| It's Only A Car | The Toronto Star Wheels - 02/16/02 | |
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When people start loving their cars more than themselves, it’s definitely time to rearrange those priorities. Two recently released surveys of car owners revealed a whole host of peculiar quirks, including the fact that many car owners give their vehicles more checkups than themselves, and some would sooner buy a Valentine’s gift for their car than their kids. Sadder still, a great many of these over-enthusiastic auto owners ranked their cars higher in their affections than their families, with a quarter of them thinking of their cars as an actual member of their family.
Both the “Car Confessions” survey from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and a countrywide online survey conducted by Progressive Insurance discovered just how much folks love their cars. The Goodyear phone survey of 2000 car owners found that the bonds between owner and car do indeed grow stronger with time. The Progressive Insurance’s survey of 657 U.S. drivers included such statistical nuggets as the fact that men are three times more likely than women to spend their Saturday afternoon washing and waxing their pride and joy. It also comes as no big surprise that twice as many respondents preferred that weekend car washing job over laundry duty. Equally predictable was the fourteen per cent who’d choose spending time with their car over visiting the in-laws. Thirty-eight per cent of Goodyear’s respondents went so far as to say they’d rather kiss their car than their in-laws. Truck owners polled by Progressive consistently ranked number one in such categories as: car owners who have a picture of their car, define their car as sexy, love their car and will buy it a Valentine’s gift. Luxury car owners however, were three times more likely than truck owners to describe their car as smart. But both males and females alike apparently feel the need to christen their rides with a nickname. As well, both surveys found that over 60 per cent of the respondents actually talk to their cars. It would seem however that while 72 per cent of both men and women feel their car reflects their personalities, and almost all respondents confessed that they love their cars, only 77 per cent of these car lovers thought enough of their vehicles to buy full auto insurance coverage. |