Tag: automotive brands

Car Stories

My Biggest Car Mistake

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

Auto writer Logan Carter recently asked Jalopnik readers to share their most expensive automotive mistakes. He confessed that his own was purchasing his first car from a “sketchy dude” from Craigslist, only for everything to go wrong the moment the 2005 Saab cabriolet was parked in his driveway. The reader responses ranged from tales of purchasing a beater with the intention to fix it up, trusting cheap mechanics, deciding to invest in questionable upgrades on a perfectly serviceable daily driver, and “thinking I could afford that new 1985 Pontiac Fiero on my measly paycheck.” The last story hit close to home, as I found myself in a similar situation when I purchased a hot little convertible based on an attempt at coolness coupled with a rather embarrassing misunderstanding of a potential pay raise [more on that later].

My story of woe goes as follows. I had recently started my first job in advertising. I drove to work in a rusted out, 11-year-old VW Beetle that had been my trusty college commuter car. One day returning from work I discovered all of the spots in my apartment were taken; consequently, I parked my car on a Detroit street. When I went out to get in the car for work the next morning, the car was completely totaled, due to an errant [and nowhere to be found] driver. Although I got nearly half of what I paid for the VW from the insurance company, the amount was worth a lot less in the 11 year since I had purchased the car.

Faced with a conundrum of what to buy, I looked around at my co-workers’ rides. I was ultimately smitten with that of my supervisor [who happened to be Cathy Guisewite, not yet rich and famous for her self-titled comic strip], a 1975 Fiat Spider convertible in black. Having just received what I thought was a substantial raise, and wanting to emulate my cool and successful boss, I purchased the same car in fiery red. Soon afterward the troubles began.

First of all, I couldn’t afford it. When I was told by my supervisors I was “getting sixteen”, I assumed it meant my salary was being raised from ten grand to $16000 a year [which seemed like a lot to me in 1976]. Alas, what was meant was that I was receiving an additional $1600 a year, which raised my yearly salary to a whopping $11600. Those car payments were painful right from the start.

Secondly, Fiats at that time were not known for their dependability. The politically incorrect phrase attached to FIAT was “Fix It Again Tony,” intended to poke fun at the unreliability of the Italian car brand. So not only was I making significant car payments, but the car’s frequent appearances at the repair shop caused me to go into significant debt.

Finally, a convertible makes absolutely no sense in Michigan. Although I enjoyed the ease at which the top lowered [I could do it at a stoplight], the joy of wind in my hair could only be enjoyed for 3 or 4 months a year. In the winter, the car’s rear wheel drive and lowered stance made driving on snowy roads a considerable challenge. And as I didn’t have a garage, the cloth top experienced some wear and tear.

At some point, I realized my mistake and traded in the Fiat for a VW Scirocco, which continued my [interrupted] love affair with the German car maker. Proof of my dislike as well as embarrassment of the Fiat is that I never took a photo of the car or of myself driving it. The only good news is that I learned both financially and personally from my costly and rather embarrassing car-buying mistake. Although over the past 50 years I have enjoyed some vehicles more than others, I never regretted a car purchase as much as that of the 1976 Fiat Spider convertible.

Auto MuseumsConferences

NAAM Annual Conference

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 2026 National Association of Automotive Museums [NAAM] Annual Conference and Awards Banquet at America’s Packard Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Given my research interests, I had originally planned to attend one day to attend a session on women in motorsports. However, as president of the Society of Automotive Historians, I was invited by the Packard director Rob Signom to attend the entire conference. It turned out to be a great experience as I sat in on many informative sessions, networked with folks from the transportation museum community, received some inspiration for my book manuscript, took part in field trips to a number of transportation-related museums and sites, as well as having the opportunity to spread the word about the SAH.

Social Media Presentation [photo courtesy of Sean Matthis]

The four days were jammed-packed with activities. The sessions covered topics such as using social media to engage and attract younger museum audiences, obtaining grants to fund special programs and incentives, achieving best practices for archival accumulation and storage, the challenges of creating changing and relevant exhibits with automobiles, as well as the aforementioned session that focused on incorporating women’s motorsports into museum exhibits. Field trips to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Carillon Historical Park, Champaign Aviation Museum, personal automotive collections, and an experiential environments design firm were also part of the conference.

Thursday evening featured the presentation of NAAMY Awards, which honor achievements in curation, education, marketing, and collections management in nonprofit transportation museums across North America. During one evening a group of attendees [including my baseball-loving self] had the opportunity to attend a Dayton Dragons minor league ballgame, which was a complete blast.

