Cars tell political party preference???

from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/automobiles/01red.html?pagewanted=all&position=&oref=login&oref=login

The article is too long to post here, but just some snips:

<snip>Porsche owners identified themselves as Republican more often than owners of any other cars, with 59 percent calling themselves Republicans, 27 percent Democrats and the rest either calling themselves independents or declining to answer. Jaguars and Land Rovers also registered as very "Republican" vehicles.<snip>

<snip>Scarborough also determined that Volvos were the most "Democratic" cars, by 44 to 32 percent, followed by Subarus and Hyundais. But although a lot of old Volvos on the road are driven by Democrats, the customers in Volvo showrooms no longer fit the old stereotype, according to a survey of 163,000 new-car buyers last year that was conducted by CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore.<snip>

<snip>The CNW survey, which measured political affiliation not just by make but also by model, found that a Jeep Grand Cherokee S.U.V. was more than half again as likely to be bought by a Republican than by a Democrat, at 46 percent to 28. Among Hummer buyers, the Republican-to-Democrat ratio was a whopping 52 to 23.<snip> ***Gee, go figure!***

I'm a Saturn owner myself.

Think about it: Republicans don't really care about America. They're the people who brought you China-Mart.
Saturns are the most American-made car there is (I realize NOTHING in the auto industry is completely made in America, now). I think Dems should support American-made products.

I drive a Ford Mustang, myself, made in Atlanta (back when they were still making them there. They don't, anymore) and it's 11 years old.

I TRY to buy American when I can and I'm a Dem. Well, I am now. I used to be a moderate who voted for the person, not the party, until the Republican Party turned into the Christo-fascists.

although I agree that people have the right to judge and vote according to the individual. It was a no brainer in '00 and '04!!

Love those Mustang's but here in southern Screw-U Jersey where people don't know how to drive in 2 inches of snow, I wouldn't want a rear wheel drive auto. I had one once tho, an '88 Ford Granada (tank, I think they were called) and going uphill before the roads were plowed was a real lesson in humility.

edited for spelling

country, either.
When it DOES snow here, which isn't often, I can't even get out of my driveway without sliding.
But, it snows so rarely, that that's not an issue.

My family used to drive Ford Mavericks when I was a little girl in the 70s. It wasn't a land-shark like so many other 70s "tanks, but it was solid steel and probably got less mileage per gallon than a Hummer (exaggeration).

And, as for switching parties - I don't think I've changed. I'm still fairly moderate. I think compromise for the good of the people is important. I think it was the Republican Party that changed. My Republican US House member is a paelo-con who voted against the IWR because he felt there wasn't enough evidence to send people to die and spend tons of money on during a recession. I still voted for him (there wasn't a Dem challenger anyway) and I'm OK with that.

However, I wouldn't vote for Frist or Alexander if you paid me. And, I was ABB back when he was running in the primaries in 2000. I voted for McCain because I would have been happy with him or Gore (voted for Gore in the General Election).

When there is snow or ice I walk or take public transportation. (I saved a lot of gas this winter in Boston.) ;-)

Some years ago I went to the Vette and Hi-performance swap meet in Puyallup, WA. Woke up to 7 inches of snow. A freak storm had dumped snow from Seattle to Corvallis, OR. The drive home in my 64 Vette had a very high "pucker-factor". Combine a hi-torque, short wheel-base, rear drive car with snow and ice and you've got a very scary situation.

When I lived in NH, the '65 396/425 coupe (w/factory side pipes) started shaking and saying "put me away" in October. :)

a 300 horse coupe but even starting in third gear resulted in hellacious wheel spin. On the bright side the heater was crap.

Especially since even after a tuneup, it still idled way too high.

...(losts of Bush/Cheney 2004) plus the propaganda that GM puts out:

<snip>

Saturn represents the most far-reaching example of a labor management
partnership model, one that embodies more of the features of a stakeholder model of the corporation than any other example discussed here. As such, it suggests both some strengths and limitations. On the one hand, it shows that multiple objectives of firms and employees can be achieved and balanced if both labor and employer representatives share a commitment to building and sustaining a partnership—that is, a legacy of mutual commitment fostered by the first generation of leaders who built Saturn. Second, it demonstrates that this type of employment relationship and the commitment to quality and customer service resonates positively with consumers and has a positive market value.


