Saturday, October 10, 2009

What your car says about you

An interesting study about what your car says about you. Essentially, Honda and Toyota owners have a much better chance of having a college degree than Ford or Chevy owners.
I haven't looked at car reliability statistics for years, but when I did, Toyota and Honda were significantly more reliable than Ford and Chevy. When we finally have money to afford another car, I imagine we'll get a Toyota or a Honda to replace our Geo Prism (another car with a good reputation, but no longer being made).
What do you think--why don't Ford and Chevy owners have college degrees while Toyota and Honda owners do?
Also, as a side-note, apparently the founder of the company that did the study has a PhD from BYU.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, the median income of a Mini Cooper owner is $125,000!

Jenni said...

I think there's a lot more to it than college education...I think the entire socio-economic/cultural background of a person is often indicated by their car choice. Also there is something to be said for which types of vehicles are made by which companies...the american companies invented the pickup truck, for example, and tend to make the best ones...ranchers and farmers (folks who are not as likely to have as much education) need that type of vehicle. Living in "the heartland" they also tend to be more conservative, and more inclined to buy American on principle.

Those who are really concerned about quality or prestige tend to seek European cars--but they also tend to be the doctors and lawyers and stock brokers who can afford them. Coincidentally those people tend to live in more urban areas, and have a lot more education.

My personal opinion is that Honda and Toyota etc are the brands sought by the poor(er)-yet-educated man...the guy who wants quality but needs to get a lot of bang for his buck. That's where I fall and probably always will. :)

Jenni said...

Oh, i was going to add...I wouldn't hesitate to buy a different make of car if it suited my needs...we're talking about getting a hefty truck since we live in rural(ish) Alaska. It would be a work vehicle, for going hunting and camping and hauling trees around. My understanding is that dodge makes a good truck...obviously we'll look at all the reports when we're ready to buy, but I'm not going to be swayed per se by the name on the bumper when we make the choice.