Car as Personality Crisis

A new sociological study confirms that for a significant portion of the population, their car is not a vehicle but a prosthetic personality. The research, published by the Institute of Automotive Identity, found that 64% of SUV drivers are compensating for a lack of control in their personal lives, while 88% of Mini Cooper owners are trying to project a whimsy they do not actually feel. Pickup truck owners, the study notes, are engaged in a perpetual, unspoken arms race over whose truck bed is the most pristine and unused for actual labor. "The vehicle has become the primary way we signal our aspirational self to the world," said the lead researcher. "It's a metal avatar." The most at-risk group are Tesla drivers, whose entire identity is now tied to software updates and the approval of a mercurial billionaire. The study concludes that the morning commute is now the most common form of identity performance art. -- Bohiney Magazne bohiney.com