Tuesday, December 24, 2013

2014 Guide For The 10 Girliest Cars

It is a little unfair to specify gender specifics when it comes to anything, mainly because pigeonholing gender specifics often encourages people to take on the associated roles.

Still, for those of us who are stuck with our mind full of gender stereotypes, it is hard to look at something and not recognize a gender issue. A boxy car with hard edges and lines like a tank is considered more masculine, whereas a rounded and curvaceous car is considered more feminine.

Some of the cars on this list are there because they look outright girly, and some are there because more women have bought them than men have.

1. Volvo S40

This car does have a few smooth edges and contours, but it still has a masculine touch to it and is fairly imposing on the road. However, this is one of those cars that is on the list because of female sales figures - 57.9% of new Volvo S40 sales went to women. This may not seem like a lot, but even in our times there are still far more men buying new cars than women. Even married couples tend to have the man make the purchase, so even though 57.9% of the S40 purchases went to women; it actually took a very large number of women to get up to that point.

2. VW Cabriolet

This car has actually picked up a girly image that is hart to shake. It is mainly due to female students having too much money and buying cars that are a little bit different.  

 3. Nissan Juke 

This is a four-wheel drive car that is still pretty imposing considering that it is trying to appeal to a feminine market. It gets its girly “feel” from the fact that it has no hard lines. The typical land rover is a perfect example of hard lines looking masculine, but, this car looks more like a smooth pebble that has washed up on the beach.

4. Fiat 5000

If hard lines on a car make it masculine, then this car is a born semi circle. The entire body has hardly a sharp corner or hard line on it. Every element is rounded. Even the decorative line on the front about the license plate has a rounded end to it. A glossy pink version was issued and displayed in honor of Barbie’s 50th birthday. 

5. Toyota Matrix

Around 54.1% of new car purchases are made by women, and there is a certain indescribable something to it that makes it slightly more feminine. The front of the car almost looks indignant. It almost looks as if it has an expression on its face similar to if you told a British person that their champagne needed a few more minutes to chill. If you were to ask people to pigeonhole the car as masculine or feminine, then few would pick masculine, but the exact reason why is hard to pinpoint. 

 6. Honda CR-V

It is not a burningly girly car, but it is easy to see why people think so. It seems to have such an inoffensive look about it. It looks apologetic through simply how the bonnet is shaped. It is the sort of car where if it hit you as you crossed the street you would dust yourself off and assume the driver didn’t mean it. There are lots of women who gravitate towards SUV cars, and given the choice, it is easy to see why they would pick the Honda CR-V.

7. Nissan Rogue

The Nissan Juke is the Nissan Rogue crossover. The Nissan Rogue has actually sold better with woman, where 56.9% of total purchases of the Rogue were mady by women. In design and convention terms, the Rogue is the normalized and "pop" design, where the Juke takes the less trodden path and differs from most cars.  

8.Volkswagen Beetle

The modern beetle has smooth contours and to this generation has little to do with hippies and long hair. Still, its smooth design and curves does make it a girly looking car. The hardest thing is picking a less girly color because unless you paint it with the colors of your national flag, then it is still going to look little girly. The sales figures show that 54.6% of new car purchase are made by women.

9.Peugeot 308CC 

This one is a bit of a puzzle because if it's painted black, silver or blue then it just looks like another unisex car. But, paint it orange, yellow or any shade of red and it looks just like a woman's car. One of the reasons it is more of a unisex car is because the windscreen has a very low slant to it, which makes it look like it was built for speed. 

10. Citroen Picasso  

Sure, one could say that it is the car of a responsible father and that is fair enough. But, mainly it is the sort of car that one may expect a woman to pick. It has sensitive curves and a body shape that says 'Precious cargo on board'.

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