Comments on: Question of the Day: Does Emotion Trump Logic?

By: cretinx

cretinx — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:47:51 +0000

Johnny – my wife and I run to target all the time for crap in our Z4 – the trunk is 9 cu. ft (about the size of an E36 3-series coupe, or double that of a Miata) and any long stuff we can just cram inside – I bring three very long swords to Kendo in it all the time.

Sure, its not a hauler but c’mon – you’re only going to be young and beautiful once in your life – live it up.

Or at least split the difference – get an Impreza 2.5TS Wagon or an old truck, and a used Miata (~$2,000) – same amount of cash spent, much more fun had.

By: Gottleib

Gottleib — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:19:27 +0000

The rational car purchase is always the bottom of the line, least expensive with the best fuel economy. The rest of our purchase is emotional. So take at look at your car, if it doesn’t have roll up windows with a standard am-fm radio, stick shift, cloth seats and gets 25-35mpg depending on the size of car needed, you used some emotion in your purchase decision. It the only logical explanation and the car companies all know this, that is why you see so many commercials for their product on tv and in print.

By: kjc117

kjc117 — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:55:44 +0000

LOL, I am currently negotiating a purchase of a 350Z Touring Coupe. While waiting for the IS350 to arrive from Nihon.

Neither car is practical, 300+ hp when fuel is $4/gallon but hey if there was no emotion or passion for autos the world would be a boring place.

By: Theodore

Theodore — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:30:58 +0000

This is why you have two cars, one practical and one fun, one a beater and one not. Whether the practical car is the beater or the nicer car is entirely up to you.

At least, that’s how I’m trying to rationalize the Miata I want – I’ll just keep the T-Bird for bad weather days!

By: David Holzman

David Holzman — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:11:59 +0000

Emotion often trumps logic for us car enthusiasts. For my only new car, in ‘93, I should have bought the Integra. But at ~15k, the Saturn SL2 looked cooler, and cornered a bit better than the low end Integer RS, also ~15k. Yet, somewhere in my head I knew that all the NVH in the Saturn was going to cause trouble down the road-and it certainly did–and when I first realized how bad the turning circle on the Saturn was, on a test drive, I didn’t buy the car that day, as I otherwise would have, but I did buy it. That should have stopped me. It annoyed me the whole time I had the car.

By: romanjetfighter

romanjetfighter — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:18:46 +0000

We’re not rational people. More like rationalizing people. If we like something emotionally, we’re going to try to justify it logically, even if the logic’s wrong!

By: davey49

davey49 — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:56:04 +0000

There’s emotion to a WRX also. Practically everyone who drives one thinks they’re a rally driver!
(much to the detriment of other motorists and to the delight of car eating trees)
No reflection on Jonny just personal observation.
How about this for “logic”. One of the reasons I picked my car was because a radio HU I had would fit in my Saturn and not in others.

By: healinginfluence

healinginfluence — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:51:38 +0000

davey49: You’re right. But the emotion in buying a Toyota is based on fear. The emotion in buying a Porsche or BMW is more likely based on confidence and a sense of fun.

By: davey49

davey49 — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:47:51 +0000

Sherman Lin- there’s definitely emotion in buying a Toyota. Toyota’s rep is for reliability, in other words “My car won’t break down and therefore I won’t be attacked by zombies/aliens/lowlifes/serial killer in the middle of the night. or “My car won’t break down letting me get to work everyday so my boss thinks I’m a great worker and gives me a promotion”

By: davey49

davey49 — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:34:47 +0000

The emotion of car buying isn’t always about the external styling or performance. Sometimes the emotion is about what you’ll do with the car. Think about all those people who bought SUVs thinking they were going to take their families on adventures in the mountains, or to go mountain bike riding, or hiking.

By: Joshvar

Joshvar — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:25:50 +0000

Put me in the BMW-style lovers’ camp (ghetto?). I think the 3 series coupe is smashingly good looking, and have been a fan of all but the 7 series (and those overweight tall wagons).

But yes, emotion simply manipulates logic into getting what it wants. It wins a lot.

And a Miata will carry just about anything you want…I’ve fit a (reasonable) Costco trip + passenger into it, and many tall objects, CRT monitors, and several other things that may not have worked in my “more practical” car.

By: Sherman Lin

Sherman Lin — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:25:34 +0000

emotion Volkswagon

logic Toyota

its easy to see what most people think

By: Jordan Tenenbaum

Jordan Tenenbaum — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:57:37 +0000

Can’t I just lust for both? No? Well then screw it, I’ll take an E9 CSL.

