Anything you can do I can do better … I can do anything better than you. Many people will not remember this song now from the old film ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ but it beautifully expressed a sentiment felt by many women. Once upon a time when women were supposed to be delicate wall flowers, a car was associated exclusively with macho men.
But then the cars were also very bulky, heavy and cumbersome pieces of machinery and it needed strong muscles to pull stiff steering wheels, press hard clutches and shift stiff gear levers. Things have changed, however, and all modern cars now have power steering that can be turned by a finger and gears and brakes that are light and easy … and there are also automatic gears that need no effort at all. You have come a long way baby … but so have your cars!
The cars may have changed but roads and traffic still remain a nightmare and most women do not like the bother of tight parking so they usually prefer smaller cars. But women do not also like being bullied by pushy male drivers so some women will make a bee line for a more masculine SUV that makes them stand tall in traffic and gives them a sense of power and dominance.
All women, however, love being noticed and their sense of aesthetics make them trend towards cars with cool and curvaceous styling and snappy colours that may make many men cringe. Today there are many choices of cars that a woman can drive. Women, thank the lord, are not also the same.
Many women want their own cars and do not want to drive their husband’s big saloon. For them a small cute car is what they want to drop their kids to school, to go shopping or movies or to meet their friends. Some of them shun the smallest cars because though they want a small car they did not want to be seen in a cheap car. But today, they have a huge number of choices from a Maruti SPresso, Datsun Go, Hyundai Eon, Honda Brio, Maruti Suzuki Celerio or Tata Tiago. The Renault Kwid, a small car with a SUV look, is also appealing.
Some women will be willing to pay a bit more for a bigger and more spacious hatchback like Ford Figo, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20 or Venue, Maruti Swift, Nissan Micra, Tata Bolt, Toyota Etios Liva and Volkswagen Ameo. These not only offer a confusing choice of good cars but they now come equipped with a dazzling array of gadgets for entertainment, information and comfort.
Women with larger families may opt for small or large saloons where there is again a huge number of choices and some will go for one of the many ‘crossover’ SUV’s like the Kia Seltos, Ford Ecosport, Hyundai Creta or Nissan Terrano. And those with money to burn may go wild to be seen with classy luxury compacts like the BMW Mini Cooper or Volkswagen Beetle that immediately proclaim that the driver is both rich and sophisticated.
Most men think that only a man can decide on what car to choose but they seldom realize the insidious power of female influence that can so easily sway their judgment. Regardless of what men think without a woman’s approval most men will not buy a car.