Friday 14 October 2011

The Wrong Colour Car.

If I have an interest in cars at all, it tends to be more in what they say about the drivers than the cars themselves. Where I live – a rural area in which you see the occasional old farmer driving the occasional old tractor, but which has largely been invaded and settled by professional types – most of the cars are black. And as well as being black, they’re mostly big, posh and new. Big, posh, new, black cars seem to say ‘I’m rich, important and I mean business.’ There are also a few white ones. Big, posh, new, white cars seem to say ‘I’m rich and important, but I also like to be seen as having a sense of style.’ The rest are mostly those innocuous colours like Champagne, Pale Gold and Play Misty for Me, and are generally driven by middle aged and elderly women. I haven’t quite worked out what message they project yet, but it seems to be something like ‘I want to be seen as being prosperous and belonging, but I don’t want to stand out.’

I’m the only person in the whole area who drives a ten-year-old primary red car. Driving a red car is not the best way to make friends and influence people in a place like this. And I do so want to make friends and influence people.

And what's the betting that of the three people who still read this blog, two of them drive black cars? 

4 comments:

Maria Sondule said...

Well, technically I do not drive, but the cars my family owns are gold and grey. The gold one is small but can fit a few people, so it probably says that the driver wants to try and look cool while still pleasing his wife.
The grey van probably says that our family is large, messy, and we like our space.

JJ said...

Different psychology in America, though. If you drive a black car, doesn't everybody think you're spying on them?

Maria Sondule said...

Depends on the kind of car.
If it's a small, waxed black car, then yes. If it's a limo, we think you're rich and snooty. If it's a hummer, we think you're trying to hard to be manly.

JJ said...

And what if it has tinted glass? And what's a hummer?