From the Champaign Aviation Museum

Although I find social situations to be quite stressful, the NAAM folks were welcoming, helpful, and engaging. I was struck by the atmosphere of cooperation; all were eager to share information, artifacts, and resources with others. Not only did I personally connect with archivists willing to help with my book project, but I believe my attendance and participation will help strengthen the important relationship between the SAH and NAAM. And the baseball game was pretty awesome, too.

Car ChicksCar Culture

What is a ‘Hot Girl Car’?

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

A recent Jalopnik article asked its readers, “What’s the Most Hot Girl Car?” I couldn’t help but wonder what, exactly, was the answer this query was looking for. Was Jalopnik trying to determine what car, when driven by a woman, qualifies her as ‘hot?’ Or was it, in fact, requesting its readers to name the hottest car among female drivers? 

Jalopnik writer Amber DaSilva’s hot girl car

Historically, the auto industry has featured advertising which features a ‘hot’ women posed next to a vehicle as a means to lure the male consumer. The implication is that driving such a car will attract the type of sexy woman a man couldn’t win over on his own. The measure of a car’s hotness can also be determined by the nature of the woman who drives it. For example, a 2007 Cadillac GTS commercial featuring Kate Walsh famously asked, ‘when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?’ The question equated the thrill of driving a Cadillac to that of a sexual encounter with a beautiful woman. In each of these representations, women’s assumed preference for a particular automobile marked the woman, and the car with which she was associated, as ‘hot’.

Asking the readers to name the hottest car among female drivers, on the other hand, was a question that could be answered by looking at marketing studies that ranked car purchases by gender. It didn’t seem like the kind of request a magazine that caters to a young and often skeptical demographic that prefers an irreverent, humorous, and often critical take on the automotive industry would, in fact, make.

1990s Golf Cabriolet

As neither of these answers seemed to suffice, I relied on ChatGPT, the preferred research instrument of the auto site’s target audience: young adults, the majority male, under 30 years of age. When I posed the question, ‘what is a hot girl car?’ to the popular AI tool, the answer wasn’t at all what I was expecting. 

According to the collected sources, a hot girl car is an informal, often humorous, slang term to describe a vehicle that exudes a fun, stylish, or confident vibe, frequently associated with trendy, independent, or unapologetically stylish young women. The term is not presented in a derogatory manner; rather, it lists the traits of the hot girl car as stylish or cute, compact or sporty, well-kept or accessorized, and associated with urban, fashion-forward, or lifestyle branding. A hot girl car exudes confidence, elan, or a ‘let’s go on an adventure’ attitude. The vehicles most often associated with this label are the Mazda Miata, Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, VW Beetle, or for the adventurous types, the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco Sport. 

The ultimate chick/hot girl car – Mazda Miata

What struck me about this answer was its similarity to the definition of the ‘chick car,’ a term that became popular during the early 2000s. In an article published in 2012, I described the chick car as a type of vehicle favored by women that was small, quick, stylish, and fun to drive. Unlike the hot girl car, however, the chick car was considered inferior by the male contingent for its association with the woman driver. As I wrote, ‘Women’s attraction to a particular automobile causes members of the male population to question the car’s technology. […] The assumption that women lack technical expertise creates a reverse kind of logic in the minds of many male consumers. They believe that since women cannot appreciate the finer technical characteristics of a car, such as power, handling, and performance, the cars women purchase must be technologically deficient. Women’s approval, in the minds of many men, leads to the devaluation of the car.’[1] The male constituency of auto makers, journalists of that time often disparaged the chick car, referring to it as “the kind of car no manly man would be caught dead driving.”[2]

Ford Bronco Sport, for the adventurous hot girl

However, based on the Jalopnik article responses, that sentiment has evolved. The author of the article, Amber DaSilva, invited her readers to ‘think up your definition of a hot girl, and pair that girl with the car that fits her best. What’s the most hot girl car you can buy?’ Many of the vehicles I defined as chick cars – Beetles, Minis,  Miatas, and Golf Cabriolets – were included as bona fide hot girl cars. Jeeps, classic muscle cars, and anything-with-a-stick-shift also made the list. And although the majority of responders were male, they were not regarding the car choices, or the women who made them, in a pejorative way. Rather, they were admiring the women for their automotive preferences; i.e. the choice in itself awarded some hotness. Granted, the readership of Jalopnik skews more left than the majority of car magazines, but I found it encouraging to see that most of posters – while having a little fun – did not disrespect young female drivers. And as the writer defined herself as a hot girl herself, the question – and the responses – were all made it a lighthearted, convivial manner. 

