Does the Kind of Car You Drive Define You?

I constantly get asked "when are you going to get a new car?" I once had a coworker tell me "you need to get a car that fits your title." I'm also constantly made fun of for my "hoopty." I remember walking back from lunch with some coworkers one day. As we walked through the parking lot, one guy said "look at that car - the tint is coming off...what a joke!" I simply said, "dude, that's my car!" I had a few people tell me they are "embarrassed to be seen in my car." And, I've been asked "are you sure your car will make it?" numerous times.

I really could care less what people think about my car. It does perplex me, however, that there seems to be this huge obsession with materialistic possessions, and, in particular, cars. This begs the question that I've recently been mulling over - does a car define the person driving it? It seems most people think so, or at least buy into this some.

So, in this hub, I'm going to tell you some about my car, then throw up some pictures of other cars and let you decide what a car says about the person driving it...

I've only had two cars in my life (I'm 40 years old). My first car was a 1978 Datsun B210 GX that my stepfather gave me when I was a senior in High School. He bought it in Iowa and drove it down to Arkansas for me. The floor on the driver side and the passenger side was literally rusted through - I guess from all the salt on the roads in Iowa. When I first got the car from him, you could plainly see the road beneath the clutch and brake pedals. It was a little scary - if your foot accidentally hit the road while going 60 MPH, that wouldn't be good! It sort of reminded me of one of those Fred Flintstone cars. I did repair the floors though and drove that car until I was a Senior in college, where I bought the car I currently drive - my 1990 Honda Accord. I bought it used in 1993 with about 35,000 miles on it. It now has over 280,000 miles. It still drives well and it is still reliable. My Honda drives better than most rental cars I've rented during travel for work, including the last rental car - a Chrysler 300C. The rental place was out of "standard" cars, so they upgraded me to the Chrysler 300C - a "premium" car. That car was junk and drove horribly - I much prefer my Honda.

I've driven hundreds of rental cars over the years and, besides Audi and BMW I rented in Germany, I prefer my 1990 Honda Accord over them all. None of the modern American cars compare to my 1990 Honda Accord - the steering and suspension feel flat out sloppy compared to my Honda!

My Honda and I have a long history and it has been the most consistent thing throughout my life! I'll have a hard time getting rid of it.

I wouldn't say a car defines a person, but it does tell you something about the person. You can get a sense of what someone values by the car they drive. You can also get a sense of what sort of image that person wants to attempt to project...like a person that drives a Hummer - what's the point?