How to Meet New People:
First impressions can be good or bad. They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but everybody does it. It is easy to do. We form ideas based on what we see other people wearing… what they have on their person… perhaps even what they are doing the first time we run into them. But you get the idea, and you know exactly what I’m talking about. The same thing happens when you notice what someone else is driving.
You knew this was coming, because we always talk about cars, but think about it… Whether or not you are an introvert or an extrovert, you have probably met more people than you think. In fact, you have probably met almost everybody you see on your way to work without even knowing it! Just like yourself, there are hundreds and thousands of people commuting to work along with you every single day, and you see every car on the road within your field of vision. Every car has a driver. As a driver, you make a first impression on everybody you see on the way to wherever you go each day. You also gather a first impression from those around you.
A car is linked with its owner’s personality… It is an extension of the driver. Most people are not going to buy a car they don’t like. I talked about this in a previous article, but it goes without saying that this is the reason everyone shops for cars. Very rarely is anybody in such a tight and dire situation that they just buy the first car they see within the appropriate price range. Even people that believe cars are evil and don’t want anything to do with them at the very least are going to find one in a color they like.
Let’s look at a few examples. My parents are easygoing, steady, and frugal people. You don’t have to know them very well, but I do. Their choice of vehicle through the years has traditionally been Toyota and Honda SUVs and vans. Additionally, my father drives a Toyota Camry as a company vehicle but he has already purchased one of his previous fleet vehicles from the company where he works. He would do this again in a heartbeat. Toyota and Honda both have a reputation for being reliable and somewhat run-of-the-mill, “boring” vehicles. In other words, with very few exceptions, my parents’ vehicles through the years have matched their personalities perfectly.
What about those people that whiz by on the road? You probably will never have as many details about them as I just gave you about my parents. Look at it this way… A young man who drives past in a dirty, beat-up pickup truck with dirt tires may be a hard-working, reliable, and practical person. A young lady in a Volkswagen Beetle holding a phone while driving is probably more worried about how her dress looks than most other things around her. An elderly gentleman that lazily drives down the street in a spotless 1970’s classic convertible is probably a pretty polite, classy person. A woman in business attire driving a Mercedes sedan may very well be the manager of a local business. You get the idea…
Of course all of these observations are somewhat based on stereotypes, and by no means are all of these true all the time. What is true is that cars do show a glimpse of who a person really is. For those who say that they don’t have any interest in cars, it just isn’t that true. Many Americans spend almost as much time commuting in their cars than being at home after their commute. Whether it is color choice, leather seats, or even something as common as air conditioning, you buy the car you buy for a reason.
You can learn a lot from people by seeing what they drive. Next time you are out on the road, just look around. If you are a people watcher, you now have a new method with which to continue your hobby. If you are an extrovert, you now have one more method of getting to know people. To all the introverts out there… congratulations! You have met more people than you ever thought you would, and who knows… you may have more in common with those around you than you thought without even having to shake their hand.