But the case also illustrates the significant resistance that exists to sharing power fully and redefining the basic mission, goals, and governance structures of the American corporation—and, therefore, the difficulty Saturn has experienced in sustaining support from leaders both within its parent labor and corporate organizations. It also suggests that significant changes in labor and employment laws, as well as perhaps in corporate law, would be needed to allow this full type of stakeholder firm to emerge and survive in the United States. A further limitation of the Saturn model is the fact that—like the other examples discussed here—“non-represented” managers and professionals were not formally included in the governance process. How to treat these employees remains an open question.



<more>
<link> http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:aomQS0j9B6gJ:www.arabou.org/Business/B200/Final_Case1.doc+Saturn+owners+political+affiliation&hl=en

it says: <snip> SATURN owners were also prone to put their Democratic loyalties on display, at least according to a count undertaken by Political Bumpers, which was billed as "an extremely unscientific" project undertaken near the end of the presidential campaign last year.<snip>

I'm not saying there are no freeper Saturn owners; most people I know that own Saturns are Dems. The salesman that I bought 3 of these cars from is also a Dem.

them. I don't have any "earth shoes" though.

That's a good one. I call mine an "old lady car." But dang, 32 mpg and 97,000 miles. My nephew has 200K on his.

I miss my old Saturn: a '94 sl1.

They're the best made, AFFORDABLE cars right now. And they're (mostly) American made.

Roomy, comfortable, peppy, solid, and with extraordinarily good road-handling. The Saturn is the most well-kept secret of American automobiles, imho. (I detest Volvos.)

I love mine: 1994 station wagon. Drives like a boat, never has any problems.

... and Volvo (Volvo of America, Inc. - HQ) refused to correct it. I bought it new. I drive conservatively - absolutely no lead-footing. I was literally looking for puddles under the tank. It was a car that SHOULD have gotten 20-24 mpg. I'd get 12 mpg driving the thruway at 55 mph and 8 mpg on suburban driving. I could actually see the gas guage move towards empty while I drove. I'll NEVER buy another.

I've never had a problem that couldn't be fixed by my local hippy mechanic for under a hundred bucks. Knock on wood....

buying Hybrids.

Every nut case Republican I know says they are not worth it. I ask them why they are not willing to make a sacrifice, while we are at war (god they hate that).

I have a Civic Hybrid. It is wonderful. I did not buy a Hybrid to save money on gas (the "what's in it for me" syndrome).

I bought a hybrid because it uses less fuel to operate.

As gas prices rise, I will be more likely to recoup my investment in gas savings (~ 7 years).

Cheers
Drifter

Now that gas prices are rising faster than Dick Cheney's blood pressure at Martin Luther King Day celebration.

Great gas mileage and small.

Unfortunately, I can't get into the website 'cause I forgot my password & I'm getting errors.

Anyway, this commentary talks about the hybrids and in one paragraph it says:

Two-thirds of the oil Americans consume goes into cars, trucks and buses. To meet that demand, the U.S. buys more than half of that oil abroad. In the next 20 years, foreign imports will climb toward 70 percent. To keep America secure, that number needs to drop drastically.

It goes on to report that 31 national security experts (former and current) have called on pResident * to rethink his energy policy.

I'll try to get on the site and paste the story.

I drive 60 miles two times a day in my commute. I hope that doesn't make me selfish. I'll be saving about $207 a month on gas.

Living in KC I see a LOT of F-150s and if I come across a support the troop sticker fest or W04 9 times out of ten its on the tailgate of an F-150. Which I will be honest cracks me up, watching some middle-aged dude who never goes offroad and tows a boat 2 times a year spend all that money on both vechile and gas.

Now its not as good as the 5' 2'' fake blond mom shuffling kids in the SUV curb hopper she can barely drive but its close.

and voted for Kerry because "Bush ain't for the little man."

