Brits get more excited by their first car than their first partner
They say that no three words have greater power than ‘I love you’. But what if the subject of that affection isn’t another person, but a piece of metal on four wheels?
A new study carried out by raccars.co.uk reveals that more people get excited about their first car than meeting their first partner. That’s particularly the case for women as two-thirds (66%) admit they were thrilled by their first motor, but less (60%) enthused by their first man. Similarly, 57% of men were excited about buying their first car, but less (55%) were excited about their first girlfriend.
The figures also show that both sexes admitted to getting a little ‘hot under the bonnet’, as research suggests that women think about sex just as much as men think about cars. The study found that the average man thinks about cars once every 55 seconds, almost as often as a woman thinks about sex – every 64 seconds.
What’s more, the humble motor clearly has an important role to play in helping future partners make the first move as 38% chose it as their ideal location to share their first kiss.
And, when it comes to reliability, you might not expect a cheap first car to come out on top – but remarkably 52% of people rated their first set of wheels as dependable, compared with just half (27%) that said their first partner was someone they could rely on.
It seems those of us wanting to get the full lowdown on a new partner should look no further than asking how many cars they’ve owned – since this appears to be a reliable indicator of how many partners you’ve had, with 15% of the population admitting to having had ten or more both cars and partners.
The raccars.co.uk research also found the site’s slogan ‘We love cars’ is indeed the case, as women think about cars every one and a half minutes (92 seconds) and 40% admit to being ‘impressed’ by a set of wheels.
And, when it comes to love at first sight, the same percentage of men and women claim to have fallen head over heels for a car as soon as they’ve laid eyes on it (31% men v 30% women), but men are clearly driven much more by their eyes, as 41% of blokes say they have fallen in love with a girl the first time they saw her, in contrast to just a third of women (32%).
With boys well and truly conforming to the stereotype of appreciating sleek bodywork, a fancy trim and fewer miles on the clock, it perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise that 58% of men said their first girlfriend was good looking as opposed to 45% of women who say that about their first boyfriends.
RAC Cars spokesman Pete Williams said: “Our research shows that whether male or female, old or young – we all appear to love cars. Both men and women admit to getting hot under the collar when they think about their dream set of wheels and many of us hold more endearing memories of our first motor than our first partner.
“However, the time we spend on our cherished vehicles can be a source of marital tension. And, with 64% of men admitting to cleaning, polishing and tinkering with their car at least once a month, and a further 24% confessing they think about changing their partner just as often, you’d be forgiven for thinking men would prefer to spend more time with their cars than their partners.”
