What Does An "Intellectual Sex Kitten" Look For In A Car?

By Sadie Stein  |  December 29, 2010 | 7:29pm
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Well, that depends on whether you’re the aforementioned sexy lady, “the feline blond,” “the yuppie hippie” or “the sporty mother.”

This piece, on Skiddmark, is kind of confusing. On the one hand, it’s about what women do, indeed, look for in a car — and the fact that the marketing has changed to reflect the shift in car-buying and driving populations. Writes Angie Voluti, “In truth, despite women’s usually idealistic nature, we are driven (pun intended) by practical issues as well as style. We just don’t converse with the front suspension.” Status is usually secondary to value; plus women tend to buy sleek and compact vehicles — except when they buy family-friendly SUVs. And, as the author points out, “marketing both feeds and creates desires.”

The strange part is the series of “types” strewn throughout the article and illustrated by lissome pen-and-ink women. Of the sleek-looking “Aspiring BMW Doll” we learn that

Her husband drives one of those black executive cars with shiny alloy wheels and although they both work hard, another BMW is just out of the question, for now. She made a decision a long time ago that he was never going to tell her what to wear (hence the mini-skirt and fashionable boots – so Mary Quant) and secretly longs for a 1 Series Coupe, in red. FAVOURITE CAR: MINI

Or, take “The Intellectual Sex Kitten”:

There is something nice yet very naughty about the driver of a people-carrier, a mobile classroom in which she sings nursery rhymes and practises times tables with her four children. But once she has dropped them off at their private school, she races home to slip into something more comfy. A Mazda MX-5 perhaps. Or a black lace nightie. FAVOURITE CAR: FORD S-MAX

I guess this is intended to classify the different sorts of women who are the market for different cars in a cheeky, cute way, but the effect is vaguely alienating — not least because all the women look disconcertingly like Victoria Beckham. There’s a bit of the SATC’s about it all — and it’s a tad ironic, considering that we’re talking about marketing to women!

What Do Women Look For In A Car? [Skiddmark]

 
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