Goes to show you that stereotypes are always made to be broken. ;)

Yes and my dad is a rural Missouri farmer who drives an F-350 and lifelong Democrat. I guess we know a couple of guys in the 25% :).

Democrats buy trucks and USE trucks for thie intended purpose. (WORK)
Pukes buy them becuase they are trying to be macho.

Man, Republicans are so FAKE in everything they do.

My step-Dad is a mechanic and does lawn-scaping on the side in the warmer months.
His truck is definitely a work vehicle.

wealthy, hunter, garage full of tools, from "the sticks," and a Democrat -- just barely, but he's hanging on. And he hates Bush.

Couldn't imagine getting rid of it but am looking for a good deal on a Ranger.

To Mr. Spinella, those bumper stickers merely provided further proof of the most fundamental difference between the two parties.

"Democrats buy cars," he said. "Republicans buy trucks."

Sums it all very nicely

Editorial | Needle points to security


Call them "hawks for hybrids."

'Fearing increased dependence on oil from volatile Middle Eastern countries and greater competition from China and India for scarce resources, 31 national security experts have called on President Bush to rethink his energy policy.

"We do not know today what form a crisis over oil will take, but we know that a crisis is coming - one that could harm the United States," said a letter sent March 28. Signatories include top advisers to former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

R. James Woolsey, Clinton's CIA director, says that, in the interest of national security, this coalition of "tree huggers, do-gooders, sod-busters and cheap hawks" advocates bolstering existing technology to reduce dependence on foreign oil. It's rare common ground in the divisive energy policy battle - a bipartisan effort worth heeding.

The President has focused on increasing domestic drilling, but this coalition rejects that strategy. There's simply not enough oil under U.S. soil.

Two-thirds of the oil Americans consume goes into cars, trucks and buses. To meet that demand, the United States buys more than half of that oil abroad. In the next 20 years, foreign imports will climb toward 70 percent. To keep America secure, that number needs to drop drastically.

In hawkish language that helps tie the issue to military preparedness, the coalition calls for a "major new initiative to curtail U.S. consumption through improved efficiency and rapid development and deployment" of farm-based fuels and flexible-fuel vehicles. Based on the work of the "Set America Free" campaign (www.setamericafree.org), it believes the United States can save billions of barrels of oil a day.

But that would take an investment "proportionate with other priorities for our nation's defense," the letter says, a minimum of $1 billion over five years.

Better yet, with $12 billion in incentives - a pittance compared with other defense and farm subsidies - the government could coax auto manufacturers to build more gas-electric hybrid and flexible-fuel vehicles. It could encourage gas stations to install alternative-fuel pumps and motivate consumers to buy these cars of the future. It's an approach likely to attract more supporters than the penalty-driven talk of mandatory fuel-economy standards and pollution emissions caps.

Why act now? Within 15 years, uneven distribution of the world's oil reserves will mean that a handful of Middle Eastern suppliers, who may or may not be friendly to the United States, will regain the influence over the oil market they had in the 1970s. Further, China and India's growing economies will generate an "arms race" for fuel.

"We're stupidly relying on a very volatile part of the world and hoping something doesn't go wrong there," Woolsey said in a news conference.

Terrorists already have targeted oil-production infrastructure. Now, America spends $49 billion a year to protect Persian Gulf oil interests - the equivalent of $1.17 per gallon of gasoline, according to the National Defense Council Foundation, a Virginia research firm. With increased dependency on imports, that expense will only go up.

The United States shouldn't sit idly awaiting miracle technologies, including the long-promised hydrogen fuel cell. At best, those vehicles are 15 years from market.

The nation should act now to find alternatives to oil. The potential exists to extract 300 to 500 miles from a gallon of gasoline.

Beyond relieving pocketbooks, that kind of gas mileage is essential to national security.'

Hybrids might be the only way to go in the future. Depending on foreign oil really does put us at risk for an economic melt down.

> The nation should act now to find alternatives to oil. The potential
> exists to extract 300 to 500 miles from a gallon of gasoline.

