My mom cut this out for me from an actual paper (she likes to do that) and I finally got around to reading it. Kind of interesting. It seems that the generalizations you may be tempted to make actually hold up in many cases.
What's really cool is the data is interactive.
The northwest is Subaru land. Here's what they had to say:
And on Honda/Toyota:The Subaru Corner
In northwest Connecticut, more people drive Subarus than any other single make. There’s one easy explanation for that: Almost all Subarus are four-wheel-drive, and because winters are harsher in that part of the state, it would make sense for residents to choose a car that does better on the twisty, hilly, snowy rural roads.
But there is a contagious regional attitude that might also play into it, Jacobs said, especially since Subaru is not among the top-selling brands in the nation.
“I think there’s probably sort of a utilitarian kind of an attitude toward life. It’s the identity issue. This is how we see ourselves, as rugged individualists who live up in this part of the state.”
“Of course there is a lot of money up there, but there are a lot of people who live kind of more subdued, humble kinds of existences … It does reflect more of their self-concept as well.”
It also shows the effects of social influence, he said.
Since people tend to seek out opinions about vehicles before buying them — moreso than when buying cheaper products, like cheese or bread — they could be more likely to be swayed by what their neighbors have done, Jacobs said.
People learn about products through marketing and advertising, he said, but they develop attitudes about products through online research or from credible third parties.
“That could be friends and family,” he said. “You want to look good? You also want to project to people that you made a good decision.”
Yup I think that does check out.“It’s sort of like your outer skin,” Jacobs said. “You’re sitting in your car, and you want to know that you look good in it and that people look at you in your car and they think you look like a cool person.”
Not that Toyotas and Hondas scream “cool.” But buying a plain-jane Accord makes an identity statement as well, Jacobs said.
It “says you’re a practical individual who cares about buying quality products,” Jacobs said. “‘Style and appearances are less important. I have a family, I have kids, I need to be more practical in my life, and I’m good with that, because that means I’m a good husband, I’m a good father.’”
Overall there are some incredibly boring car color trends. But I blame the fact that cars are not typically custom ordered so, like when you paint your house to sell, the stock will reflect conservative choices.
Since 2000, gray — any variant, including silver or dark gray — has been the most popular car color in Connecticut. That hasn’t always been the case. Remember teal? Most of the cars still on the road from model years 1993-1998 are green.