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Do You Think A Car Can Have Human Like Characteristics?
Apparently, most American drivers don't just think of their vehicle as simply a collection of an engine, parts, brakes and oil.
According to a recent entertaining and informative study from Shell called "Autotude," many ascribe their vehicles with human-like characteristics, such as a personality or gender. A great deal of Americans also said they take pride in or have a personal bond with their car or truck.
And many even claim their ride can help them find a date.
For example, two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) claimed their vehicle had a unique personality. More than half (56 percent) said they had developed a "strong emotional bond" with their ride.
Sixty-six percent of women claim that their vehicles' personalities match their own, while 56 percent of men feel the same.
Moreover, 21 percent of respondents said they have patted their dashboards like they would a pet.
Oddly enough, although many consumers were apt to say their vehicle had a personality, not many (15 percent) gave the ride a name. Twenty percent, however, of West Coast residents named their vehicles, and more than a quarter (28 percent) of that group named it after someone they know.
Americans also tend to be proud of their vehicles, especially in front of the boss. Sixty-four percent indicated they would be proud of their vehicle if they had to give the boss a ride. Meanwhile, only 15 percent said they'd be embarrassed to do the same.
Breaking it down by region, 70 percent of Southerners indicated pride in their ride, the most of any group.
What's more, many drivers in the Farm Belt, the Outer South and New England indicated a sense of enjoyment from driving.
Many of those surveyed also gave gender qualities to their vehicles. For example, almost half of the respondents claimed their ride has a gender. "Female" vehicles made up 60 percent of those vehicles and "males" represented the other 40 percent.
Southern states were most likely to have "female" vehicles, while Midwest states were tops among "male" vehicles.
According to the study, many Americans think their vehicle can help in the dating department. Sixty percent of respondents indicated their rides can be "chick or dude magnets."
Not surprisingly, sports cars were viewed as the most attractive (46 percent). SUVs, meanwhile, played Cupid in the Deep South (22 percent) and Mountain (25 percent) states.
In the Great Lakes and Pacific states (15 percent, respectively), pick-ups were thought to be most alluring.
The study also discussed Americans' comfort-level in performing maintenance tasks on their vehicles. While most respondents felt good about taking care of almost all duties, 28 percent dreaded changing tires and 19 percent were loath to change oil.
Eighty-eight percent were comfortable filling up their tank, the task with which most Americans were at ease.
Most respondents also claimed to be fairly knowledgeable about the harms of engine "gunk" build-up, as 93 percent cited performance difficulties, 92 percent noted fuel-efficiency problems and 80 percent named pollution as an adverse affect.