faigin@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Daniel Faigin) (05/02/85)
[Can you spell C H I L D] In article <2579@tekig.UUCP> david@tekig.UUCP (David Hayes) writes: >to the freeway, I look over and see some asshole in a rabbit >driving at least 55 mph, ONE FOOT or closer to the rear >bumper of a Volvo. Actually, I have begun to notice a correlation between the color or make of a car and the driving habits of the owner. For examples, the "children"* tend to drive red cars, usually Rabbit/GTI convertables or the little BMW's (530i's, I think). The "slowpokes" tend to drive large American cars [can you spell tank]. [*: Children (n): A type of driver who does absolutly idiotic things on the road, like attempting to do 15 mph faster than everyone else by darting in and out of lanes. The great gods of the highway will get them someday] Has anyone else noticed this correlation?? Daniel -- UUCP: {akgua allegra ihnp4 hplabs sdcsvax trwrb cbosgd}!sdcrdcf!faigin ARPA: sdcrdcf!faigin@UCLA-CS.ARPA W: SDC, 2500 Colorado MD 52-46; Santa Monica CA 90406; (213) 820-4111 x6493 H: 11743 Darlington Avenue #9; Los Angeles CA 90049; (213) 826-3357 It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice-versa. -- A. J. Perlis, SIGPLAN 17:9 Sept 1982
jayt@ssc-vax.UUCP (Jay T McCanta) (05/06/85)
> > Actually, I have begun to notice a correlation between the color > or make of a car and the driving habits of the owner. For > examples, the "children"* tend to drive red cars, usually > Rabbit/GTI convertables or the little BMW's (530i's, I think). > The "slowpokes" tend to drive large American cars [can you spell > tank]. > Yes, the insurance companies have; it costs more to insure a red car. ------------------------------------------------------------------- I HATE CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY ... ... and I live in Seattle. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jay T. McCanta Boeing Aerospace These ideas are mine and I claim them. Kent, Wa. My employer may not want to share in claiming. {uw-beaver|adiron|cesonix|argus|purdue}!ssc-vax!jayt
rastaman@ihdev.UUCP (Biding my time) (05/07/85)
> Yes, the insurance companies have; it costs more to insure a red car. > > Jay T. McCanta Say what? Which firm(s) are you talking about here? And what is your source? ihnp4!ihdev!rastaman (I drive a red car, but it's a Ford so I *can't* speed.)
tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee) (05/07/85)
> >Yes, the insurance companies have; it costs more to insure a red car. > I'm surprised at this one, about a year ago I needed to get a new insurance agent (my then current compny declined the privelege of continuing to insure me). So I really hunted around - trying to optimize price for the following conditions; 30 years old, male, mediocre poor driving record, red Alfa Romeo. I found that how companies rated my driving record to be nearly universal, but how they rated the car varied greatly. This car is a 2 door sedan (by strict definition of the difference between a sedan and a coupe) with a pretty average power to weight ratio. It is red and it is gorgeous (please allow subjectivity) - it very much looks the part of a high performance sports car but in reality it isn't, especially in the "go" department. Anyway, 3 companies gave it extra points (because of high yearly average repairs) and 4 companies gave it the same rating they gave my Dasher wagon. It appears the two things the companies cared about were power to weight ratio and yearly average repair costs. One agent let me look at his listings and he had a listing for each catagory. It was fairly interesting - the repair costs listing was broken down into average number of claims and cost of claims for every model of car you can think of - if I recall correctly it was the Chevy Monte Carlo that led the "number of claims" sweepstakes, I don't remember which car was the overall leader. By the way, 4 of the companies never asked me what color the car is, and the agent who I did insure with was very surprised at the rating the car got after he got a look at it. Shop around, Peter B
daw1@rduxb.UUCP (WILLIAMS) (05/08/85)
> > > > ... the "children"* tend to drive red cars, usually ... > > > > Yes, the insurance companies have; it costs more to insure a red car. > Sure, bud! How come I've never been asked what color my car is when I applied for insurance? You've probably been reading Psychology Today a little too often on this bus ride to work! If red cars cost more to insure, then it's probably because they get tailgated by 18-wheelers more often than other colors :~) Doug Williams AT&T Bell Labs Reading, PA rduxb!daw1
hkr4627@acf4.UUCP (Hedley K. J. Rainnie) (05/08/85)
Yes. I call it piston-envy. Things with four cylinders tend to be more aggressive on the highway than sense would dictate. Speed Racer
lizv@tektools.UUCP (Liz Vaughan) (05/11/85)
>Actually, I have begun to notice a correlation between the color >or make of a car and the driving habits of the owner. For >examples, the "children"* tend to drive red cars, usually >Rabbit/GTI convertables or the little BMW's (530i's, I think). Some insurance companies give you "danger" points (or whatever they call them) for driving a red car. Black is also frowned upon, but not as badly -- I suppose they figure Joe can't hot-rod TOO much in the old Model T. As a red car owner, this sucks, but I must admit that observation seems to support giving red-car drivers higher risk ratings. (Maybe the color affects the mind :-) A related topic is insurance company notions of "sportscars." Insurance for my Scirrocco is ~$100 more than that for a Rabbit same year, same color. Why? It's a SPORTS CAR. The two cars have identical engines and gearing, though the Scirocco is slightly (~200 lbs.) lighter. You figure this out. >The "slowpokes" tend to drive large American cars [can you spell >tank]. What? You've never heard of the "Society for Old Men Wearing Hats Driving Ancient Oldsmobiles at Twenty MPH on the Freeway Whilst Arguing with their Wives Named Madge"? This venerable institution has chapters in every hamlet in America -- and its numbers are growing..... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't need a disclaimer; no one will take me seriously anyway tektronix!tektools!lizv
review@drutx.UUCP (MillhamBD) (05/13/85)
> A related topic is insurance company notions of "sportscars." > Insurance for my Scirrocco is ~$100 more than that for a Rabbit > same year, same color. Why? It's a SPORTS CAR. The two cars > have identical engines and gearing, though the Scirocco is > slightly (~200 lbs.) lighter. You figure this out. My Laser XE Turbo is NOT a sports car. Why? Because Farmers Insurance goes by engine size, and everyone knows that a 2.2L engine can't go fast. This is information passed on to me from my agent. Since he's a friend, he may have got my car put through as a non turbo. He never told me a real good reason why it's not a sports car, and I'll leave well enough alone. -------------------------------------------- Brian Millham AT & T Information Systems Denver, Co. ...!inhp4!drutx!review
et@bmcg.UUCP (Eric Thune) (05/15/85)
> > My Laser XE Turbo is NOT a sports car. Why? Because Farmers > Insurance goes by engine size, and everyone knows that a 2.2L engine > can't go fast. This is information passed on to me from my agent. > Since he's a friend, he may have got my car put through as a non > turbo. He never told me a real good reason why it's not a sports > car, and I'll leave well enough alone. > > -------------------------------------------- > > Brian Millham > AT & T Information Systems > Denver, Co. > > ...!inhp4!drutx!review This cannot be true. I own a 1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE and WAS insured by farmers. It has a 1.3 liter engine and is in their high preformance sports car group. A standard RX-7 has a 1.1 liter engine and is in their sports car group. Now tell me they go by engine size. True these are rotary engines and generate alot more HP / liter than conventional piston engines, but do they know that ? Eric Thune Burroughs Advanced Systems Group