Luxury Sports Cars Attract Flings But Not Marriage - Every car conjures up an association. An SUV might say “family car,” while a hybrid might evoke an image of a tree-hugging environmentalist. Likewise, a luxury sports car has been painted as a “chick magnet.” A new study, recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association, confirmed that the latter is actually true – men who own flashy sports cars are more successful getting dates. Find out about other dealer services at Mercedes-Benz Lexington. According to the study, while women may date men who drive luxury sports cars, they don’t consider the same men to be desirable marriage partners. The researchers, located in Texas and Minnesota, studied almost 1,000 people to determine the signals that are sent out by spending behavior. They found that while men used spending on luxury items as a signal for short-term mating, women didn’t spend to attract men.
In two of the studies, men were made to think about romance. In one study, they were shown photos of attractive woman and were told they were members of a dating service. If the men were interested in casual dating, they were more likely to spend hypothetical money on ostentatious items than if they viewed the woman as someone they were interested in having a serious relationship with. The researchers found that women viewed a man who drove a flashy, expensive car such as a Porsche to be more desirable than the same man who bought an economy car like a Honda Civic. But the study says that women appear to be aware of a man’s intentions in owning the expensive car because women found the man with the Porsche to me more desirable as a casual fling than as a marriage partner.
Daniel Beal, assistant professor of psychology at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and co-author of the study said that when women considered a partner for long-term relationships, the sports car didn’t provide any benefits to the man. “When women considered him for a long-term relationship, owning the sports car held no advantage relative to owning an economy car,” he said. “People may feel that owning flashy things makes them more attractive as a relationship partner but, in truth, many men might be sending women the wrong message.” Chevrolet Columbia has all the information you need when purchasing a new car. The study likens men who show off expensive luxury items like Porsches in order to attract prospective sexual partners to peacocks who display their tail feathers to catch the attention of potential mates.
A perfect illustration of the results of the study can be found in an article at AskMen.com. Contributor Curt Smith details his dating experiences while he owned a Honda Civic hatchback. Smith, who had little success on a succession of dates, related an attractive woman’s response when he attempted to talk to her while their cars were stopped at a red light: “Just as the first words were about to come out of my mouth, she interrupted me with, ‘Look you big loser, stop looking at me from your ‘kiddy’ car and get yourself a real car.’” After Smith bought a Porsche Boxter S, he found that his dating life had changed dramatically. “I’ve been driving my Porsche for a year now and meeting women has never been easier. I always get past the second date; I always get second and even third glances from women; and I never have to ask for a phone number. All these drastic changes stem from the fact that I’m driving a different and more exotic car. I’m still the same guy: I dress and groom myself the same way I always have…but all of a sudden, I’m a good man because I’m driving a different car.”
The study said that the men who used this strategy were interested in having short-term sexual encounters with women. Women, on the other hand, don’t spend excessively to try to attract men. “Obviously women also spend plenty of money on expensive things,” said Jill Sundie, lead author of the study and assistant professor of marketing at University of Texas at San Antonio. “But the anticipation of romance doesn’t trigger flashy spending as it does with men.” Volkswagen Barrie provides excellent service for new car shoppers. These findings are in sync with a study that was published in 2008 in the journal Evolutionary Psychology. That study concluded that men who were less likely to save money and lived beyond their means reported having more sexual partners in the previous five years and wanted more partners in the future than the other men who took part in the study. The 2008 study also showed that spending money wasn’t significantly related to the number of past or future mates.
Photos (top to bottom) by Porsche, Jebulon, OSX
Tags: sports cars, Mercedes-Benz Lexington, Porsche, Honda Civic, Chevrolet Columbia, luxury car, economy car, Rice University, Volkswagen Barrie, University of Texas at San Antonio
IIHS Analysis: SUVs Getting Safer - While the chances of being killed in a crash in all types of passenger vehicles have been greatly reduced in recent years, SUVs have seen the most dramatic change. In the past, SUVs had some of the highest driver death rates because their high center of gravity often caused them to roll over. But a new report published by the 
While there isn’t hard evidence that electronic stability control is the reason for the reduction in deaths among SUV drivers, the IIHS is convinced that ESC is the principle cause. The institute’s research shows that stability control systems reduce fatal single-vehicle crash risk by 49 percent and fatal multiple-vehicle crash risk by 20 percent for cars and SUVs. They lower the risk of a deadly crash by 33 percent overall and cut the risk of a fatal single-vehicle rollover by 73 percent. 
