The Associated Press recently wrote an article about cars projecting human personalities because they look like human faces when viewed head-on.
According to a shape analysis researcher Dennis Slice at Florida State University and researchers at Vienna University in Austria, the narrow body, wide-eyed circular headlights, tall windshield and curve a VW Beetle matches the facial features of a smiling woman or child. This could explain why the Beetle is a predominantly female car and often has a feminine paint job or decals. The propensity to see human characteristics on non-human objects is called pareidolia.
The Beetle is a classic “cute car,” neither dominant nor aggressive. Because of this, when other drivers see a Beetle on the road, they may be more likely to act differently than if they saw a car with aggressive features.
Just as facial features offer us clues about a person’s sex, age, and intentions, a car’s features may help us do the same.
Sports cars often have physical features consistent with the facial features of an adult male. Features like long hoods, gaping grills, narrow headlights and low, wide stances project a mature, dominant, aggressive and powerful personality. Cars like the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger, scream masculinity and testosterone.
The Vienna University study also suggests that people may prefer cars that appear to be more dominant, masculine and angry. In the study, people overwhelmingly preferred cars that rated highest on features that implied power. For example, the BMW 5 Series ranked high on the power scale while the Toyota Prius did not.
While it was long believed that your car was a reflection of your personality, researchers may have proof. Slice and researchers at Vienna hope that their research will help designers create cars that appeal to a wide array of customers.
Have you ever noticed human like features on your car? What type of face does your car have?
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