By: healinginfluence

healinginfluence — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:53:38 +0000

AKM in my opinion is right on the mark. Most cars are commuting and errand cars. Others are long trip cars. How much time do most cars spend on the windy challenging roads depicted in BMW TV ads? In terms of need a Honda or equivalent is really what’s needed. The rest is just emotion. That’s what I am struggling with for my next car purchase. The more I spend on a car the less I have for other things. But image and handling do matter to me. The question is how much am I willing to pay, especially when the asset depreciates like a block of ice on a hot day.

And in the end isn’t every decision we make emotional to one degree or another?

By: Mcloud1

Mcloud1 — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:42:20 +0000

I say yes. If I could afford any luxury car, I would buy a Lexus, just because their designs stir up a bunch of positive emotions in me.

By: carlisimo

carlisimo — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:15:49 +0000

If I love how a car looks, then I don’t mind if it’s “good” instead of “great.” If a car is “great” but I just don’t feel anything special towards it… sorry, I know I’m doing myself a disservice, but that’s okay.

By: netrun

netrun — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:40:48 +0000

As a car nut, logic is only useful to provide good sounding reasons why I should do what my emotions dictate.

That is, if I can get the voices in my head to sound rational to you, who’s to say I’m crazy?

By: helius

helius — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:37:18 +0000

I went to a Honda dealer looking to test drive an Accord coupe (4-cylinder, manual, and with as few options as possible). In the back of my mind I was thinking of a figure just under $20k.

Then I saw an S2000…. test drove it on a lark… and the rest is history. :)

By: carguy

carguy — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:19:51 +0000

Emotion is the automotive driving force but logic is (sometimes) used to moderate the emotion. Thankfully as I get older I’m getting a little bit better at the logic thing.

By: ZCline

ZCline — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:05:48 +0000

I used to do quite a lot of shopping in my first gen Miata. As long as you can keep the top down, you can cram quite a bit in the passenger seat. I remember getting a giant set of blinds for an apartment I was moving into, and I just throw it in the passenger seat, and let about half of it stick out the top. Also, I was 19 and (slightly) crazier than I am now.

Maybe I’m not though, my current car is a 350ZR.

By: AKM

AKM — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:05:11 +0000

The other half offer up the quite logical chestnut, “Bah. 335i .

Yes, but the 335i is not a rational decision either. Why does going from 0-60 in a whisker over 5sec matter? Does the leather interior matter? Great handling?

Objectively, rarely. Except if you go to the track, the difference in daily driving is imperceptible, and most of us spend our time in 15mph traffic anyway.

I’m glad you asked this question, as, in my opinion, it’s this conflict that makes cars so interesting. They are appliances, but appliances that give us a lot of fun, and that have a high social resonance.

Combine all this, and our brains often hesitate between those contradictory aspects. In your case, you’ve taken the best of both worlds and combined them together.

And here’s another point of reflexion: we often think we behave logically/rationally, while it’s not the case. the 335i is a case in point, and so are people buying SUVs for “safety” reasons, while all studies show that minivans are safer. We apply our subjective thinking to what we believe is a rational decision.

By: TEXN3

TEXN3 — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:46:32 +0000

I wonder the same thing… I could have gotten that Mustang GT, MX5, or even a regular cab 4×4 F150.

But, I got the more rational vehicle and paid cash: Mazda 3 wagon. And it seems to be a great decision, while it does tug at the emotional side from time to time. It looks pretty darn good for it’s size, handles well for it’s class, and doesn’t anger me at the pump or when I pay insurance on it.

So, it makes me happy from a rational POV.

By: N85523

N85523 — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:31:10 +0000

Yes, and my Jeep is proof. It is fairly inefficient and I could have bought a much cheaper car to suit most of my needs, nay all of my needs, but several times a year, I really like to take it where no automobile has any business being. It’s pure emotion, but my mountain and desert ventures really help me to stay wings-level for the rest of the time.

By: TexasAg03

TexasAg03 — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:22:46 +0000

I actually like the Bangle-era BMWs and I think the current 3-series is among the best looking cars of their type. Of course, I also have no problem with iDrive, so what do I know…

By: lth

lth — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:20:28 +0000

Buying cars is always emotional. Logically we’d all be driving Tata Nanos or taking public transportation.