Mini Cooper

As I noted over a decade ago, despite the attempts of male journalists and drivers to disparage the chick car, women embraced the category and made it their own. As I asserted, ‘to the women who drive them, the chick car represents personal freedom, independence, agency, and a whole lot of fun.’[3]It is heartening to know that young people today – men and women alike – embrace the chick/hot girl car a means to adventure, identity, and empowerment.

[1] Chris Lezotte. “The Evolution of the ‘Chick Car’: Which Came First, the Chick or the Car?” The Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 45 No 3 2012, 525.

[2] Quote from John McElroy, host of Autoline Detroit.

[3] Lezotte, Chick Car, 529.

Car CultureCar StoriesWomen & Car Advertising

Ladies and Buicks

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

Curbside Classic promotes itself as collector of automotive stories. Relying on contributions from its subscribers, the online publication assembles donated photographs of classic cars to construct “a living time capsule of collective knowledge, experiences, and history.”

Woman in blue pictured with 1955 Buick Roadster 4-door sedan
[Curbside Classics photo]

A Curbside Classics story that recently caught my eye was titled ‘Ladies and Buicks: 1950s Style.’ It included a number of photos of well-dressed suburban women posed next to their Roadmasters, Rivieras, Centurys, and Special Deluxe Tourback sedans. As one who worked on the Buick account during the mid-eighties, with the assignment to reconfigure the Regal into the ‘women’s car,’ I was intrigued by how – 30 years earlier – women had claimed the ‘doctor’s car’ as their own. 

During the 1950s, Buick’s primary market was the aspiring middle and upper-middle class American consumer. Positioned in the General Motors lineup just one rung below the luxurious Cadillac, Buick was an attractive choice for professionals, managers, and business owners. Symbolizing success without ostentation, Buick appealed to doctors, lawyers, executives, and mid-level corporate managers.

Lady and dog in grey and white with matching 1954 Buick Riviera 2-door hardtop
[Curbside Classics photo]

While Buick advertising most often centered on the male breadwinner, it increasingly acknowledged women as influential decision makers in the home, particularly where budgets were concerned. The move to the suburbs in the post war era resulted in the increased presence of women behind the wheel. Consequently, automakers promoted automotive features they believed were important to women drivers, such as automatic transmissions, power steering, and power brakes. These features were often framed as making the car easier and more comfortable for the woman driver. Advertising marketed toward men, on the other hand, was more likely to emphasize power and performance.

The ladies pictured alongside their Buicks in the Curbside Classic story are fashionably dressed, often in outfits that complement the car. The relationship between automobiles and fashion in these photographs is not just a coincidence; during the 1950s, women’s fashion was an important influence on automotive design. As Richard Martin argues, “Not only were the ideas expressed in these two arts [fashion and auto design] alike, so, too was the very timing of the style changes.” 

Woman in white with turquoise 1954 Riviera 2-door hardtop
[Curbside Classics photo]

Harley Earl, widely considered the father of modern automotive design, fundamentally transformed automotive styling in the United States. Employed by General Motors from the late 1920s to the 1950s, Earl elevated styling from a secondary consideration to a central driver of automobile sales and brand identity. The GM Art and Colour Section, established by Earl in 1927, was the first formal automotive design studio in the industry. Color was placed alongside form as a core element of vehicle design. Paint was planned simultaneously with body styling, rather than applied after engineering decisions. Designers – much like those in the fashion and interior design industries – studied color harmony, fashion trends, and consumer tastes. And while Earl was perhaps best known for his influence on exterior styling, as Hemmings writer David Conwell notes, “the designer replaced the engineer on the inside as well.” Interiors, upholstery, dashboard finishes, and exterior paint were coordinated into complete color schemes. In essence, Earl helped establish the idea that color could shape how a car looked, how it expressed status, and how consumers connected with it emotionally. Paint schemes became tools for emphasizing form, communicating brand identity, and encouraging consumers to view the automobile as a fashionable object. Earl was the first to employ female designers – referred to as the “Damsels of Design” – to shift the automotive focus from purely mechanical performance to [female] user experience and aesthetics.

