Do hot cars turn you on?
Does the BMW Z-3 ahead of you fire your libido?
Have you ever spied a bald podiatrist scooting past in his Porsche Boxster and thought: “Hmmm, I suppose I could stomach the little goof for a month or two if that car were part of the package.” And then pulled up alongside the good doctor at the stoplight and gone for meaningful eye contact.
You catch his attention, give a saucy little smile and head-toss. He offers a lame wink. You increase the wattage. Your come-hither stare is a work of art. You nod toward the Jewel parking lot ahead on the left. Gotcha! Hooked him clean through the lip. Or did he hook you with that lovely chunk of Teutonic iron?
Depends on your perspective. Because as cold and obnoxious as this scenario sounds, the fact is that Love on the Road does happen, and more often than one might expect.
A recent study commissioned by Mitsubishi supports the notion that roadside romance is alive and well in 2000.
We’re attracted to beautiful automobiles and to the average people who drive them, or so it would seem. Yes, we’re usually oblivious to the gorgeous redhead behind us in a rust-bucket Caprice, but put the same woman in a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder with the top down and–zowie!
“Everyone loves the Spyder,” confirms Scott Grove, co-owner of Max Madsen Mitsubishi in Downers Grove. “We sold out our teaser allotment of 18 cars before the end of the (Chicago) auto show (in February) and have gone halfway through out second shipment. So far, I have to say that male buyers are outnumbering the women–but only slightly. The car is slightly more masculine than the previous Eclipse.”
The Mitsubishi study was timed to coincide with the debut of the Spyder ragtop, and the results are perhaps startling.
A full 56 percent of adult respondents admitted that, yes, they had been attracted to someone based on his or her stylish car. Most folks tried the usual dodges: Lowering the window at a red light and asking for directions, honking, etc.
One in four also admitted that “feeling attractive” behind the wheel is a valid reason for purchasing an automobile–especially among 18- to 24-year-olds.
J.P. (no last names, please!), a North Side registered nurse, loves her new Subaru Forester, though she admits she hasn’t been flirted with since changing over from a beat-up 1989 Honda Civic last November.
“In my Honda I did have a guy on Lake Shore Drive ask me out to dinner,” she laughs. “I forget how we caught each other’s eye, but he mouthed the words `Will you have dinner with me?’ and I got nervous. I laughed. I held my left hand up like I was married. He kinda waved and laughed.
“Flirting in a car is fun. The eye contact, the smiles–it can be exciting and you are in control. You can drive away if you like. What I don’t tolerate is a guy who honks and whistles and clucks at you at stoplights. I look straight ahead when that happens. That’s when I’m gone.”
Who knows? Anything is possible, and J.P. might bump into Greg C. while cruising Clark Street after a Cubs game.
Greg, a professional fundraiser, lives on the Near North Side and recently traded his Ford Escort station wagon for a 2000 Jeep Wrangler SE. The Escort, a gift from his grandfather, had all of 19,000 miles on the odometer.
“I don’t want to sound ungrateful,” he says. “Giving me the Escort was a loving gesture by my grandfather. But the Escort just didn’t scream 24-year-old. It screamed 40-year-old with two kids. It’s the car he bought for driving to the golf course. Grandpa liked to throw his clubs in back and sit on the bumper to put on his golf shoes, and that’s great. But what guy my age chooses an Escort station wagon? You’re going to ask a girl out in an Escort? I don’t think so.”
The Wrangler is more age-appropriate, and Greg is looking forward to rolling through Wrigleyville with the top down.
“I don’t feel out of place in the Jeep,” he adds. “The Escort felt a little . . . weird?”
Maybe age is a factor. J.P. and Greg C. are in their 20s.
Lisa D. owns a printing company in Elk Grove Village. In her early 30s, she drives an Infiniti I30.
“If I’m with a group in a bar and we leave together and the guys see me get into my Infiniti, they suddenly become more interested,” she says. “I think they see a woman who makes her own money and is self-supporting and it’s a turn-on for them. I really do think it’s that way. I’ll go out with a girlfriend who’s cute and petite and she gets all the attention inside–until we leave and they see my car. Then it gets very interesting. This happens all the time.”
