Many of us have cars, or at least we did in high school, specifically if you grew up outside of the city. Cars are an intrinsic component of American life, especially in the Midwest. Playing such a large role in our lives compared to regions like Scandinavia, where they heavily use bicycles and public transportation, surely cars must be tied to our identity. With the variety of purposes served by various cars, I thought it’d be fun to take a dive into what I imagine to be commonalities of drivers of each type of car.
What might it mean if I drive a…?
Pickup truck:
Not super common for girls, but this is what I’d consider the most heavy duty vehicle. For the sake of those around you, I hope you actually know how to park! There’s a chance you park really far out in a parking lot because you hate parking your truck. You’re either a country girl at heart who drives the truck for nostalgia and owns several Carhartt hoodies or you need it to lug thrifted furniture or your woodworking projects around. Either way, you love to throw a tailgate and have picnics out of your truck bed.
Wagon:
You’re outdoorsy, and you probably have a roof rack for some type of outdoor gear and a bike rack attached to the hitch. Your car has tons of miles from your road trips—since you go on camping trips out west and in Canada. You actually know how to change a tire, and you definitely count skiing, stand-up paddle boarding, and hiking as some of your favorite activities. There’s a chance you’re vegetarian or vegan, carry a Nalgene around, own real hiking boots, and you really care about the environment.
Sedan:
You love blasting music! You have a Little Trees air freshener hanging from your rear view mirror. Your driving may be a bit erratic, but you can park well. Going to concerts is one of your favorite things to do, and you dread snowfall. You’re not super outdoorsy, but you are always down to go lift at the gym. Shopping is one of your favorite things to do and you exclusively drink iced coffee or Celsius.
SUV:
You’re always the one driving everyone else around. You’re the mom of the friend group, and a future soccer mom, but you’re still adventurous. Some of your favorite possessions are your flared Lululemon pants, Uggs or sneakers, Longchamp tote, and Stanley tumbler. You are definitely a dog person, and you probably had a golden retriever or a lab growing up. Your driving skills instantly diminish if you have to drive someone’s sedan (I’m talking about myself!) and you insist you can see so much better in a car that’s higher up.
Minivan:
You’re the youngest in the family and you are always driving lots of people around. You probably played tons of sports growing up, so there’s always an old sports duffel in the trunk. Leggings and sweats are your go-to outfit staples, and you definitely have an Owala water bottle. You’re creative, love doing crafts, and watching movies—which is how you spent your childhood in the same van during road trips to visit extended family.
Convertible:
You have tons of west coast, relaxed energy and enjoy sunset drives. You only ever drive people around for fun and love a long car ride to nowhere, but you don’t know how to drive in the snow. Where you’re from, winters aren’t that harsh, so your instinct is to wear your puffer around Ann Arbor when it’s 50 degrees out. Your Instagram feed is super aesthetic and is mostly shot on film, and your car has definitely made it into a few posts.
Moped:
While this isn’t a car, I have noticed quite a few of these around campus at Umich, so I figured they deserved a mention. A frat boy probably convinced you that this was the best way to get around Ann Arbor, and you thought it would be perfect once you saw pictures of Audrey Hepburn on a Vespa in Roman Holiday (1953)—not that you watched the movie. You are very involved in your sorority, and you love how easy it is to take your moped to class—it’s so much easier to find parking compared to driving a car!
I obviously don’t think these descriptions fit all drivers of each type of vehicle to a tee, but I had a lot of fun thinking about this and hope you enjoyed the read! Drive safe!