As historian Robert Tate asserts, during the 1950s, “automakers observed that fashionable colors and accessories were bringing more women into dealerships.” Thus automotive color design – shaped in part by the styling practices of designers such as Earl – became closely tied to gendered marketing strategies. Postwar cars were often produced in pastels and fashion-inspired colors; advertising often implied these colors would appeal to women because they resembled fashion palettes, harmonized with suburban homes and lifestyles, and softened the car’s mechanical image. As automakers acknowledged women’s influence in consumer decisions, 1950s advertising encouraged women to view the car not just as transportation, but as another designed element of the modern household.

Women in red plaid jacket next to red 1953 Super 2 door Riviera hardtop
[Curbside Classics photo]

The photographs in the Curbside Classic collection demonstrate the influence of women’s fashion on automotive style. They also reflect how women, pleased with their automotive choices, often clothed themselves in coordinating ensembles to express their newfound relationship with the car.

Baron, Rich. “Ladies and Buicks: 1950s Style in Vintage Photos.” curbsideclassics.com Feb 26, 2026.

Conwill, David. “GM’s Art & Colour Section Put Interiors Front and Center” hemmings.com July 3, 2024.

Martin, Richard. “Fashion and the Car in the 1950s.” Journal of American Culture 20 (3) Fall 1997.

Tate, Robert. “The Influence of Women Consumers on Automotive Design” Motorcities.org March 22, 2023.

Auto Industry

Women’s Choice

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

A recent article from Autoblog News announced the winners of this year’s Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year [WWCOTY]. The jury for this competition consisted of 84 women motoring journalists from 54 countries; all eligible vehicles were required to be produced and sold in at least two continents or 40 countries between January and December 2025. The awards were broken down into six categories: compact car, compact SUV, large car, large SUV, 4×4, and exclusive car. The six category winners will advance to the final round for the overall Car of the Year during the week of International Women’s Day.

While the competition is judged by a panel of all women [the only all-female jury in the automotive industry], the cars are not evaluated in terms of what auto manufacturers typically market to women. Rather, as the judges made clear, the evaluations are based on universal criteria of importance to all drivers regardless of gender. Key considerations in the evaluation process included safety, design, quality, comfort, performance, efficiency, environmental impact, ease of driving, and value. The winners selected by the judges included the Nissan Leaf [compact car], Skoda Elroq [compact SUV], Mercedes-Benz CLA [large car], Hyundai Ioniq 9 [large SUV], Toyota 4Runner [4×4], Lamborghini Temerario [exclusive car]. 

What is interesting about the list of winners is that they are all imports; none of the vehicles were produced in the United States. Granted, this was an international panel of judges and not all cars are available to American buyers. But the results confirm a longstanding and growing trend: women prefer imports to domestic automobiles.

My own research confirms this preference. As I noted in an earlier blog, American auto manufacturers have never quite figured out the female consumer. Domestic automakers have traditionally built big cars for the big, wide open US highways, without taking into consideration that driving conditions do not necessarily dictate what all drivers want. US carmakers have historically refrained from developing small cars because, as James Flink, author of The Automobile Age, remarked, ‘large cars are far more profitable to build than small ones’ [the male preference for large pickup trucks is a current example]. Such a sentiment ignores the fact that the majority of US automobiles produced before 1990 were simply too large and cumbersome for the average woman to drive comfortably. Dissatisfied with domestic automobile choices – big and expensive, or cheap and spartan – female drivers began to notice that the economical, well-appointed and well-designed Asian and European cars ‘fit’ them better. As they switched to imports, women found the vehicles to be more reliable, durable, and have greater resale value than the domestic cars they left behind. 

In a past research project, in which I interviewed 21 women aged 80-90 about their early automotive experiences, the majority expressed an early loyalty to American models [often taking advantage of employee discounts], but switched to imports once such cars became readily available. Although Lee Iacocca’s introduction of the minivan in the mid 1980s was successful among a certain population of suburban moms, eventually replaced in popularity by the ubiquitous SUV, foreign manufacturers continued to broaden their offerings to include compacts, sedans, and SUVs to appeal to a wide range of women drivers. American manufacturers have since eliminated sedans from their respective lineups. Consequently, women have and continue to demonstrate a preference for import brands, citing qualities such as reliability, fuel efficiency, practicality, higher resale value, and smaller vehicle sizes when shopping for a vehicle. 

Although the jury emphasized that there is no such thing as a ‘woman’s car’, as a panel of women, they no doubt looked for qualities that were important to them as female car buyers [the same could be said for men]. However, as the article noted, as a jury composed entirely of women, the contest provided the awarding body with a voice in what has traditionally been a male dominated industry. Time will only tell if the American automotive industry will listen to such a voice.

