Car Culture

A Prius-Hummer War Divides Oscarville

It was a little surprising that some of Hollywoods big names were arriving at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in the conservative Toyota Prius rather than the flashy Hummer H2. In a business that seems to flaunt extravagence and the "bigger is better" mentality, you had to realize there was an ulterior motive for the these celebrities to appear in the eco-friendly Prius over the gas guzzling H2. And there was. Although it would seem as though these celebrities were making an environmentally conscience decision to drive the Prius, its not so. The environmental group Global Green USA had recruited the majority of these people to show up in the Prius, most of them being loaner vehicles. This means that the only reason these celebrities showed up in the hybrid was to boost their image and make it seem as though they care about the environment when in fact they don't.

Women Giving Directions: Now It's Time for Female Designers

After reading this, I felt that the author was right that more women are responsible for the purchase of new vehicles yet are largely left out when it comes to design. It would make sense that if women usually had final say in the type of vehicle thats bought for the household that designers would try to better accomodate women's desires in cars. On the subject of having fewer female designers working for car companies, I think it is mostly to do with the interests of women. It is not that women can't or arent allowed to design other areas of a vehicle. It is that most women do not have an interest to design aspects of a vehicle other than the interior. As far as Volvo's YCC car, although it may take into account some things women may be looking for in a car, its target market is extremely limited. Yes, women are directly responsible for 50 percent of car sales, but not all women will be interested in the YCC and very few, if any, men will want it.

Car Makers Aim for the "Love It Or Hate It" Category

I think it's pretty obvious that the way a car looks tends to have a big impact on how well a car sells. the makers of the vehicles talked about in the article are betting that their vehicles are so ugly that people will want them in order to be different. To some people, however, it doesn't matter how ugly the car is, as long as it has some use and value to the buyer.

My Life, My Cadillac Escalade EXT

I thought that this story demonstrates perfectly how a vehicles "cool factor" can play a huge role into how desired a vehicle is. The girl stated that having an SUV or truck is cooler than having a little car because guys like girls that have SUV's or trucks and its gets everyone's attention.