Living Car Free - Car culture makes me want to hurl

Auto-Matic Attraction: Ford Fusion 'Life in Drive' Survey Finds a Car 'Key' to Impressing a First Date

"Your car offers a very visual view of the person you are dating before a
single word is ever spoken." (http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-24-2005/0004192919&EDATE=)

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Auto-Matic Attraction: Ford Fusion 'Life in Drive' Survey Finds a Car 'Key' to Impressing a First Date

"Your car offers a very visual view of the person you are dating before a
single word is ever spoken." (http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-24-2005/0004192919&EDATE=)

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

What exactly is wrong with that? All the article states is the results of a survey. You might like it but it's probably true. We are judged by our outward appearance first. Like it or not that's life.

Tim

Your car offers a very visual view of the person you are dating before a single word is ever spoken

right on- you need to make sure they have got a car otherwise you might end up dating a fit, slim, healthy person with lots of stamina :D

What exactly is wrong with that? All the article states is the results of a survey. You might like it but it's probably true. We are judged by our outward appearance first. Like it or not that's life.


So if you don't have a car or choose to spend your dough on other stuff (or <gasp> have savings) you're a worthless loser? Sorry, if I were in the dating world (happily married, thank you), I wouldn't be interested in someone who really gave more than two hoots about "my car" (never had one, but you get the the idea).

Some more choice quotes:

"A person's car is most definitely an extension of the person."

Same goes for bikes? ;)

"Similar to your clothes, your car says something about you and your style."

Who cares if you're boring and annoying? You drive a hot car, yeah! :rolleyes:

"58 percent saying that the condition of their date's vehicle would at least somewhat impact their attraction to the person. Females felt more strongly about their date's car
condition than males with 69 percent saying it would at least somewhat effect
their attraction to their date compared to 47 percent of males."

:eek::eek::eek:

What?! How shallow is that?

How can the degree of attraction to a PERSON in anyway be affected by the car they drive?

lol @ royalflash

I hate car culture!

However I do agree with the condition of the car is a reflection of the person, to some degree. If it's wrecked (like mine) or excessively dirty and unkept that is somewhat of an indication that the person is a slob or whatever, I'm not sure.

Anyway, maybe in NYC you could get away with saying to a date you're car-free, but where I live if I said I was car-free I might as well say I'm a child molester with the reaction I would get!

Disclaimer: my wife was raised in NYC and never learned to drive.

What you own DOES say something about you. When you buy a vehicle you make a choice. You can choose to get something big, small, fast, rugged, etc.

Choosing not to own a car makes a statement as well. Most people think it's an environmental statement, but for some like me it's pure practicality.

EDIT: I wonder what would happen if I showed up for a date on a motorcycle? That would make quite a statement.

I hate car culture!

However I do agree with the condition of the car is a reflection of the person, to some degree. If it's wrecked (like mine) or excessively dirty and unkept that is somewhat of an indication that the person is a slob or whatever, I'm not sure.

Anyway, maybe in NYC you could get away with saying to a date you're car-free, but where I live if I said I was car-free I might as well say I'm a child molester with the reaction I would get!

Disclaimer: my wife was raised in NYC and never learned to drive.

I have to agree that if a car is a mess it reflects poory on the driver. That says something about one's personality and how one lives more than hot spinners hub caps. ;)

Your wife should learn to drive, smurfy, it's a useful skill. Even I know how and have had a license for a few years! :)

Your wife should learn to drive, smurfy, it's a useful skill. Even I know how and have had a license for a few years! :)

Yes, you are right. She had some lessons here in Ohio but with her taking the bus and NOT behind the wheel of a car that's one less thing I have to worry about! I know, that probably sounds selfish. :o

This has everything to do with financial status, which women especially are very interested in for logical evolutionary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_psychology) reasons.

In a social world, high financial status usually equals a high level of fitness; that is, the ability to handle what life throws at you. Driving a nice car is a popular way to display financial status. Beyond financial status, choice of car reveals a lot about one's personality, aesthetic taste, et cet.

Like Lauren implied, all our buying decisions say something about us (including our bicycle buying decisions). It's different for men than for women, as historically (in an evolutionary context) women are much more interested in a potential mate's ability to provide than men are.

(BTW, Lauren, if you showed up for a date on a motorcyle, I'd think you were tres chaud! What a great way to see right away if the guy has a solid pair. :D)

And while I tend to agree with those who say it's shallow, I tend to agree more with those who say "that's life." There are other ways to display fitness, like wit, charm, intelligence -- and well, physical fitness -- but in a material culture, it's easier for people who have money just to advertise that with their possessions.

