Is the Car World Going Gender-Less?
From aliens in jumpsuits to climate-centric motorsport, car culture is learning to embrace new audiences on their own terms.
A weekly newsletter by Ryan K. ZumMallen | @zoomy575m
Happy Race Day, especially to Lamborghini for launching the most bizarre (and oddly appropriate for 2020) visual campaign in recent memory:
It launched a thousand jokes, like the above, and this and this, but my favorite response was this one from friend of the newsletter Syd Cummings.
What Syd identified, and what rubbed many the wrong way, is how the ads mark a departure from the standard, male-centric aspiration we’re used to. Instead they embrace something abstract, ambiguous and maybe even sinister?
Now that’s thinking out of the box. You may ask yourself, will it sell more Lamborghinis? The answer is likely no. But ask yourself, is it reflective of modern trends and tastes? And you get a much different answer.
Lots of studies show that young people value diversity, creativity and individuality in their advertising. You can almost feel the story in these photos. Something weird and interesting is going on. There’s texture. The car isn’t the only exciting part.
Something even more exciting is happening in the real world. Car culture is being defined within new parameters. Which transgender drivers are breaking barriers? How can motorsport draw attention to the climate crisis? What does car content for women really look like?
All of that is below. And on the week of the all-women’s Rebelle Rally through the desert, with more manufacturer backing than ever before. It’s a beautiful thing. And it feels like just the beginning.
Need a good read? Don’t forget to grab a copy of my book, Slow Car Fast, for the fall quarantine season. If you’ve already torn through it, visit our Bookshop.org store for a curated list of the best automotive nonfiction books you can buy.
Culture
Good to know: Even die-hard fans hate the new BMW M3/M4 design. And it does not get better if you turn its headlights vertical.
Loved this collection of basic car maintenance advice. There are quite a few I’d never heard before! (Click the tweet below to see the whole thread.)
Video game culture is car culture these days. Exhibit A is this remarkable Ford Mustang resto-mod inspired by the upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077. It looks frickin’ rad.
Video Reel
Cool video where a Formula E driver talks about the similarities between racing and surfing. Part of FE’s effort to bring attention to climate change:
Crash test engineer [plus] Legos [equals] this glorious video:
I don’t know WHY a stock car was crushing 200 mph on a public highway but I’m not here to ask questions:
Heavily-modified minivans racing through a forest at absolutely insane speeds. Again, I find it better not to ask questions:
Race Results
Charlie Martin became the first transgender driver to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours in late September. She finished an outstanding fourth.
Young ace Colton Herta (a Gen Z-er!) is having a breakout IndyCar season. It’s inspiring fans to pull off some pretty incredible memes.
Ask A Millennial! Tamara Warren, 44
Tamara is a longtime automotive journalist who recently launched LeCar.co, a car shopping site designed for a different kind of buyer. It features interviews with celebrities like Fab Five Freddy and columns from well-known writers. But that’s not what caught my eye. Instead, it was an obvious commitment to creative kinds of content. One was an 8-year old race fan’s letter to her teenage self. Another was an interview that asked whether companies should design cars specifically for people to have sex in. I mean, yeah, why not? Stuff like this is great because it challenges our perception of what it means to be a car enthusiast. I couldn’t wait to chat with Tamara. Here is an edited version of our conversation:
We want to help our readers make informed decisions about their vehicle choices, and to explore new perspectives on what it means to care about cars and their personal mobility.
For most people, cars are essential to daily life, so they do care about what they drive, even if they don’t consider themselves enthusiasts. Not all of us have had the access or language to feel included in conversations about cars, and to see ourselves as potential enthusiasts.
It’s a popular statistic that women influence 86% of car purchases. Yet little has been done to create content that is inclusive of audiences that vary by gender, ethnicity, age and life experience. It's great that women are taking on leadership roles in our industry, but there are still only a handful. We need more balanced editorial teams and decision makers to empower creative thinking.
Many of my friends love to drive, but don’t identify as car enthusiasts. No one’s talking to them. We need to engage diverse groups of women to broaden perspectives and challenge stereotypes that date back to the Mad Men era.
Car companies have said this decade is about building efficient vehicles and exploring alternative forms of mobility. This change is essential. It gets back to the roots of innovative spirit that drove the auto industry in the early years. We have a responsibility to undo the damage the industry has done to our environment.
What sounds most decadent now in the quiet of the pandemic: I’m zipping along the Amalfi coast in a performance coupe. Maybe its electric? I can taste the salty tang, windows down and the air smells fresh. Engine whirs, beats crisp on a fly sound system, my favorite driving partner in the passenger seat. What I love is that great driving engages all my senses, and make me feel alive and free.
Auction Block
Be careful what you wish for. We wanted people to recognize the value in cool, weird cars. And now CTS-V wagons are going for $89,000.
Japanese cars historically have been completely ignored in the collector’s market. Thanks to Millennial passion, that changed. Here’s an RM Sotheby’s blog highlighting choice JDM models in its upcoming Lake Elkhart auction.
And Finally…
If you ever needed visual representation of how the rich play by different rules than the rest of us, here you go:
Drive hard and be safe. Black Lives Matter.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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