
How Subarus Came to Be Seen as Cars for Lesbians - knownhuman
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/how-subarus-came-to-be-seen-as-cars-for-lesbians/488042/?single_page=true
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projectramo
What? I realize that cars carry connotations for people but I am certainly not
aware of them. How are other people?

I remember trying to buy a second car (my first car was a Subaru, and I loved
it!).

Mazda Miata looks nice. (No! That's midlife crisis). Toyota Carolla? (No! It
says you're a family man)

And so on. Finally, I just went on the basis of which car was in the shop the
least amount of time and had high safety ratings.

How do people pick up on connotations like these ones? I watch all the same
movies, and shows.

~~~
mywittyname
> How do people pick up on connotations like these ones?

By stereotyping the people that drive them. Most cars target a certain
demographic and sometimes those demographics are easy to pick out.

I bet you know some of these, I bet you have an image in your head of the
typical driver of some of these cars:

Jeep Wrangler

Toyota Prius

Chevrolet Corvette

BMW 3-Series

Ford F-150

And whether or not you'd consider owning one of these vehicles would have a
lot to do with whether or not you identify with the group you associate with
it.

~~~
projectramo
Now that you mention it, I do for Ford Trucks from those ads, but then when I
see people on the road driving them, they don't stick.

As for the others, you got me. A Jeep Wrangler? Prius? (Environment?). BMW?
Corvette (80s?).

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Corvette = "successful plumber" or "poor man's supercar" (i.e. people who
climbed the economic ladder over their lifetime and

Jeep Wrangler = "I'm not too outdoorsy but I like to think I am" (doesn't
apply to the third owner onward

Prius = college professors and people who suck at driving, people who want the
world to know how environmentally friendly they are

Subaru wagon (new)= lesbos and people who are outdoorsy

Subaru wagon (old) = poor white trash

Land Rover = trophy wife

SUV/Minivan/Crossover (new) = soccer mom

Acura/Lexus = old money

Volvo (old) = hipster

Single cab pickups = poor young men and old white guys

~~~
projectramo
I love my old Subaru wagon. Okay, I hesitate to ask, what is an Audi?

------
detaro
dupe:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11755522](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11755522)