Tips For Renting a Car - Not too long ago, vacation travelers comprised the largest segment in the rental car business. Today, the growing segment of the car rental industry is consumers who rent cars in city where they live. People rent cars in their home cities for different reasons. To learn more about other dealer services, visit 
You can join a rental car company’s loyalty program to receive special deals and promotions that aren’t available to the public. Some companies’ loyalty programs offer benefits that will save you time by allowing you to get through the lines at the counter quickly. In some cases, you’ll be able to avoid the lines completely – you may even be able to go directly to the car. You can join the loyalty program even if you aren’t a frequent traveler and only rent a car occasionally. 
British Study: Electric Cars Won’t Save the Planet - With Ford ready to debut its new C-Max Energi electric car in 2012 to compete with the Chevy Volt, automakers are racing to create electric cars. The government encourages car-buyers to enter the electric car market because conventional wisdom says that electric cars are better for the environment than gasoline-powered cars, and we all want to do our part to fight climate change. More information on all types of cars is available at 
Archer said the industry should state the full lifecycle emissions of cars, rather than just tailpipe emissions, to avoid misleading consumers. He said that drivers wanting to minimize emissions would be better off buying a small, efficient gasoline or diesel car. “People have to match the technology to their particular needs,” he said. 
New U.S. Carbon Fiber Production Facility to Help BMW Create Lighter Cars - In a recent announcement, German carbon fiber manufacturer 
Weight is a significant concern for upscale car manufacturers due to the fact that a great deal of their earnings comes from sales of larger automobiles, which are less fuel efficient than small cars. Weight is even more of a priority for electric cars because of the added weight of the batteries. “In electric-mobility, the weight of the car will be a decisive factor,” said Eichiner. “There is a close correlation between low vehicle weight and range in electric cars.” In other words, the lighter the car, the farther it can drive on a single charge. 
Used Car Buyers May Not Be Notified of Recalls - According to the 
Wade Newton, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in a statement that consumers can either check directly with automobile manufacturers or search the NHTSA’s website, 
Jaguar’s Concept Car Gets Top Honors - At the 10th annual North American Concept Vehicle of the Year awards in Detroit, the award for Most Significant Concept Vehicle of 2011 went to the Jaguar C-X75 concept car. The futuristic vehicle was also awarded Concept Car of the Year. While many concept cars are constructed, either strictly for publicity or as a way to develop new ideas, most concept cars never end up being produced by the manufacturer for sale to consumers. Further dealer resources available at 
“Never before has the company launched such an ambitious, world-beating vehicle program,” said Carl-Peter Forster, CEO 
Slicing Through the Darkness with High Tech Lighting - Electric light bulbs and cars came about around the same time in the late 1800s, but not much changed from when headlamps were added to cars in the early 20th century until the introduction of modern halogen bulbs in the early 1960s. Various lens, bulb and reflector designs have been developed and tested to American and European standards, but until he introduction of HID headlamps in the early 1990s, the basic technology remained the same as it was back in 1915. Find out about other dealer services at 
The solution to seeing further in the dark has long been to use brighter lights, but this carries the significant disadvantage of blinding oncoming drivers. Enter infrared night vision systems, which offer a view beyond headlights while picking out animals and pedestrians more clearly from other objects. Systems have been developed and are offered by several manufacturers, including Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Basic components of such systems are a camera that captures only infrared light and means of displaying the image. Active systems add their own source of infrared light, such as a laser, while passive systems rely on a thermo graphic camera to render the heat generated by the objects themselves. 
AAA Releases List of Best Cars for Dog Owners - Everyone knows that Americans love their pets. According to 
There was only one vehicle chosen in the “Green” category, the Ford Escape Hybrid. AAA said the Escape Hybrid was “perfect for dogs of nearly all sizes,” and pointed out that Ford promoted the Escape’s cargo area as being perfect for “a big, wet dog.” Of course, AAA appreciated the Escape’s superior fuel efficiency, and they also cited the availability of accessories that include floor mats and a pet divider. 
AAA Recommendations For Road Trip Vehicles - It’s no secret that Americans have a love affair with cars, so it’s probably not surprising that many spend their vacation than by hitting the open road. “Since the invention of the automobile, Americans have enjoyed taking road trips,” said John Nielsen, AAA National Director of Auto Repair, Buying Services and Consumer Information. “From wood-paneled station wagons to oversized conversion vans, most Americans have grown up taking road trips with their family and friends.” More information on all types of cars is available at 
In the SUV category, AAA picked the Toyota RAV4, which they picked for its “good ride, good handling and good room.” They called the Subaru Forester “easy to drive, comfortable and budget friendly” and liked its ride and handling. Rounding out the SUV category was the Dodge Durango, for its new platform, its ride and handling, its powerful new 3.6-liter V-6 engine, and the ample rear seat room. 