Auto MuseumsWomen & Car Advertising

Trip to Marysville

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

The Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum is a small museum located in the out-of-the-way city of Marysville, Michigan, separated from Canada by the St. Clair River. It is devoted to the history of C. Harold Wills and the automobile he created – the Wills Sainte Claire – and their impact on auto history and the city of Marysville. The small building holds 20 Sainte Claire automobiles – the largest collection in the world – as well as original photos, color advertising, and other artifacts relating to the company’s brief history. The automobiles on display are include ‘survivors’ as well many that are impeccably restored. The museum is only open one Sunday afternoon a month; our visit included a short video as well as peek behind the scenes into the museum’s storage facility.

Wills Sainte Claire workers, which included women

C. Harold Wills was Henry Ford’s first employee. He served as chief designer and metallurgist; he was responsible for the design of the Ford script logo, still in use today. Wills desperately wanted to make changes at Ford; unable to do so he left the company – with his $1.5 million severance pay – to build a car in Marysville along the banks of the St. Clair River. His plans also included a housing development  – the “City of Contented Living” – for Sainte Claire employees.

1926 Wills Sainte Claire Roadster, marketed to upper class women

The automobile Wills envisioned was the polar opposite of Ford’s affordable, mass-produced, Model T; rather, it was a somewhat futuristic vehicle that used state of the art engineering concepts and materials. He hoped to compete with luxury automakers such as Packard, Lincoln, and Pierce Arrow. The first car rolled off the assembly line in the spring of 1921, by November 1922, the Wills Co. was $8 million in debt and forced into receivership. Although beautifully crafted and ahead of its time, the car did not do well. It was too expensive, and Wills continually interrupted production to implement every conceivable improvement. The company did not survive the 1926 recession and after producing 12,000 cars, was liquidated. Wills subsequently joined Chrysler as a metallurgical consultant; Chrysler purchased the former Wills Sainte Claire factory which is still in use today.

The female Wills Sainte Claire customer

Throughout its short history, Wills Sainte Claire advertised extensively, always promoting the automobile’s luxury. As one advertisement read, “How can classic be defined?  Sleek, stylish, perfection, unique, timeless, and valuable are words of articulate, lasting design. If you assemble these words in the form of a tangible object you have defined the unique and beautiful Wills Ste. Claire automobile.” What is unusual for this time period is that many of the advertisements – on display at the museum – feature women behind the wheel. 

As women rejected the electric automobile in favor of the faster and more affordable gasoline-powered car, automakers – recognizing a growing consumer base – developed strategies to lure the female driver. Marketing plans shifted from “discussing merits of products to constructing promises for, and listing the expectations of, those who consumed the products.”[1] Relying on the rise in readership of popular women’s magazines, one of the more prominent sales tactics to emerge was advertising that “invited women to seek social status via the purchase of an automobile.”[2]

Wills Sainte Claire wholly embraced this strategy in its advertising. As a 1926 advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post read, “plain, blunt transportation can be purchased for less than Wills Sainte Claire. There are those, however, who demand and are willing to pay for a plus element called style. And these constitute the Sainte Claire clientele – as they constitute Bendel’s and Pierre’s.” The ad includes an illustration of two fashionably attired women travelling – with scarves flying – in a bright red Wills Sainte Claire roadster. An ad published in National Geographic, accompanied by an illustration featuring a woman seated in the driver’s seat with two children behind her, informs its female audience that the 1926 Model T-6 5-Passenger Sedan, “is something genuinely new, and better…and smarter…and sturdier… will become more impressively obvious as the weeks go by.”

Society women out for a spin in a Wills Sainte Claire Roadster

The strategies employed by auto advertisers were constructed, in part, as a response to Ford’s early domination of the automotive market. By 1921, Ford produced over half of all cars in the world. Fords were not only plentiful, but affordable; “growing cheaper by year, the Model T opened new vistas for ordinary people,” which included the growing population of women drivers.[3] Unable to compete head-to-head with “Everyman’s [and Everywoman’s] Car,” manufacturers set out to distinguish their automotive offerings by including an intangible benefit – status – with vehicle purchase. As Ford’s dominance began to erode – due primarily to the company’s unwillingness to move on from the Model T – the automobile as representative of women’s social standing became a popular, effective, and longstanding strategy among luxury cars manufacturers.

Unfortunately for the Wills Sainte Claire, the association of the automobile and social status was not enough to save it. However, the advertising of this little known manufacturer – on display at this small museum on the Michigan-Canadian border, provides insight into the efforts of luxury auto manufacturers to attract the female consumer.

[1] Michelle Ramsey. “Selling Social Status: Woman and Automobile Advertisements from 1910-1920.” Women and Language 28(1) Spring 2005: 26.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Virginia Scharff, Taking the Wheel: Women and the Coming of the Motor Age (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1991), 55.

Car CultureCar Stories

December to Remember

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

Every year around this time, Lexus runs a version of its ‘December to Remember’ Christmas commercial. Originally designed as an end-of-year promotion, the spot features a ‘heartwarming’ holiday story, which invariably ends with the unveiling of a shiny new Lexus wrapped in a big red bow. Considered a ‘cornerstone of Lexus marketing,’ the campaign has run for over 25 years; its obsequious presence has been parodied to great effect on Saturday Night Live. Although the commercial has never encouraged me to put a Lexus on my gift list, it did make me wonder if not a Lexus, what automobile would I love to find under my Christmas tree?

I have been fortunate in my later years to be able to own the automobiles I admire. But that wasn’t always the case. When I was younger I used to imagine myself behind the wheels of cars that were very much unattainable, which made them all the more desirable. So I thought it would be fun, in the spirit of the holiday, to remember the cars that I would have loved to have received for Christmas, or any other time of year.

When I was in college, driving my rusting VW Beetle, I would gaze longingly at the occasional Triumph TR6 convertible that passed me on the highway. With its distinctive wedge shape and Lichfield Green exterior, it was, to my mind, the iconic sports car. Its impracticality for Michigan winters never crossed my mind. I only imagined my younger self with the top down, leaving beat up VWs in the dust. Unfortunately my infatuation with the Triumph led me to eventually purchase a similar vehicle – a Fiat Spider convertible – which was a disaster of a car. So much for that dream.

The 1960s and 70s romanticized the vagabond hippie life. Although I was as straight arrow as they come, I thought it would be fun to own a VW Westfalia Camper and spend the summer touring the USA. Since I had to work to put myself through school that was never an option, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about the possibility. I had an opportunity to drive a VW bus when visiting California, and with the engine in the back, the lack of a hood coupled with the right-on-the-road experience of driving took some getting used to. Unfortunately I got in a bit of an accident with the bus which put a bit of a damper on my desire to own the ‘box on wheels.’

As a fan of Volkswagens, I always imagined trading in my Bug for a sporty Karmann Ghia. One of the single female co-workers at my first full time job had one, and it seemed to represent freedom and fun, something that was lacking in my newly [and short lived] married life. As noted on a classic car site, the Karmann Ghia was an instant success when it was first introduced, especially among ‘starry-eyed Americans who wanted to cruise around in something cool.’ As I was neither stylish nor cool, nor did I have the funds to achieve such status, I continue to pine after my co-worker’s Karmann Ghia as I watched my VW slowly rust away.

The 1978 Vietnam drama Coming Home featured Jane Fonda driving a 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster. Fonda’s character, Sally Bender, acquired the Speedster while her US Marine husband was deployed. When in California on a commercial shoot around the same time, I had the opportunity to see a similar vehicle up close and personal. As one of the crew members pulled up in the classic vehicle, I was star struck. by its simplicity and timeless design. Nearly 60 years later, my heart still goes a flutter whenever I come across a Speedster at a car show.

Christmas has come and gone, and unsurprisingly, there was no gift-wrapped automobile waiting for me. But it’s fun to remember the cars that I wished for so very long ago.

Happy Holidays, and may your car wishes come true. 

Car Stories

What’s Your [Car] Color?

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

A number of years back, as I pulled up to a stop light, I noticed a long line of vehicles in the next lane – four or five at least – that were almost identical in appearance. Although the cars represented different manufacturers, they were all small SUVs, and they were all black. Black, as it turns out, is the second most popular car color in the United States, representing 22% of the automotive market. White cars constitute one quarter of cars sold, with grey and silver contributing another 34%. During the golden age of car culture – the 1950s and 1960s, cars were not only bigger, but came in a wide variety of hues. The muscle cars of the 60s and 70s introduced us to colors that were bright and bold; Panther Pink, Vitamin C Orange, Grabber Blue, Plum Crazy Purple, and Rallye Red described the car, and the person who drove it, as outgoing, outrageous, and fun.