Of course this totally ignores the fact that many people with lots of nice stuff aren't that well off, but instead are in debt up to their asses; and that many highly fit people choose to live simply. But if you pay attention, the first group give themselves away fairly easily, and the second group become good at finding each other.

Sometimes I think that's what the Internet was made for....

Oh, and car culture makes me want to hurl, too. :)

i'm so glad that none of that applies to me. happily car free and will never turn back.

Uh... that highly scientific study was sponsored by the kind folks at Ford Motors. I may be going out on a limb here, but my guess is that they have some sort of financial motive for promoting expensive cars.

I had a Geo Metro once, and I can't tell you what a chick magnet that thing was. Oh wait. Nevermind. Maybe because it wasn't a Ford. That was it, I'm sure.

Check out this latest yahoo news link. The whole article-- like many these days-- talks about getting more oil. Not one word about consumers using less.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20051026/ts_latimes/takingaimatoilsriches;_ylt=Aje4C2uN3o_mhqDTAz0rsLGAsnsA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
I live in a lower income part of town so all the time im hearing about how people with no money must get their car working-- no money for gas, repairs, whatever, people even ask me for handouts for gas.

Carfree is outside the box.

Also, i haven't had a relationship since i have been car free, just pointing that out to sort of follow up on the first poster. Being car free is some sort of stigma here in good ol Kansas.

Maybe i should move.

What really bugs me is guys that try to use cars (or anything they own) to make up for their personality that has all the charm of moldy cardboard. I have nothing for or against cars. Just a means of transportation that I currently don't find beneficial enough to merit the expense (although a motorcycle might be a different story, still undecided on that one ).

I agree that it's easy to spot those than enjoy living below their means/simply. It's so much less stressful than the borrowed lifestyle.

I was an auto tech for years. Like it or not your car, and how you keep it, says something about you. People might misunderstand what it says, but it says something. I'd venture to say that I could make at least a few accurate assumptions about a driver based on inspection of thier car.

The decision to go without a car also says something about a person. I'd be willing to bet that most who see me on my commuter think I'm on my third DUI. I'm sure the average person isn't progressive enough themselves to realize that some are finding solutions to the oil problem.

Funny thing a guy I worked with observed: A persons sanity is inversely proportional to the size of their key chain (key chain decorations, not keys). If not true, close enough to be really funny. Keep your eye out for those key chains...

--- It is a fact of life in these United States that an automobile facilitates the pursuit of romance. We go on dates in the car and go... parking in the car and smooch in the car and ______ in the car too. I think that the pursuit of romance will prove to be one of the stumbling blocks of going car-free for most young Americans. It may be shallow but that's the way it is for now.

Well, I own a nice bike. I keep it clean and well oiled, running smooth. so becuase i have just a bike, am i slob, or am i poor? no...well....im in school, so ya im poor, but im not a slob haha. If anything bikes should be considered sexy and cool, cause it takes more effort and motivation to ride a bike everyday, rain or shine, wind or snow. So if anythying, bikers have better personalities than drivers because they can set goals for themselves about thier biking and achive things which can be a reflection of thier financial situation. a motivated person will do well, whereas an unmotivated person will just drift along. just my opinion. i dont really like car culture either.
viva la velo

steve

Unfortunitly it's true.
I commute to work by bike and I've had a few occasions were girls look down on me because of it. Yet when they see me in my car they suddenly start flirting. It doesn't bother me too much because I find if a girls only interested in me for my car then they're usually shallow and I find them boring. I prefer women who are idependent if not a little fiery. :)

What exactly is wrong with that? All the article states is the results of a survey. You might like it but it's probably true. We are judged by our outward appearance first. Like it or not that's life.

Tim

huh? I think he is showing his disgust with how our society puts a high value on possessions and stupid things like cars, Neil Young says...in "Days that used to be"

But possessions and concessions
are not often what they seem
They drag you down
and load you down
in disguise of security. :rolleyes:

You are just asking for trouble if you go for a girl that is interested in a car more than she is you. There are women who think like we do-you just have to find them, they are the ones that are worth it.

right on- you need to make sure they have got a car otherwise you might end up dating a fit, slim, healthy person with lots of stamina :D
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

I commute to work by bike and I've had a few occasions were girls look down on me because of it. Yet when they see me in my car they suddenly start flirting.

A couple times I've had girls compliment me or comment on my "nice a**" while commuting. But hey, I'm still just a young student; I have lots of opportunities to become a fat, weak, poor, car owner. All I have to do is make the effort.

What really bugs me is guys that try to use cars (or anything they own) to make up for their personality that has all the charm of moldy cardboard. ...
To be fair, it is different for the 20-year-old guy whose car was bought with Daddy's money than for the 35-year-old guy who earned it himself. To earn good money usually requires good social skills.

EDIT: I wonder what would happen if I showed up for a date on a motorcycle? That would make quite a statement.

As long as you keep the helmet on and the tinted visor down... :p

State in plain english on your first date that a) you don't have a car b) you don't want to pay a lot for dinner c) you usually ride a bicycle (don't say bike, bicycle sounds more pathetic) to work or take mass transit if you really have to and d) only drive the lamborghini on weekends.

To be fair, it is different for the 20-year-old guy whose car was bought with Daddy's money than for the 35-year-old guy who earned it himself. To earn good money usually requires good social skills.
There are plenty of rich arseholes out there. Most Lawyers, some doctors, etc. Good people skills and good relationship skills are different. I'm mature enough to admit having neither :).

As long as you keep the helmet on and the tinted visor down... :p
There's that moldy cardboard I was talking about, only this one doesn't have the car to try to compensate :p .

i think your choice in regard to cars says something about you, and that includes the choice of not having one. naturally, that can be read differently be different people, however, i know there are people who see it the way we do--financially efficient, environmentally efficient, good exercise, a mild political statement (oil, war, etc etc) and fun.

Personal possessions are an outward display of success/money/ability to provide for a female/family. If you look closely at anything, you can see how it realtes back to our inner need to procreate. Your bicycle is no different, it is just that society has shunned it in favor of the comfort and ease that a car provides. If we all rode bicycles, a person would have a better first date on a $7,000 carbon fiber race bike than on a $300 mountain bike. My car is simply a tool to get to the trails. I hate it, I'm sure it hates me.

There's that moldy cardboard I was talking about, only this one doesn't have the car to try to compensate :p .

Don't make me lock you up again!

From the article:

>>>>>Sky Rocketing Gas Prices -- Don't Go Dutch!
More than 79 percent of respondents said they had never been "asked to
chip in for car-related expenses by their date." "At today's gas prices, I guess you can expect more people to ask their dates to share costs," said Fein. "It still remains a big no-no in most dating circles if you're looking to score a second date," she cautioned.

* Affordable -- A well-equipped Fusion has a low base manufacturer's
suggested retail price of $17,795, including destination.<<<<<<<<<

This is sad folks. A guy is supposed to shell out $17,795.00 for a Ford Fusion and then can't ask his date to help pay for gas! I'll say this. If you're having trouble buying gas than what in the world are you doing buying a 18K Ford Fusion?? I'll also say that if you have date who won't give 10 bucks for gas, you have real winner.

This is why most men are up to their eyeballs in credit card debt. When you're a guy playing this type of game to get sex, you have to be burried in debt with little or no savings.

By the way, eventually you have to come around to finances with any woman because she will ask. At that point, if you tell her all you have to your name is an 18K loan from Ford Financial, that will probably end your game right then and there. Afterall, how are you supposed to buy her a 2.7 K diamond ring and a big house with all that debt? How are you supposed to save a million dollars for her retirement when you don't even have enough money for gas?

I admit that I played these games myself when I was younger so I'll speak from (painful) experience.

When I was young and carless, Not having a car was a kiss of death for relationships.

Now that I am older, it doesn't seem to be a problem, rather it is proof that I am relatively still in shape.

i dunno, some girls find it kind of sexy that i ride a bike...beyond the physical fitness and that it's sort of hip among some circles is a certain weird mystique some people have about messengers. i'm not one, but i don't mind people transferring that feeling onto me.

I don't care what you get around on, just know how to work on it at least just a little! You gotta have the right tools ;).

Ok... how what would you rather show up at a girl's house on to impress her?
http://img431.imageshack.us/img431/3982/bikeamericanvsitalian9pa.jpg

I've never had a problem in my life finding dates and i've never owned a car. I don't even own a fancy bike for that matter. Don't belive the hype those that judge you by your outward appearance and personal possesions only are not the types i would like to attract.

I think of being car free as a good filter. If someone is going to be shallow enough to not be interested in me because i dont have a car, there isnt a lot of potential there. At a minimum a woman needs to be intelligent enough to at least think about my choices as far as a transportation goes and then judge me after she actually gets to know me.

I am sure that there a lot of people out there who make assumptions about my ability to be a succesful or contributing member of society or think that i'm just plain wierd, and it bothers me sometimes, but not enough to ever second guess my choices, or to think even once about getting a car.

most girls take one look at me and assume I'm too poor for a car or to buy them dinner. they're right on both accounts and it saves me the hassle of having to live up to expectations.

