What's Wrong With Being a Lady Owner?

Ever seen those used car ads with the description saying “Lady Owner”?

What was that even supposed to mean?

With Captain Marvel cast as the most powerful avenger, Supercar blondie rocking Instagram driving exotic cars and Sabine Schmitz beating sports car lap times with a Ford Transit van, the use of the word “Lady Owner” practically has no clear indication of what that means for a used car buyer. Even the 2011 Old Lady Volkswagen ad showing two dudes buying a used Golf from a granny were rejoicing over what good condition the car is in – oblivious to the fact that granny had done burnouts, launched over bridges and done handbrake turns.

Source: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG4IaHgqH00

Yet that description still exists. Apparently, it is supposed to create an impression that the car is in a better condition. “Oh, it used to be in the delicate care and soft hands of a lady owner…” is that what the ads try to imply? What if the lady owner was another Golf granny? What if she was a powerlifter who doesn’t skip leg day and flooring the accelerator was her default way of throttling?

The misunderstanding doesn’t just stop there. Automakers were first to note that purchase demographics have started to skew towards females either being the main purchaser or influencer in car buying. Instead of realizing that they love, buy and drive their products for the very same reasons as men, they simply focused on making the car brands more appealing to women. The cars… well they seemed to be still made for men to drive around.

Predominantly male-focused car ads both vintage and new.

Sure - General Motors made history by putting Mary Barra at the helm, the first time any auto giant put a female at the very top. Yet since then, it is questionable whether any car made by General Motors was aimed directly at women.

Bugatti rolled out a crocodile skin handbag that looks like the car’s front grille. Yet a simple google search for top cars or top luxury cars for women would list a whole bunch of average cars - with no Bugatti model making it to that recommended list.

When you think “Bugatti driver” - the first thing that comes to your mind is either a male Russian tycoon or even a James May. It’s not going to be Beyonce - even though she had bought a Veyron before.

For some reason this very mindset is imbued in automakers when it comes to the subject of making cars that women love to buy and drive.

Yes - we have more female buyers.
Yes - we need to make our cars more female friendly.

Female friendly? Lady Owner? Oh, here we go again.

Unlike perfumes which may incorporate gender-specific pheromones that affect the behaviours and physiology of the opposite sex - cars have proven to be equally impactful to both genders regardless of the ads and product features aimed at a specific gender.

Lamborghini very narrowly escaped public scrutiny last year during the Urus launch despite getting a female brand director on board as it publicly admitted to targeting females and families. “4 seats, usable boot and isofix for child seats” were actual product highlights - lending a sexist tone to a brand famous for a fighter jet heritage, high horsepower and a thunderous engine grunt.

A high percentage of Lamborghini Huracan buyers were female. Not because it had any usable boot or isofix - but because it appealed to them equally the same way it appealed to males.

In China, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets, several carmakers have reported that women account for about 40 percent of buyers – compared to the global average of less than 5%. What’s even more interesting is that they don’t just buy an entry level Ferrari or Lamborghini - but rather the bigger and more powerful models that even ballsy men would struggle to control.

In China though, It is more about bold successful women making a statement. Formidable women found high-end high-powered luxury vehicles to be personifications of themselves. Any attempt to woo them with boot space, child seats or anything female friendly would have been terribly ill-fitting and even offensive. Automakers such as Maserati responded with ads featuring females at the wheel and even featured actual female customers who drive their cars in special editions of Vogue Italia.

Source: WeChat, Maserati

We live in an era where Jane Porter can tame beasts just as well as Tarzan. However, automakers just can’t seem to picture their female customers taming their high-powered cars the same way.

A notable example of a car manufacturer getting it somewhat right would be Porsche. Porsche went on to sign Maria Sharapova as its first brand ambassador in 2013, although its buyers were predominantly male. She was then featured in an empowering “Outperform yourself” ad in 2015 behind the wheel of a powerful, grunty 911 Turbo S.

Just her. Not being driven around. Not in some stereotypical pink either.

That’s how it should be, you might say. Powerful female drivers is the new sexy. However, even that can be a little sexist. It appeals to men - who in this case, are the predominant buyers of the 911.

There needs to be the next step. Sexism should be out altogether.

Recently last month Maria Sharapova was featured in a heart-warming promo video taking turns with fellow brand Ambassador Mark Webber, driving around the Weissach test track in a 911 GT2 RS. It’s not the best of examples since Mark was somewhat rattling on Maria’s driving - yet it is one of the few videos which feature both sexes completely belonging to the car.

Automakers have only just started to politically correct their ads and keep a unisex stance to avoid the unwanted sexism that has plagued the industry for decades. Some car ads can be completely void of any human driver representation - something that would also be relevant for the autonomous future ahead.

With that said, for a start, let’s strive to remove the sexist lady owner tag in used car descriptions.

Credits: