I love pop surveys — particularly when the findings are obviously suspect. This very week, for instance, after years of trying not to feel guilty about frying eggs for quick and convenient breakfasts through the week, I found out that that after all was OK. An egg a day does not necessarily lead to higher LDL, the bad cholesterol, as was earlier believed, or thus said a report.
The study mentioned involved a group of volunteers (obviously in the US) on a Mediterranean diet with eggs, and showed that they were no worse off than people who went without their Spanish omlettes for a period of time.
As I gear up to begin the new year in style with a Frittata and a glass of red wine (yes, for breakfast), my thought is turned to all those other “researches” that I have read about down the years: None has been more entertaining than the one that tells us how the colour of one’s car gives a clue to one’s personality.
In the Color Answer Book, Leatrice Eiseman postulated that the colour of a vehicle can show up personality traits of the owner: A vibrant red car for a “sexy, speedy, high-energy and dynamic” person, silver for those who are “elegant, love futuristic looks and cool”, black for one who is “empowered, not easily manipulated”, and so forth.
Ever since it was published (in 2003) it has been a Bible for believers. And even though I don’t call myself one, I do subscribe to some of its theories: In my heart, I have firmly established myself as a silver person. There, I have said it. And all my car choices are dictated by this self-image: No red cars, for me please, not the least, because other studies have found “speedy” owners getting involved in higher number of accidents. And no green ones either since the owners are “traditional, trustworthy and well-balanced”. (I have nothing against the last two attributes, it is merely the first I strive hard to rebel against.) On the other hand, my father does own a smart dark green car and it comforts me no end!
This year, I also came across one of the funniest spin-offs of Eiseman’s theories. Randomly Googling, I came across an article that suggested a new way of dating, indeed of matrimony, based not on religious, cultural or other preferences but on the colour of a potential partner’s car. Someone with a gold car (“intelligent, warm, loves comfort and will pay for it”) should make an ideal match with one who owns a black car (“loves elegance and appreciates the classics”). And unconventional people — the oranges (“fun loving, talkative, fickle and tricky”), the purples or the sunshine yellows — may prefer to stick together.
Silver, say automobile companies around the world, even those on the verge of collapse, has been the highest-selling colour of the decade. But blue will soon outsell this, it’s predicted. Will it?
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For that, you may ask yourself who are the kind of people likely to be buying at all during the recession, which, experts tell us, will only be worse in 2009. Indeed, blues, “credible, confident and dependable”, are likely to be people who will logically be able to hold on to their jobs and thrive, and therefore be able to afford buying new cars. Neutral grays — said to be sober, corporate, practical and pragmatic — may do well too in these uncertain times.
But I wonder what will the browns do? Down-to-earth and no-nonsense, they are unlikely to be buyers of luxury. But if these are the stolid, middle-class people they are made out to be, would they risk seeking a bank loan to finance their cars? Or, perhaps, they will when interest rates come down. Another nonsense theory is one that suggests that bright colours are likely to sell more during recession because people will use these to cheer themselves up. But a car is not exactly a lipstick. Or is it? Wait for 2009.
