Women and cars: what about the clichés?
Cliché1: Women drive more cautiously than men.
Clear case: If a car crawls at a snail's pace over the intersection, leaves a cyclist behind and stops at the next traffic light already at green-yellow, then a woman must be at the wheel? or? According to Dr. Christa Roth-Sackenheim, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, is quite a bit on this cliché. "Women are clearly more cautious and slower than men," said Roth-Sackenheim. "This is partly because women doubt their abilities more than men do." Men were more likely to seek blame on others. On the other hand, women are also simply looking ahead. "Women generally try to anticipate and avoid threats, and they are more worried than men and not only responsible for themselves, but also for others." To explain this is the evolutionary background: Since the woman previously had mainly the task of looking after their children and to protect them, it is programmed to recognize risks and avoid.
Cliche 2: Women have no idea about cars and technology.
Women can not distinguish a hammer from a screwdriver and think of spark plugs at best at Christmas? That's not true. The car masters of the women's workshop AutoDiva in Hamburg observe technical incomprehension and disinterest in both female and male car owners. "Many women come to us who are curious and often tinker with their own car," explains Martina Wilde. On the other hand, there are some male customers who are against any screwdriving. "I imagine that the men here dare to admit that, among other men." Although there are still very few car mechanics, but this has more to do with education and social prejudices than with technical incomprehension. "If at home only the father puts his head under the bonnet, then that remains in the heads," said Wilde.
Cliché 3: Women are afraid of highways and do not like driving fast
"Not true," says Michael Ramstetter, editor-in-chief of the ADAC motor magazine and head of ADAC public relations: "Basically, there is no statistical evidence or research that women are afraid of high speeds or highway driving, why should they?" No prejudice is that men are the notorious plumbers and speeders. The accident statistics and the Flensburg point file speak a clear language here: "Men are also much more involved in serious accidents than women and there are typical accidents for men (fly out of the curve, lane departure, rear access) and accidents by women happen rather, when turning and parking, and after getting off the ground, men can actually learn from women to make accidents cheaper, so to speak. "
According to statistics, women are building fewer accidents overall. Michael Ramstatter says: "Especially in dangerous situations, women are more prudent and more attentive, the threshold to rest is much higher, men are becoming more brutal relatively quickly, women are better able to deal with stress at the wheel, and are by nature less capable than others can have a devastating effect on men in traffic. " In addition, the courtship behavior plays a role in men, such as when a beautiful woman sits next door in the car. As far as driving learning is concerned, men and women are now on the same level: in the past 15 to 20 years, just as many women as men take the driver's license. Incidentally, the first long-distance journey in automobile history was handled by a woman: in August 1888, Berta Benz and her two sons set out from Mannheim to Pforzheim by night and fog.
Cliche 4: Women have a more personal relationship to the car than men
Ansgar Klein, managing director of the Federal Association of Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers, considers the men rather emotional: "For women, a car is a commodity, they look for it from a reasonable point of view, often it should be small, so they find a parking space easier. In addition, women should play the same role as the man in deciding on a new car, and nowadays, more and more men are riding scooters to work and women are driving with the station wagon Children go to school Color plays a similar role in women and men Men are more of an emotional buyer, like car salesmen, because it's easier to convince them.If you want to sell a car to a woman, you have to convince with professional competence, answer questions precisely and do not fool around. This is what most women value. They want a factual basis for discussion and no emotional praise. Aesthetic things play a minor role for women. For example, one time I had a customer who did not buy a car because the turn signal was too loud for her. Overall, one can say that women do not love their cars as much as men do. On the contrary: Often they even drive the rotten boxes. Only if they are to part with it does it come close. "