Not with any vehicle that any Republican would drive! When we're talking
about those sorts of mileages, we're talking Vespas, if not heavily
cowled motorbikes.

We ought to be conserving liquid fuels for the vehicles where we have
*NO CURRENT HOPE* of replacing them (such as aircraft). Everything else
needs to migrate off of gas and diesel *NOW*.

Tesha

I'm a bleeding heart LIBERAL. 2 things of interest to me:

One day, during the campaign, I was at a stop light and the lady in the car behind me got out of her car and came to my window and told me how much she liked my Kerry bumper stickers and asked me where I got them. I had some in my car, so I asked her if she would like one and she said "YES and I just cannot believe that someone driving a Jaguar is a Kerry supporter!" Me...:wtf: It honestly took me a few days to figure out what the hell that meant! Repukes are supposedly "wealthy" and are supposed to be the drivers of "luxury" vehicles. :eyes: I paid less for my PRE-OWNED, 1998 Jag than most people pay for a new vehicle.

TWO...I was visiting my niece in St. Louis 2 weeks ago and she said basically the same thing to me. St. Louis is a REPUKE city and she said that my bumper stickers probably throw the repuke St. Louis citizens for a loop because people who drive "Luxury" vehicles are repukes and me and my "radical" LIBERAL bumper stickers on a Jag more than likely confuse the hell out of them. :evilgrin:

I will soon be getting a Hybrid or Diesel car and will miss having the Jag to post my bumper stickers on. I think it makes a GREAT statement to those who think the wealthy (which we ARE NOT, but they don't know that :)) are all repukes. When they see my new Hybrid with radical bumper stickers on it, they will think..."typical Liberal" with the Jag, they think twice about it. I like that.

and with your Kerry sticker, it really would make a lot of heads turn. I love it!!!

I thought about looking into a used BMW, but I'd really like to stick with (as much as possible) American made cars. Like an earlier poster to this thread said, they're not completely American made, but anything helps.

required constant repair. I had a Jeep that was ALWAYS in the shop...a real lemon. and I swore I would never again by an American made car because of the cost to constantly repair it. That was in the 70's, so maybe they've improved? Don't know. I've had 2 Toyota's in the past. I had a Celica which was NEVER in the repair shop...not once in the 10 years I drove it, amazing! I had a 4-Runner which sucked gas like nothing I had ever seen, but was NEVER in the repair shop during the 4 years I drove that car. It's a dilemma. Buy American...or save fuel and $$$$ on repair costs. The money saved on repair costs can be spent at BLUE stores/companies for OTHER things. ;)

I am considering a Toyota Prius, Honda Hybrid or the Volkswagen Golf TDI....I don't know if they are American made, in part, or not, but the fuel they will save is VERY appealing to me since we have soldiers dying in Iraq for OIL.

Other than the '94 needing a new motor (?) for the power window, our '99 and '02 have never needed anything else than regularly scheduled maintenance.

IMHO: go for the hybrid. They're quiet.

if the batteries should go bad they have to be replaced at a cost of $2000 bucks! :scared: I'm one of those people who if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all. Murphy's Law..Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. MY luck, the batteries would go bad...I just KNOW they would. $2000 is alot of $$$ to dish out on a car repair.

What kind of fuel milage does a Saturn get?

One bought his in 2001 and has never had a problem.
One bought hers in 2002 and has never had a problem.
One bought hers in 2005 and of course has never had a problem.

Then have a friend that bought the Civic Hybrid in 2003 and they have never had a problem.

I think you are letting the battery price scare you when really there is not that much of a fear factor in buying a hybrid. You only have to change the oil every 10,000 miles so you save money there and you save money on gas. I think you are talking yourself out of one too easily.

Oh yeah and I bought my Civic hybrid last week!

it's the one I'm leaning toward and REALLY, REALLY want. As I said in my other post, that was the ONLY issue I had with it, the batteries going bad and the cost. I'm just looking at how my luck falls. Your friends could probably drive those cars forever and not have a problem. Let ME buy one and it'll be a lemon. Mark my word. Really. I'm jinxed. ;) I love Toyota cars. They're so well made.

