Science proves exotic cars turns women on | Hacker News Reader

Science proves exotic cars turns women on

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15 pointsumangjaipuria25 comments

"We have now scientifically proven the physical attraction people feel when it comes to cars."

Funny how you did that with no controlled subjects. Have groups that only listen to white noise, random chatter from a busy restaurant, maybe the rumble of a subway train. Even groups who listen to nothing at all, and just sit idle for a few minutes.

Also, I buy that sexual arousal increases testosterone levels, which would mean high levels of testosterone are correlated with sexual arousal. But I don't know if raised levels of testosterone necessarily indicates sexual arousal.

I don't know if raised levels of testosterone necessarily indicates sexual arousal

It doesn't. Test can be raised through exercise, for example.

The fact that testosterone can be raised via exercise does not exclude the possibility that testosterone signals sexual arousal. I'm told that there is some "sex" in the exercise high.

Long live the great science of commissioned studies.

A little story, some what on topic about fast/expensive cars.

A developer friend of mine, who is much younger and less 'attached' recently bought a new 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Fantastically fast, pretty expensive compared to most mainstream cars and sure to get attention wherever he drove.

However, his first girlfriend post car purchase didn't even have a clue what a WRX or STI even was when asked and therefore wasn't impressed at all with his ride. He was slightly disappointed.

The lesson here is to buy something that is shiny, flashy and sure to attract females (think Mercedes, BMW, Porsche), not an understated best bang-for-your-buck pocket rocket like the STI.

It's not as pretty as a Porsche.

> David Moxon subjected 40 men and women to the sounds of a Maserati, Lamborghini and Ferrari, then measured the amount of testosterone in their saliva. He found everyone had higher levels of the stuff

Then why not making cheap electric cars that make exactly the same sound? I mean, just attach a stereo wired to a embedded chip that makes the length of the sound wave depending on the speed of the car.

It's not the sound that increases the testosterone but the visualization of the nice fancy sports car. As soon as all cars started sounding like that it would have no effect.

Yes, just like fancy clothes. Today you can go to Zara and buy hype clothes for cheap whose design has been copied from fashion designers. As fancy clothes are commoditized, they don't have the same effect to turn on women anymore. But still, Zara makes brazillions of dollars. A cheap car making the same sound as a Ferrari would make a lot of money too.

Want a startup idea? I just gave you one :-)

I remember seeing a segment on TV years ago... I think it was on Beyond 2000 (anyone ever watch that?). It was about this device that reproduced the engine noises of various high-end cars and routed them through the stereo system. It must have connected to the car computer or something to get tachometer readings, but my memory is fuzzy.

http://www.vroombox.com/vroombox/

Do they have a copyright on their noise?

Harley-Davidson has a trademark on theirs.

For a long time I've dreamed of driving a hybrid or electric car that had a speaker mounted to produce this effect.

You just need the tach reading, the current level and derivative of motion should allow a simple micro controller select the right samples.

An article I read recently (I think it was wired but I can't find a link) that said the increase in silent hybrid/electric cars means people will start needing artificial car noise for safety (to warn pedestrians/animals/etc.).

It hinted that people will take a similar path as ringtones and start using music etc.

A different article pointed out that modern cars are so quiet that most of the noise is from tires on the road, or air being displaced around the car. Engines are pretty quiet these days on most family cars. I actually listened to a Prius on the road and it really didn't seem noticeably quieter than the Hondas, etc near it.

Damn right. I nearly got run over by a Prius the other day, they are like stealth machines. My vote is they should blast whalesong from externally mounted speakers whenever anyone is sitting in the driver's seat.

You know what turns my wife on about our 14-year-old Honda with 170K miles, a badly eroded paint job, and doors that creak like the screams of the dying? When it starts on the first try.

The key words = "my wife." Before marriage its how much money you make, after marriage its her money, and will be spent accordingly.

Right, I'm definitely getting a Maserati as soon as I can afford one.

Why not a recording of a Maserati? It's cheaper.

Many years ago I watched at documentary on porsche/ferrari recordings, even F1 recordings, being played in small cars like a Citroen Ax. There was some noise cancellation going on, and a synchronization of the high-end engine rumble with the gas pedal. A mind-blasting effect.

From the video the Polo does 0-60 in 8 seconds. Not bad.

Apropos the article, I think this correlation doesn't prove causation.

In this particular case I don't see how this is not causation. Unless they made a huge blunder in the setup, like showing sexy pictures with some cars but not others. The sound of the cars is a constant. It's not influenced by the subjects nor by external factors. So correlation in this case pretty much indicates causation.

I'm referring to the increase in testosterone being used to indicate an increase in arousal. Testosterone can be increased for other reasons.

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