Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
You and James are right re: the psych. I think more often than not that outward displays of "egomania" are the result of compensating for insecurity, not true superiority complexes.
It's not just males though! U.S. women drive (PUN!) the majority of new vehicle purchases, and that would be SUVs and Pickups. Women, moreso than men, place high importance on sitting up high, surrounding the passenger compartment with sheer bulk, and conforming to the herd.
Both genders in the U.S. seem to relish bringing a cannon to a knife fight though.
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Excellent point about the female influence as well.
But to avoid going any further off track, let me take a second to address another issue more to the heard of this thread. Lighter trucks, more expensive materials, EPA influence...etc.
I read a lot of posts about wanting small trucks, but buying a car is more of an emotional decision that most people think. I sold cars many years ago and the biggest concern as a salesmen was getting someone to fall in love with something...ANYTHING to sell them. Most often, these are the vehicles that pay the most homage to whatever emotional shortcomings the buyer has.
Usually that means the biggest truck, or most opulent car they can fit into thier monthly checkbooks.
So here's the issue. People say they want...from an intelectual standpoint, a small, utilitarian, efficient, inexpensive truck but when you get to the lot and that Colorado is parked next to a big, beautiful, Chevy Silverado with baby seal skin seats, the emotional brain gets involved, and usually wins. The problem is simple brain arcitecture. The logical part of our brain, or the cerebral cortex is built over the top of the more primitive, yet more dominant limbic system, which is in charge of our emotions.
So when we decide what we need, or think we want, it's parts of the cerebral cortex talking, but when it comes down to what feels right, the limbic system, that really controls the outcome of most of our actions, save for a handful of people that have learned how to tame their emotions. The people that have, usually don't end up in 4000 square foot homes with an interest only mortgage with leased SUV's in the driveway on a $45k per year sallary.
So when we talk about education, none of it will matter unless people understand their emotions, how they work, and how they can adversely affect your decision making processes. Emotions are great for making snap decisions. "I feel a burning sensation, oh crap I'm on fire, I'm gonna go jump into the river"...If you had to actually think that all out, you might die, but your emotions allow you to react instantly. Good in emergency's, not so good when it's going to hamper you financially for several years, while you reinforce misconceptions about yourself, mask all your emotional shortcomings and come no closer to fixing the problem...which is the squishy thing behind the sunglasses.
People need to be educated about themselves, something never addressed in the education system.