Does America Want an Angry Looking Prius?

Fox News recently reported on a study which interestingly showed that consumers tend to prefer vehicles with aggressive and angry looking faces over the sappy, happy face of such vehicles as say, the Toyota Prius, Chevy Aveo, and the old Dodge Neon's (you remember, the ones on the commercials that would say, "Hi").

This study actually opens up a whole new way for car designers to assess the design of future models. They already have a lot to think about when they are in the process of putting together the look of a new model, such as aerodynamics, rigidity, relative simplicity for manufacturing purposes, and of course what people seem to like.

As the report states, people do inherently have the tendency to see faces in things which have the basic outline of eyes, nose, and mouth. This has been called pareidolia, and has been used to explain why human beings tend to see faces in clouds, on textured walls, and yes, through the headlights and grill of a vehicle. All the cartoons and Walt Disney "Herbie" movies have only added to this phenomenon.

The most interesting thought here, is while many of the vehicles that were found to meet the most approval, were aggressive shaped, such as the BMW, with its wide slanted headlights (furrowed, aggressive brow) and engaging open mouth (grille). Would this design really be accepted for such eco-friendly cars as the Toyota Prius?

And even if people do tend to prefer the aggressive look, if they were to actually find themselves out on the lot looking for a new vehicle, would that be their choice. It is kind of like what we find with our own taste in good-looking people. Just because some guys tend to be attracted to the Pamela Anderson type, does not mean that is what they will ultimately choose in a partner.

So while this study tends to give the aggressive vehicle the winning bid, we want to ask you, our fellow Planet Green Readers, what kind of face do you like on your vehicle? Perhaps an aggressive taunting Tesla Roadster, which appears to be saying, "Look out muscle heads...I'm going to ram my electric batteries down your smog engulfed tailpipe!"

Or maybe just a simple Dodge Neon, which has the ever simplistic vocabulary of, "Hi." Or perhaps even more so, the Toyota Prius, which may appear to some folks as saying, "Pardon me sir Hummer, would you mind smoking that cigar tail pipe somewhere else, your making me want to gag."

Source: Fox News: Angry-Faced Cars More Popular, Study Finds