Guy Cars and Chick Cars: Do They Really Exist?

CarTalk ^ | April20, 2002 | Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers

[yankeedame]

Hey, gang! Since we had such a hoot with "Worst Cars of the Millenniun" how about having a go at this? And remember: Keep your punches clean and no hitting below the belt. At the sound of the bell come out fighting. **DING** )

Presenting....The Ultimate Chick Cars of all Time

#5 Dodge Neon

Neons are Barbie cars: little and cute and rounded in the hips. Even in black, they are feminine and adorable, only just a bit tougher, like Tattoo Barbie."

#4 VW Jetta

" Anything by Volkswagen is a chick car. VW realized this years ago and joined forces with another company to sell guy cars-- they called that company Porsche."

#3 Mazada Miata

"I discovered this phenomenon when I got a Miata. 'Girlie car'. That all I heard."

#2 VW Cabriolet

"All teen-age girls classify them as cute. 'Nuff said."

#1 VW Beetle

" The VW Beetle. A chick car, definitely. And made to be so. How? I know of no other automoblie with a FLOWER VASE as standard equipment."

Presenting....The Ultimate Guy Cars of All Time

#5 Dodge Viper

"It might be a guy car if there was a movie or TV show built entirely around it. Other examples include Burt Reynold's Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit, Nash Bridges' Hemi Cuba convertible and Jim Rockford's Firebird."

#4 Ford F-150 Pickup

"Any car with numbers or letters for a name, or tacked on the end, can become a guy car. For example, F-150 or Civic-SI."

#3 Chevy Camero

"...with twice the horse power needed. Used to show other guys how manly you really are."

#2 Chevy Corvette

"I believe the main aspect that determines the male/female state of a car is based on the engine compartment(hood)-to-cab-lenght ratio. A car such as a pickup or Corvette has a large hood-to-cab-lenght ratio."

#1 Ford Mustang

"A back seat guaranteed to be too small for your mother-in-law."

[Jen]

"I believe the main aspect that determines the male/female state of a car is based on the engine compartment(hood)-to-cab-length ratio. A car such as a pickup or Corvette has a large hood-to-cab-length ratio."

Does this mean what I think it means?

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Normally, the guys on car talk are the only thing on NPR worthy of anything other than contempt.

But they made one erroneous statement in this piece:"Any car with numbers or letters for a name, or tacked on the end, can become a guy car. For example, F-150 or Civic-SI."

Volvo station wagons have numbers and/or letters for names and they are never, ever, guy cars. In fact, they are one the ultimate LIBERAL cars. Blech.

[Rightone]

I know the Ford F-150 was already mentioned, but SPECIAL mention is deserved of the Harley-Davidson Ford F-150 -- it is the *ultimate* guy's car. (A Darth Vader type of thing...)

 

Outside: All black paint with HUGE 20" tall, 9" wide chrome wheels and nerf bars.

Inside: Creamy all black leather and carpeting with chrome insignias.

 

[Jen]

Real men drive pickup trucks.

So true. My hubby drives a Ford F-150. He used to drive a Camaro in his younger days and he's definitely a real man!

[jackbill]

Steve McQueen is probably the only movie star to have driven race cars with the big boys in some of the major race circuits. He still does reasonably well.

I suppose that he "still does reasonably well", considering that he died twenty-two years ago.

By the way, Paul Newman has successfully competed in car racing and is a co-owner of a CART racing team.

[bvw]

A car the gams all *love*: Any SUV.

A real man's car: Any good old 8 cylinder American Boat from before the age of emmissions controls.

[larryjohnson]

Volvo P1800, driven by the Saint in the 60's and me in the 80's. My wife and daughter just couldn't handle it.

[Brett66]

This one too:

[eddie willers]

Does this mean what I think it means?

Yes......yes it does.

[Jen]

Take a break from Cheeseville and check out this thread.

[copycat]

I (male)was looking at the Suburu Forester for work. I commute in snowy weather with a carload of parts.

Every Forester I have seen on the road, and I mean like 50-75 of them, has had a woman driving.

Now I'm looking at Volkswagen GTI...

[Jen]

Oh! (blushing) So, size DOES matter!

[Jen]

Fellas, you'll like this thread.

[usconservative]

Only queers and women drive cars, or SUVs for that matter.

I have a '96 Nitrous injected Cherokee that'll kick your pickup trucks ass. It kicked a Mustang GT's ass just last week. :)

Real Men run Nitrous.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Real Men aren't afraid to drive a small car! Real Men laugh at the idea of 'guy cars' and 'chick cars'!

[is_is]

'50 Chev. P.U. with 350 balanced/blueprinted 350 smallblock (400hp on the dyno) power steering and front end from a nova, power brakes and a/c, cause i want to be comfy in my old age.

that is a guy car. so my wife says anyway...she's always telling me i can sleep with it if i like.....hmmmmm.

[Tennessee_Bob]

What I used to own...1967 Dodge Coronet 440. This isn't it, but it's a good shot of one that was identical to mine. Here's another one:

Rebuilt the factory 318 and transmission - it would stand up and walk when you got into it. We used to take it out on the road between Las Vegas and Reno and open it up - 120 miles an hour and it would ride straight, flat and level, like being on a sled.

Sales guy at one of the local Dodge dealerships offered $5,000 on any vehicle on the lot for the car - turned him down. I miss that car.

[Greybird]

A real man's car: Any good old 8 cylinder American Boat from before the age of emissions controls.

My 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 sedan thanks you, as do I. Yep, only 8 mpg (11 highway) with that 390, but it's California smog-exempt! And it's increasing in value. (Highly pristine, kept mostly in the garage by my dad for 34 years.) And it's paid for.

[Brett66]

Of course a '68 Firebird has to be mentioned as a guy car:

[randog]

Real men drive pickup trucks.

Amen to that. My criteria for a real-man's vehicle is simple: can you haul a load of dirt in it?