drove? I'm sure gear heads cared, but I doubt women cared as much as guys thought they did.

I'm coming to the conclusion that guys spend on primping their cars, or getting expensive flashy models, mainly to show off to other guys, play their one-upmanship games with each other, and all that. They may convince themselves it's to attract women, but it's all about parading around in front of other guys.

Most girls did not care you are correct on that point, but the ones that did care REEEEAAALLYY cared, and it was usually the hotter girls(when we were in our teens and early 20's that was a focus). we believed it not because of marketing but because in the places we hung out we would notice the most attractive girls would be grouped up near the guys with the slickest cars.



In my area cruising was a big thing(imagine that with today's gas prices) it was basically every 16- 25ish year old in dallas and fort worth driving up and down one street(cooper st) in Arlington and hanging out in parking lots along that strip(a city between Ft.worth and Dallas). Super Cooper: Cruising Cooper | Life + Entertainment | theshorthorn.com


And yes there would be girls hanging out in those parking lots(the cute ones wouldn't be in the lots long lol)


I'm lucky enough to have caught the tail end of that(the last 4 years of it before they started cracking down on it) Funny how the city actually encouraged and even advertised it in the 70's and killed it in 1990 after the city grew. and before you mention that those are super young people, at the same time there were 2 other cruising scenes one was up main street Ft.worth(el norte) that was mostly Hispanic and a few African Americans and mostly lowriders mostly mid 20's - mid 40's. and one that I stumbled on by accident in Dallas that was mostly older people late 30's - early 60's, and it was mostly restored 50's and 60's cars and custom choppers and they socialized the same way as the people I cruised with, the flirting, the car groupies etc etc... I only remember it because I had never seen so many hot older women in one place before(funny because those hot older women were about the age I am now lol), think 100 Katey Sagal's from "sons of anarchy" hanging out in bar parking lots along one stretch of road. but cruising as it was back then was pretty much dead by the early 2000's still happens but it usually organized events and not an every weekend thing.



But like i said before the girls who were super into cars usually fell into 2 types, 4 if you go specific, you had the airhead types who were into guys with European sports cars and you had the down to earth types that were into eith built from the ground up or customized the hell out of their cars, trucks or bikes.
But all that aside I'm not looking for a car groupie, I want to hook up my car for me. as from what I also remember when I was a teen with the mustang is I attracted the type shown below(which was great for back then). and even though this vid is from 2009 she would have fit in perfectly in my circles circa 1987.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP6XpLQM2Cs

[MathMajor]

Originally Posted by cyphorx

I recently got a new(to me) vehicle, it's not much now but I see great potential and a good friend hooked me up with a good deal. I was showing my plans on the car to another friend and her wife and they are split on how that would effect my dating life. one liked my idea's and her wife said I should keep it "as is" and that my changes would more likely attract "Trailer Park Barbie"(her words not mine).


Below is what the car looks like now(the actual car).





And below is the closest photo I could find of same made and model how I want it to look within a year or so(making a 3D model as we speak).
Except Mine will be matte black, not shiny black with thin square light across the top. plus the spoiler in the back. And I'm designing a logo for the sides.




Which of my friends do you think is correct? to me it should not matter but I'm told past a certain age it does.



I'm going to make it reflect my personality regardless, this is just curiosity at work.

Is this a serious post? I wouldn't have guessed girls would care much about it. Never dated one, but getting close. I thought if it was basically clean they probably couldn't care less. I have an old Subaru that I got from my mom and it has some ridiculous Hillary Clinton bumper stickers on it ... i have to take those off one of these days I think

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by cyphorx

But technically "highschool kids" are adults in the sense that adolescence is a 20th century construct. in a strict sense biologically, and base motivations they are adults. and since most states allow you to get a license at 16 (14 in texas if you live in the sticks or meet certain requirements) so for many car ownership is the first adult experience(outside of sex).

Technically, most psychologists agree that humans are not fully matured until about 25 years old.

Originally Posted by cyphorx

In my area cruising was a big thing(imagine that with today's gas prices) it was basically every 16- 25ish year old in dallas and fort worth driving up and down one street(cooper st) in Arlington and hanging out in parking lots along that strip(a city between Ft.worth and Dallas).

Sorry, got you beat. We invented cruising in Van Nuys, on Van Nuys Boulevard! They even made a movie about it! Probably more than one. Note that we are mere miles from Hollywood.

I was criusin' the minute my parents let me have the keys for the family car!

Originally Posted by MathMajor

Is this a serious post? I wouldn't have guessed girls would care much about it. Never dated one, but getting close. I thought if it was basically clean they probably couldn't care less. I have an old Subaru that I got from my mom and it has some ridiculous Hillary Clinton bumper stickers on it ... i have to take those off one of these days I think

Leave the Hillary sticker on and see if you can find an Obama sticker. My experience is that there are more liberal women than conservatives, at least in Kalifornia. Maybe YMMV.

I made a very deliberate decision to move to the middle so I could have dates with other than conservatives, to increase my dating pool. It was easy. It's the economy stupid. There isn't any point in arguing over what's left.

[GoodHombre]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

You really don't need a car that makes an impression. I mean, if you're trying to make an impression, sure, that will achieve it - but that's not what most women are looking for, unless they are gold diggers or something.

I once dated a guy with a BMW and he was the biggest jerk of a driver because he thought anyone with a cheaper car than his was inferior to him and anyone with a more expensive car than his he practically worshiped. I eventually dumped him, for a number of reasons, but that was one of them. It taught me a lot about what to really value and look for in a man. I decided I didn't want to be with someone who valued human beings based on the monetary worth of their car. That doesn't mean I wouldn't date someone who drove an expensive car, but I was certainly careful to watch how that may or may not have influenced his ego. However, dating a guy with a normal car, I knew I wouldn't really have to worry about that as much.

I would much rather a man impress me with his character than his car.

BMW drivers are known to be jerks, lol.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by GoodHombre

BMW drivers are known to be jerks, lol.

Vehicular prejudice? You are classifying all people who drive BMWs as jerks with no information about them. That's like negatively interacting with a few people of some racial category and then saying all people of that race are jerks.

[jgn2013]

The kind of women that a man SHOULD want in his life, aren't going to care too much about the car you drive.

In fact, even gold-digging women care little about the car you drive. They care about what it represents. If you're sitting on $25+ million in (mostly liquid) net worth and perhaps have a mid-high 6 figure salary, the natural inclination is to splurge just a little. A high end BMW, Mercedes or even a cherry colored Bentley might attract a lady's attention. When she first meets you, she's not going to be able to see your investment portfolio or bank account. However when you pull up in that fancy car, that flash of wealth lets her know what kind of guy she's dealing with. Of course, if you can't actually afford the car you're driving and living beyond your means, she'll quickly figure that out and be on to the next guy.

My experience is that a reliable "normal" car combined with a clean apartment/house goes a long way.

[usayit]

The more important question.... Is it leased, finance or paid off????

[cyphorx]

Originally Posted by usayit

The more important question.... Is it leased, finance or paid off????

Paid

[Lovehound]

That's good. When asked for personal finance advice I always tell people what I do: don't buy a car until you've banked enough money to buy it with cash. I've never borrowed to purchase any vehicle.