Are There Really Male and Female Cars?
by Jeb Foster
DENVER -- March 31, 2008 -- InsureMe, an insurance referral service, recently announced results of research to determine if the stereotypes relating to automobiles hold up to empirical rigor. The findings were surprising.
"In a word, yes," said Peter Deusterman, InsureMe's in-house statistician. "They hold up much better than I would've predicted."
InsureMe is a web-based service that helps people obtain auto insurance. In the process it collects consumer information, including car ownership data. While all information is anonymous, it is occasionally studied to note certain trends.
"If you tell me you drive a car that's made in Italy, I can tell you how many X chromosomes you have," said Deusterman with a smile. "One."
Deusterman asserted he can tell you with reasonable, statistical confidence. According to the data, 86 percent of people seeking insurance quotes for Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis in the past 13 months were men.
With slightly less confidence, Deusterman can guess the gender of drivers of the New Beetle. The data indicate that it is, in fact, a far more appealing car (particularly the convertible) to women. In 2007, three fourths (74 percent) of the requests for insurance quotes from drivers of the New Beetle were women.
It appears that men are more likely to own more expensive, higher performance cars than are women, fueling stereotypes that men like to take more risks than women (a notion that's supported by crash statistics as well) and typically seek cars that offer greater performance.
By contrast, Kia, Saturn and Hyundai, car makes that are generally considered both affordable and reliable (if not exactly exotic) were significantly more popular among women than men. For Saturn and Kia, the ratio was nearly 2-to-1. Once again, the stereotype -- that women put a higher premium on practicality than men -- appears to reflect reality.
Although it seems that Pontiac produces a sporty car that a woman can love: 12,825 woman selected the GM-made car, compared to 7,526 men.
Mercedes was an exception, proving to be a nearly gender neutral car. According to InsureMe, almost equal numbers of men and women drive cars made by the venerable German manufacturer. "I suppose everyone enjoys a little luxury," Deusterman offered. "Particularly heated seats."
And what about the Hummer, that quintessentially "masculine" car -- the one we associate with Arnold Schwarzenegger-types?
Indeed, the civilian Hummer is more of a guy thing -- but with about a 3-to-2 ratio, it's not as exclusively male as one might think. In fact, BMWs and Audis prove to be more skewed toward men, with the later nearly twice as likely to be piloted by a man as a woman.
