Do you call your car by name?

[kennyc]

People Who Really Identify With Their Car Drive More Aggressively, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2011) — A new study by a Temple University Fox School of Business professor finds those who view their car as an extension of themselves have stronger aggressive driving tendencies.

The study, "Aggressive Driving: A Consumption Experience," is thought to be the first to comprehensively examine how personality, attitude and values contribute to aggressive driving behaviors. Driving is one of the most common consumptive behaviors, and aggressive driving causes a third of all accidents that involve personal injuries and two thirds of all fatal accidents in the United States.

"It explains much of the phenomenon we knew existed," said Ayalla Ruvio, lead author and an assistant professor of marketing. For instance, "we know men tend to be more aggressive drivers and we know men tend to see their cars as an extension of themselves more than women."

Ruvio's article, published online in the Journal of Psychology & Marketing, takes a consumer behavior perspective of this phenomenon and features two studies conducted in Israel. One took a holistic look at the influence of personality, attitudes and values gathered from 134 surveys of men and women with an average age of 23.5. The second study, of 298 people, built from the first and added the factors of risk attraction, impulsivity, driving as a hedonistic activity and perceptions about time pressures.

The studies found:

People who perceive their car as a reflection of their self-identity are more likely to behave aggressively on the road and break the law.
People with compulsive tendencies are more likely to drive aggressively with disregard for potential consequences.
Increased materialism, or the importance of one's possessions, is linked to increased aggressive driving tendencies.
Young people who are in the early stages of forming their self-identity might feel the need to show off their car and driving skills more than others. They may also be overconfident and underestimate the risks involved in reckless driving.
Those who admit to aggressive driving also admit to engaging in more incidents of breaking the law.
A sense of being under time and pressure leads to more aggressive driving.
The study findings "suggest that the perception of the car as an extension of the self leads to more aggressive behavior on the road rather than increased driving cautiousness," the authors wrote, adding that "individuals may view cars and the road space they occupy as their territory and will seek to maintain control over it and defend it as necessary."

Ruvio said the implications of this study can be seen in numerous cultural contexts because of the strong link between cars and identity. She points to the "soccer-mom" stigma of minivans, the Thelma and Louise personas, and songs such as Shania Twain's "You Don't Impress Me Much," with its line, "I can't believe you kiss your car goodnight."




http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1017124346.htm

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I've never had the urge to be that "close" to my automobile. A car is a big machine that gets you from place to place, and other than an additional aesthetic for looks, practicality, etc, that's about it. (The same went for my motorcycles, when I had them.)

My present car, which I've driven for 12 years now, is a sporty (looking) hatchback, small and cheap. It's already got a name: Tiburon. Why do I need to give it another? "Yeah, thanks to Mario, here, I got all my stuff to the dump on time!"

[John Carroll]

I used to call my forest service green '68 Chevy Suburban "Gumby". Now I don't call my car by its name, because it might be offended when it finds out what that name is.

[Stephen_Melling]

My kids called my old Lucida Previa 'Basil' after Basil Fawlty.

[cromag]

I drive a mini-van.

[afa]

I used to drive a Civic, which my friend dubbed "Little Bitch". When I took over my Dad's old Chevrolet Caprice, the same friend dubbed it "Big Daddy". I liked both those names.

I now drive a Dodge Charger, but no nicknames. Probably because Charger is already a pretty cool name...

[melmac]

We used to call my brothers Orange commodore Tigger and my dad first 4WD Tow-jo but I don't have a name for my current car other than "Iwishyouweresomethingelse"

[montsnmags]

Car name history, reverse order: Hubert, Wolfie, Bertie, Scruffy, Moe, Scooby 2, Robin, Scooby, Bruce, Damien, Chuck & Effy

Of course, I give a lot of things names (Cameras, phones, devices, random toys found around and under house while working/gardening, ornaments, statues...)...I don't tend to use those things aggressively either.

Cheers,
Marc

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Car name history, reverse order: Hubert, Wolfie, Bertie, Scruffy, Moe, Scooby 2, Robin, Scooby, Bruce, Damien, Chuck & Effy

Of course, I give a lot of things names (Cameras, phones, devices, random toys found around and under house while working/gardening, ornaments, statues...)...I don't tend to use those things aggressively either.

Cheers,
Marc

Why am I NOT surprised by this.

[beppe]

My actual car is Rosewitte. She is German. Practically always, when we arrive at destination, I say thank you babe, well done. Not only i talk to her, but I listen to. What she has to tell me, so that I can take good care of her, with the help of the mechanic of course.

[Sweetpea]

I haven't given my car a name, but like Beppe, I do talk to it. Especially praise when it has done more than could have been expected of it (such as our trip this summer, it never complained once during the ascent and descent of those mountain peaks, while (as I found out back home) the radiator was apparently leaking). I also give it the best care I can give, going to a quality workshop for its regular maintenance and always checking if something broke down (it's past its 10th birthday, so getting middle-aged).

It's my first car and I still feel proud when I see it standing on a parkinglot...