Subaru Driver Stereotypes: How Targeted Marketing Expanded the Brand

[smokinjoe64]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

How Subarus Came to Be Seen as Cars for Lesbians

The reputation isn’t just a stereotype—it’s the result of a calculated, highly progressive ad campaign launched 20 years ago.

Then they discovered a fifth: lesbians. “When we did the research, we found pockets of the country like Northampton, Massachusetts, and Portland, Oregon, where the head of the household would be a single person—and often a woman,” says Tim Bennett, who was the company’s director of advertising at the time. When marketers talked to these customers, they realized these women buying Subarus were lesbian.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business...m_source=atlfb

Sometimes the truth is stranger than AI

Nothing left to the imagination with this one

[M5Rick]

So over there then lesbians and over here WRC blue with gold wheels and drain pipe exhaust big boys is what I see.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by T.R.S.

I find most of the current BMW lineup to be not attractive. Does that make the majority of those owners ugly?

I also don't find the newer BMWs attractive, that that is different than ugly. Many have covered this topic before, including me (search the forums). Dukec created what he thought was going to appeal to different buyers.

That is completely different that a blatantly ugly car. So many Subarus are flat out ugly. They were specifically designed to look cheap, unattractive, boxy, and appeal to people who shun style. Read the first post in this thread. Subaru, and every car company, focuses on the psychology of a certain buyer and exploits it.

Feel free to do your own clinical trials on this topic.

[T.R.S.]

Originally Posted by thebmw

I also don't find the newer BMWs attractive, that that is different than ugly. Many have covered this topic before, including me (search the forums). Dukec created what he thought was going to appeal to different buyers.

That is completely different that a blatantly ugly car. So many Subarus are flat out ugly. They were specifically designed to look cheap, unattractive, boxy, and appeal to people who shun style. Read the first post in this thread. Subaru, and every car company, focuses on the psychology of a certain buyer and exploits it.

Feel free to do your own clinical trials on this topic.

I find many current BMWs flat out ugly. I don't need any clinical trials to tell me what to think is ugly and what isn't.

[x622]

The XM, the X3 (g4x), ix3, i3, i7, i7 LCI, ix, LCI x7 front end, and the ass end of the G90 series are fucking ugly.

The neue klasse product line in general is ugly. Like genuinely ugly. The bangle era might of been offensive to some, but it wasn't ugly, it was a "lot". A lot especially considering the previous designs were a bit more restrained. These new designs of the late 20s are not a "lot" of anything other than ugly. It's not a lack of restraint, it's a lack of taste and style. The product looks more like a KDM car than anything. Those guys throw all kinds of bullshit at the wall to see what sticks and changes it often.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by x622

The XM, the X3 (g4x), ix3, i3, i7, i7 LCI, ix, LCI x7 front end, and the ass end of the G90 series are fucking ugly.

The neue klasse product line in general is ugly. Like genuinely ugly. The bangle era might of been offensive to some, but it wasn't ugly, it was a "lot". A lot especially considering the previous designs were a bit more restrained. These new designs of the late 20s are not a "lot" of anything other than ugly. It's not a lack of restraint, it's a lack of taste and style. The product looks more like a KDM car than anything. Those guys throw all kinds of bullshit at the wall to see what sticks and changes it often.

I'm beginning to think they uglified the new 5-series to match the 2-series GC. The angles and shapes look similar...as in similarly bad. It's uniquely bad (both of them), vs. the 3 that is fairly normal and a bit better than the last. A lot of these, like the ones in your post, are pretty bad...like really.

Audi seems to be killing it with generally beautiful cars that aren't over-done, outside of the RS that are a bit over-done on the front.

[x622]

Originally Posted by thebmw

I also don't find the newer BMWs attractive, that that is different than ugly. Many have covered this topic before, including me (search the forums). Dukec created what he thought was going to appeal to different buyers.

That is completely different that a blatantly ugly car. So many Subarus are flat out ugly. They were specifically designed to look cheap, unattractive, boxy, and appeal to people who shun style. Read the first post in this thread. Subaru, and every car company, focuses on the psychology of a certain buyer and exploits it.

Feel free to do your own clinical trials on this topic.

Originally Posted by RM7

I'm beginning to think they uglified the new 5-series to match the 2-series GC. The angles and shapes look similar...as in similarly bad. It's uniquely bad (both of them), vs. the 3 that is fairly normal and a bit better than the last. A lot of these, like the ones in your post, are pretty bad...like really.

Audi seems to be killing it with generally beautiful cars that aren't over-done, outside of the RS that are a bit over-done on the front.

Jesus Christ. I did not realize.

When I just grabbed the f95 lci last week, I saw a 2 series GC on the lot and thought it was the ugliest little gremlin they've made.

Now that you mention it, I can't unsee it;






And you're dead on, I think the new RS4/5 whatever it is looks great.

[ptack]

I imagine that different groups may tend to buy certain cars in certain areas. Around here I've noticed a big increase in the number of Subarus on the road and they've now replaced my old road nemesis - minivans. Most of the Subarus I end up behind are driven by elderly white people going slow. This is very different than how it was a few decades ago. Yesterday was the first time in ages when I saw someone with a modded, relatively new Subaru. You couldn't see who was driving it as they had very dark tinted windows, taillights and license plate (definitely past legality) and a huge wing on the back. The three other Subies I saw on that drive were all elderly driven.

[Car-Addicted]

It's a Subaru thing

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

It's a Subaru thing

I believe that is the "Love" that they keep talking about in the Subaru commercials.

[x622]

I mean this is just typical Washingtonian behavior. I would expect this if I went there. The driver of the car made a mistake, he should of thrown some granola or perhaps BLM flyers out side of the window to distract them.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

It's a Subaru thing

Four eyes had a shot of acid for treating anxiety disorder.

[Car-Addicted]

It's a Subaru thing I guess

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

It's a Subaru thing I guess

Attachment 3954620

or a gas-price thing

[smokinjoe64]

Attachment 3954620

Luv that plate!!!

[Ambrozie]

Originally Posted by Phillies8008

People are weird and have an innate need to categorize and compartmentalize everything. Thus it's easier to say that Italians are loud, Jews are cheap, Mexicans are lazy, etc. than to acknowledge the nuance that while some people in those groups might exhibit those characteristics, it's not all people. Or even most or many. The truth, of course, is that people are more-or-less the same regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, etc. While there may be certain mores that are prevalent in different cultures, at the end of the day we're all pretty much motivated and subject to the same base human emotions and tendencies. Stereotypes are just a lazy way of ignoring all that nuance and are fed by confirmation bias – when someone meets a loud Italian, regardless of how many not-so-loud Italians they've met, it just reinforces the stereotype. It's human nature, always has been, and probably won't ever change. This stuff just gets injected into the zeitgeist and is hard to ever get back out.

But yeah, for every Subaru with a kayak on top of it there's a dozen without one, for every inexpensive Japanese car with a huge wing on it there's a dozen without one, etc. But for whatever reason we tend to notice the ones that reinforce our preconceived notions. Not to mention how popular culture reinforces them as well. Like I said, people are weird.

People are not “weird”.

This is a ridiculously poor excuse to avoid a conversation that has been shunned for eighty years for sake of avoiding objective truth and reality.
The Western world is dealing with the affects of avoiding this discussion now.

You seem to disregard any semblance of genetics. We are all human, however, different groups - exactly what makes them groups and allows for associated stereotypes - exist on account of different genetic markers.

Furthermore, there is a genetic aspect to culture.
Lastly, the “Tabula Rasa” understanding of humanity and worldview you accordingly hold is a complete and utter myth.