Dave D., on the other hand, is happy at 45 driving his 1985 Audi wagon with 162,000 miles. He braces for the sharp turn from Ridge Avenue onto Greenleaf, holding odd pieces of drywall with his free right hand.
Dave is a low-profile real estate developer who has spent 20 years buying and selling North Side apartment buildings. He’s financially independent with no need for a 9-to-5 job.
Dave’s good looking, popular with the ladies. But you’d never look twice at him in his Audi.
“What did your study say?” he asks. “Mitsubishi tells us we’re judged by the type of car we drive? People are that mercenary? No. I won’t believe it for a minute.” (Dave rolls his eyes. He mumbles something about the research: “Should we tell them the British lost India, or should we let them find out on their own?”)
In theory, Dave would be the proverbial “good catch” for some sharp-eyed single scanning the roadway. But he has no interest in driving a high-end automobile merely for status, so he probably won’t slip across her radar screen.
His Audi hauls building materials quite well, thank you. He keeps a 1995 Volkswagen Jetta in the garage for social occasions and rides a 1975 Honda 750 on weekends.
“I can’t be bothered with such nonsense,” he says. “Cars are depreciating assets, and I look for value. I paid $2,000 for a used Audi with no rust, no dents and I still get a kick out of all the compliments I hear.
“Would I like to own the 2000 Audi A4 1.8T? Sure I would. That’s an exquisite bit of workmanship, and I may buy one at some point. But right now I can’t see wasting money on something I park on the streets of Chicago. My Audi is fail-safe. Nobody looks twice, which is exactly why I bought it.”
And Dave doesn’t care that he’s out of step.
But the Mitsubishi study, conducted by the Roper Starch Worldwide marketing firm, tells us that 1 in 10 adults surveyed admit they’ve been “attracted or drawn to” someone based on the type of car he or she was driving.
Perhaps more revealing is the fact that 1 in 20 said they’ve decided not to pursue a relationship because of the type of car driven by the prospective love interest. Think back to high school. Did you drive your mother’s 1971 Toyota Corolla 1600 and have your best girl stolen by a pretty boy with a 1976 Firebird?
What about now, and a guy like WXCD’s (FM 94.7) Bob Stroud? Chicago’s noted rock historian, host of the “Rock and Roll Roots” show for 20 years, drove an AMC Pacer in the 1970s. “I don’t know what possessed me,” he says. “Actually, the Pacer wasn’t such a bad car. It was burgundy . . . and I ran it right into the ground. And I probably got a few looks in the Pacer.” Sure.
“Later on, I found I didn’t need a car. For 15 years I lived within walking distance of work and I went without, until I saw the Infiniti I30 at Loeber Motors on Clark Street. The I30 stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought it was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. I had the I30 for several years and found myself more attractive in it, yeah.”
Stroud drives a Chevrolet Blazer in winter and a mid-1980s Alfa-Romeo roadster from April through October. The difference in the way he’s perceived in each auto?
“The Blazer is . . . a Blazer,” he admits. “I moved farther out and needed the Blazer for my winter commute. The Alfa is something else entirely. I bought it from Jim Peterik of The Ides of March with about 30,000 miles. The car is immaculate; it never sees snow. When I drive the Alfa I get looks, but I have to say I’ve never had someone blatantly come on to me at a red light. That has never, ever happened.”
J.P., Greg, Dave and Bob Stroud would seem to bear out the Mitsubishi study.
Stacy Bereck, vice president of Roper Starch Worldwide, worked on this project and came away saying, “It’s interesting. You wouldn’t normally think of your car as a singles bar, but given how much time we spend in our cars, perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised.”
Anything else?
“I was intrigued by the cumulative instances of road romance we learned about. There’s something here that merits further study.”
Why bother? A smashing blond is turning left from Lincoln Avenue onto Wrightwood in a flawless 1960s Mercedes 230SL with the top lifted. Do single lads really need more research to figure out their next move?