Congrats on the Honda Civic Hybrid! Do you love it? My sister is going to buy a Honda Hybrid. They have never owned another make of car...They swear by the Honda!

those are the two types of cars that my dad swears by. I've been a VW person since I started driving just because they look good! But I love this Honda and it just makes you so concious of your own driving habits that may not be too fuel efficient. Now that I can see at any moment they miles per gallon I am getting I drive safer but mainly it is just because I want to maximize my fuel efficiency. It's like a challenge to me!

Good luck on purchasing a Prius if you end up doing so. I just couldn't afford one. The MSRP is $21k but the dealer was asking $27 so I went to Honda loved the Civic Hybrid and it was only $18k even though the MSRP was $20k. Might have just been the difference of nice dealer vs. shitty dealer!!!

In the midwest there is a year long waiting list and the soonest you can get one is the 2006 model year. My source is the Toyota dealership last week.

I was considering getting one.

Yes, I was car shopping.

The Honda hybrids have an 8 year warranty on the battery. The Toyota Prius has a ten year warranty on the battery.

I fell in love with it. Yeah, it's made in Germany, but with high paid union workers who get 5 weeks of vacation... at least! I am in love with it. It's just a 325xi sedan, nothing ostentateous, and gets decent, but not fantastic mileage. My only problem is that Sirius Radio only comes on 2002 and later models, not my 2001.:grr:

I have to take issue with the Saab example in the article. There are 2 BMW type of owners. Those that buy for status, and those, like me, who buy them because they drive so well, and like no other car I've driven. Besides, the new Saabs have some kind of reliability problem ever since GM bought them (I don't really know, my BMW salesman told me that :evilgrin: ). That "BMW=yuppie scum" thing should have died out after the 80s, when SUVs replaced them as status symbols. They really are very good cars.

sticker in the back window.

The looks are priceless... :)

"The looks are priceless.". and I have NEVER had anyone make a snide remark to me about my stickers either and they are truly "in your face", anti-war/anti-Bush.

The Audi A6......NICE looking car! I sat in one one day when I was at my Jag/Volvo dealer. Audi is right next door. I also sat in the 2 seater convertible....don't know the model name, but was it SWEEEET! Impractical for us, but a very nice car.

I shouldn't say this, but on occasion I have been known to depress the gas pedal a wee bit. :)

The Audi gets a real 25-26 mpg on the highway, which beat the hell out of everything else in its class. There was no way I was buying something in the 18-21 mpg range, and when you add the fact the the A6 is 0-60 in 5.6 it was a no-brainer.

However, I have been looking long and hard at the Honda Accord Hybrid recently. I had an Accord before the Audi, and as is always the case with Honda it was wonderful. The Audi, however, is a bit more comfortable for the amount of driving we do, which sad to say is a great deal.

that high performance engines MUST be driven fast, at times, to keep the engine in proper working condition. For my "maintenance" I put the pedal to the metal whenever I feel there's no cop around to catch me. :evilgrin: The Jag cruises at 100 mph and you don't even know you're going that fast. It's so damn smooth and is the reason I bought a K-40 Undetectable Radar detector ;) and the COMFORT! Man, there's nothing like it. It's a great road trip car.

I know I'll be sacrificing comfort, speed and elegance when I go to my hybrid, but it's something I feel I MUST do. For me, no car will ever measure up to a Jag. It was the only luxury car I've ever had and will probably be the last. It had been my "dream" car forever and now that my dream has been fulfilled...it's time for me to be responsible, sensible and save fuel. ;) I'm really looking forward to a Hybrid. I know I'll feel REALLY good driving it because of the fuel I'll be saving. At least I'll feel like I'm doing my little part to help save our resources.

What would that make me?

<snip>Among their findings: buyers of American cars tend to be Republican - except, for some reason, those who buy Pontiacs, who tend to be Democrats.<snip>

That's a relief

"buyers of American cars tend to be Republican - except, for some reason, those who buy Pontiacs"

From a fellow Pontiac owner who has a 2001 Grand Prix GT. It's big, goes well, and gets around 29mpg on my highway driving stints. I also have a 2001 VW Jetta TDI; it's small, goes well, and gets around 49mpg on the highway.