On the road today, cars that are not white, black, silver, or grey stand out, not just because there are so few of them, but because it makes one wonder what makes an individual go against the grain with such an unusual or bold color choice. Arm chair – and legitimate – psychologists have often contributed to stories that ask “what does your car color say about you?” 40 years ago, psychologists Peter Marsh and Collett discussed car color [as well as other automotive characteristics] in Driving Passion: The Psychology of the Car. The pair argued that the economic climate – booms and recessions – often affect the color of cars on the road. Booms feature cars of primary tones and bright colors – yellows, light blues, and reds – whereas when the economy is in decline, there is a tendency for people to select somber colors like greys, browns, and dark blues. Marsh and Collett also suggested that the aspect of personality a car reveals most accurately is “the person’s need for achievement.” Those with a high need for achievement will select cars with subdued colors; folks with relatively low levels of ambition will opt for bright colors including red and yellow.

The connection between car color and human personality remains a subject of interest today. In a recent article, Jaloponik notes how many people consider red to be an exciting color that lets others know “you’re passionate, intense, and ready for adventure.” The Today show goes a step further, asserting that the person who owns a red car is “sensual, dynamic, and outgoing.” Yellow cars, states Jalopnik, is associated with happiness, as it inspires people to “feel happier and more optimistic.” Today attests that the owner of a yellow car is likely to be joyful, has a sense of humor, and is young at heart. Today also suggests that an individual who chooses a dark blue car is confident, credible, and authoritative. If you find yourself attractive to blue cars, writes Jalopnik, “there’s a good chance you’re trustworthy, reliable, and calm.”

In my own car history, I have owned a lot of red cars. My first car was a red Beetle; other vehicles have included a maroon Fiat convertible, burgundy Sirocco, bright red Rabbit, and a brilliant red Audi. In this regard I go against stereotype, as I am anything but outgoing and ready for adventure. It is likely I chose red vehicles to project the persona of who I would like to be, rather than the shy and reticent individual that I am. Of my most recent cars, two out of three – both Golf Rs – have been Lapis Blue. Blue has always been my favorite color. I suspect I choose blue not only because it matches my eyes, but because it projects the confidence and authority I lack. Perhaps by choosing colors that are so against type, some of the qualities associated with them will rub off on me.

I have owned a couple of silver cars, and the only positive thing I can say about them is that they were less likely to show dirt. Although they were attractive in their own right, such color conformity was never something I wanted to embrace. Although I am what you would call an older woman, I am not yet ready to succumb to the neutral, unimaginative, and dare I say boring, black, white, and silver cars that populate the roads today. I’ll continue to enjoy surprising folks when they see me, a small, silver-haired woman, behind the wheel of a rumbling Lapis Blue-Black Edition, hot hatch Golf R.

Auto IndustryCar CultureWomen & Car Advertising

Short People Got No Reason to Drive

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

During the 1980s I was working in the creative department at McCann-Erickson on the Buick account. Although the import market had been promoting smaller vehicles for a least a decade, American manufacturers were hesitant to enter the compact car market. Buick, especially, was known for its rather large vehicles; in the classic film Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s character Alvie proclaims, “there’s a spider in your bathroom the size of a Buick.” Thus when the 1984 Skyhawk was introduced, the smallest vehicle in the Buick lineup, I thought a unique strategy would be to cite it as the perfect vehicle for short people. As someone who is barely 5’ 2”, I was tired of sitting on cushions to see over the steering wheel or propping pillows behind my back to reach the clutch in behemoth American cars. However, my idea was quickly shot down; perhaps the popular Randy Newman 1977 hit with the lyrics “short people got no reason to live” influenced the creative director’s decision. Or more likely it was because promoting a sporty vehicle as appropriate for individuals of shorter stature, primarily women, was considered a marketing nightmare. At any rate, Buick, like the majority of US car makers, continued to sell the mantra “bigger is better,” which no doubt contributed to their eventual decline.

The 1984 Skyhawk ad that eventually ran.
No short people mentioned!

Fast forward forty years, and the automotive site Jalopnik produces an article titled “The Best Cars for Short Drivers.” As auto writer Collin Woodard notes, “sometimes it feels like automakers just completely forget that short drivers exist, too.” The article goes on to provide a list of eleven vehicles that Consumer Reports deems suitable for the vertically challenged. The selection includes not only compacts, but also SUVs, minivans, crossovers, sports cars, and luxury sedans. Woodard explains how each vehicle has the capacity to adjust for shorter drivers, particular in seating and steering wheel positioning. The vehicles run the gamut of automotive needs, including functionality, affordability, roominess, and the elusive “fun-to-drive” vibe.

The Kia Soul. Recommended for the short among us.

Although I have owned a few larger vehicles to accommodate very big dogs, I have preferred smaller daily drivers since I purchased my first car – a Volkswagen Beetle – in 1970. I have stuck with VWs throughout the years and have owned a series of Golf GTIs and Golf Rs, which are easy to park, a blast to drive, and fit my smaller body perfectly.

2025 VW Golf R Black Edition – Just my size!

Yet despite the positive spin on cars that accommodate a slighter frame, the Jalopnik comment section leaves no doubt as to how the automotive population feels about these cars. As one poster snarkily remarks, “Old lady cars are great for short people. Who knew?” As the comments suggest, although cars have adjusted to accommodate all body types, including that of the smaller driver, the disparaging attitude toward women and cars remains, sadly, the same. Proclaims another Jalopnik reader, “short people got no reason to drive.”

Car ChicksCar Culture

Pink Cadillac

Posted on by Chris Lezotte

As legends go, in the late 1960s, a young woman by the name of Mary Kay Ash approached a Lincoln dealership to request a custom car to help promote her growing cosmetic business. When rebuked by the dealer, who told her to go home and get her husband, Ash took her business to a Cadillac dealer across town. She asked for, and received, a custom new Cadillac in a color to match the blush of her compact. When, after seeing the gleaming Cadillac, a number of Ash’s sale directors requested pink cars of their own, an idea was born. Beginning in 1969, the top five Mary Kay sellers each year were rewarded with a brand new, blush-colored Cadillac Coupe de Ville. The tradition – through model changes and various shades of pink – has continued for over five decades. For 2025, the iconic Mary Kay Cadillac is going electric; top salespeople are now offered a pink pearl Cadillac Optiq, the first fully electric vehicle awarded by the cosmetic company. The automobile’s current advertising themeline  – ‘Drive Your Ambition’ – cleverly combines the personal motivation of Mary Kay and its representatives with the prestige and affluence associated with the Cadillac brand. 

Mary Kay’s Pink Cadillac program has always been somewhat controversial. Critics argue the Mary Kay model and allure of the Cadillac mask a structure that resembles a pyramid scheme. Others find the color of the car problematic; the pink hue stereotypically marks the luxury automobile as a ‘woman’s car,’ a label that is devalued in masculine car culture. The longstanding association between pink and femininity also suggests adherence to traditional gender roles, which conflicts with contemporary notions of business acumen and female empowerment. 

However, supporters view the pink Cadillac as a symbol of women’s financial independence and success. To Mary Kay champions, the pink Cadillac is not a symbol of feminine submissiveness; rather, the flashy automobile represents women’s achievements in the business world, a culture long dominated by men. The Mary Kay organization is often commended for inspiring women’s entrepreneurship in a landscape that has historically presented barriers to female advancement. As for the pink-is-for-girls association, Ash brilliantly coopted the stereotype and transformed it into a recognizable and valuable brand identity. The automobile has a longstanding association with male identity and power; by rewarding associates with Cadillacs that are uniquely pink, Ash transformed a masculine symbol into one of female empowerment. 

The Cadillac has always had cultural significance, particularly among those who held a less-than-dominant position in American society. During the 1950s and 1960s, if a woman drove a Cadillac, it was assumed a man purchased it for her. A woman behind the wheel of a pink Cadillac, earned through hard work, perseverance, and a bit of moxie, would stand out as someone who had made it at a time when female success in any endeavor was difficult to attain.

Certainly there is something ultimately intriguing about the Pink Cadillac. To Aretha Franklin, the pink Cadillac served as a self-propelled ride to romance on the ‘Freeway of Love’. Bruce Springsteen also wrote a song about it, expressing his admiration for the car while wondering just what a woman could be doing in it. Of the new EV version, Jalopnik journalist Logan Carter writes, ‘I’m happy to see that the most driven cosmetic-wielding Capitalists now have the option to go all-electric without compromising their allegiance to Mary Kay.’ As for the women who drive them, the pink Cadillac shows the world they are successful, ambitious, and empowered.  They are, in the words of Springsteen, ‘cruising down the street, waving to the girls, feeling out of sight’ in a shiny, ostentatious, and hard-earned Pink Cadillac.