What about the days before the car culture?

In other words, did women think more highly of a man who had a horse and carriage? Or a carriage with more than one horse? Or just a horse? Or did they just take the trolley? Or just walk?

My guess is that on a date the chaperone drove them around in the horse-drawn vehicle. I'm not sure when the idea of dating really started, as probably most marriages were arrianged by the family back then.

most girls take one look at me and assume I'm too poor for a car or to buy them dinner. they're right on both accounts and it saves me the hassle of having to live up to expectations.

yes...the joys of being a student.

oh, but i could have afforded a car if i'd decided not to buy a bike ;)

What about the days before the car culture?

In other words, did women think more highly of a man who had a horse and carriage? Or a carriage with more than one horse? Or just a horse? Or did they just take the trolley? Or just walk?


I was in the library several weeks ago looking throught microfilm at local newspapers 100 years ago. I did not see anybody suffering because they lacked horse or motorcar ownership. Seriously. There was no need for hyper-mobility like there is today and people just did without. There was a train that too people into New York City and there, you could take a number of trains anywhere. Bottom line. People were dating, getting married, shopping, taking their kids to school, going to church, visiting relatives all without the need of a motorcar. From what I could read, no one was suffering because they had to walk.

I was in the library several weeks ago looking throught microfilm at local newspapers 100 years ago. I did not see anybody suffering because they lacked horse or motorcar ownership. Seriously. There was no need for hyper-mobility like there is today and people just did without. There was a train that too people into New York City and there, you could take a number of trains anywhere. Bottom line. People were dating, getting married, shopping, taking their kids to school, going to church, visiting relatives all without the need of a motorcar. From what I could read, no one was suffering because they had to walk. Or they could ride a bike! VERY popular 100 years ago. Of course, th infrastructure was set up for walking and bikes, so it was easier then. Actually, most people did not own horses 100 years ago -- just the middle class (much smaller segment then) and country folk. In the city, you had to own or rent a stable, and you really had to have a male servant to help with the horse and carriage. Most city folk walked or rode a bike, later took a streetcar, tram or trolley. There were electric interurban light rail trains that went between cities and even most small towns. My grandmother used to get on an interurban in Morrice, northeast of Lansing, and ride all the way to college in Albion, probably about 90 miles (?) away.

We haven't really made much progress at all when it comes to transportation!

Or they could ride a bike! VERY popular 100 years ago. Of course, th infrastructure was set up for walking and bikes, so it was easier then. Actually, most people did not own horses 100 years ago -- just the middle class (much smaller segment then) and country folk. In the city, you had to own or rent a stable, and you really had to have a male servant to help with the horse and carriage. Most city folk walked or rode a bike, later took a streetcar, tram or trolley. There were electric interurban light rail trains that went between cities and even most small towns. My grandmother used to get on an interurban in Morrice, northeast of Lansing, and ride all the way to college in Albion, probably about 90 miles (?) away.

We haven't really made much progress at all when it comes to transportation!
In fact, wasn't cycling something of an upperclass pastime to start with? Weren't bikes too expensive for most folks in the early days?

Now that they aren't expensive, your point about progress is particularly apt.

As Dahon.Steve said, no one suffered because they didn't have a car 100 years ago -- but that was before we restructured society to benefit oil and car companies.

We can't go back, but we can build a future society that will be even better than 100 years ago.

I hate car culture!

Then ignore it.

What really bugs me is guys that try to use cars (or anything they own) to make up for their personality that has all the charm of moldy cardboard.

I'm not sure about your part of the world, but in this particular city, it's a rather successful approach. In fact, from my observations, it seems to rate second only to the ability to treat a woman like dirt.

If we all rode bicycles, a person would have a better first date on a $7,000 carbon fiber race bike than on a $300 mountain bike.

But it would still be problematic to get laid in the back seat of either one.... :D

I was surprized that no one added their feelings about the news that Big Oil had the biggest gains, bigger then the top companies. I get apopleptic when I think about how we "the American (or is that Amerikan) public" bend over and take in the shorts. I am surprized there is no outrage no protests. I know it has been discussed on this forum. I know there isn't a lot "we" can do. I do my part in riding everywhere everyday. I am just crazed and wonder if I'm the only one.

I'm not sure about your part of the world, but in this particular city, it's a rather successful approach. In fact, from my observations, it seems to rate second only to the ability to treat a woman like dirt.
I am of the opinion that gold diggers and trust fund chasers will get what they deserve. I realize that I am in the minority. My preference would actually be for a guy that had a small old pickup and used it.