--- edited for a few typos, apparently I can't even use "Check Spelling" correctly

:spank:

> I have a Pontiac; What would that make me?

In need of a new car brand; you've been "orphaned".

Tesha

My last one had a DU sticker displayed prominently in the back window. My latest car is a Cadillac STS and also has a DU sticker in the back window.

Just saying there's exceptions to these rules...

I know people that have these big ass trucks, but they use it for their livlihood, which is usually construction.

I also worked with a Dem and she bought one of the first Mazda Miatas when they came out. Fast, but not practical.

Maybe the republicans only purchase larado... mine's a limited. :D

I take great pride in the fact that I get better gas mileage than my friends with their minivans.

I don't care what the Times or DU says. We are all Dems at my house.

I happen to own a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, and I'm a flaming liberal.

I use it for its intended purpose though: getting up and down the hills of Ithaca, NY in two feet of snow :D

When it's nice out, I don't drive it.

Gets decent mileage too, considering the hills it traverses.

Not to mention it's obvious that a liberal is driving it by the stickers on the back. (tolerance, bush must go, kerry/edwards, world peace)

I guess that's my paranoid side coming out.

I'm only 28 with 2 kids and my husband and I swore we would never buy a minivan, but I love my Dodge Grand Caravan (power doors rock). It still gets better gas mileage then an Expedition and I feel pretty safe in it. I work with a bunch of Republican's and they all drive great big SUV's, they were complaining about the price of gas ($2.36 today) and how much their truck eats up. I told them they voted for it.

I never thought of it as a political statement, but because the thing is so utterly solid. It's like driving a brick.

Now, if they can only solve the electrical problems that plague Volvos...

A cheap French car that ONLY liberals drive. :)

Actually, I don't know that, but I'd bet, since the only time I've ever seen them has been in large, liberal cities. I had one myself for a couple of years. It was a piece of shit -- but a conversation piece.

known respectively as the New Roo and the Blue Roo.

Actually, this poll doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. Pugs drive gas hogs, Dems drive cars with good mileage. Pugs are in denial about everything else, why not about peak oil & gas prices too?

Around here, the prototypical Pugmobile seems to be a big-assed Chevy Suburban with 2 window flags, half a dozen Support the Imperial Army ribbons & a Jesus fish.

More American made and assembled parts than any other car on the market. If Saturn were smart they would make a hybrid sedan or compact car and market it to progressives. They would make a killing.

Traded in my '95 SL1 for a '02 SL1.

'Practical' car for 'practical' people, which I think describes many of us here on DU.

Almost without exception, the most insecure, hypermasculine posers I've ever known were conservative. They cater to the armchair chickenshit with something to prove (as long as he can prove it safely).

The cylinders in a man's truck and the number of inches in his penis adds up to 11.

1976 Corvette? (As American a car as you can get; I'm sure there are plenty of others)

I could mortgage myself and get a new 'vette, but those suck, style-wise.

Of course, I didn't end up getting it when gas was cheap, I ended up getting it last year, after decades of fantasizing (not particularly that year, just Vettes in general; well, until the 84s came out).

No absolutes in this type of market/stat demographic, but here are three I think no right wing rep would be caught dead in. Oh well, one can dream.

A 1950's vintage Citroen 2CV from when the French were rebuilding their industry. I thought about buying one from a neighbor. It's the closest thing you can get to an anti-car except feet.

<>

Next, a Trabi from the GDR. Let 'em 'splain this one to their buds at the Committee for Justice.

<>

And last, maybe a cliche, but someone has to say it.
<>

And my very liberal husband drives a Ford F-150 pickup.

:shrug:

My husband is German, and he ain't no Republican. Ever.

Now I have an Acura TL with an FW oval plastered on the back, wonder what that "makes me?" I tell nosey inquirees that we have family in Fort Washington, PA. HAHA!!