There are some brands of cars that seem to be accompanied with a stereotypical view of exactly what every single driver of those cars is like. You know – a brand that is associated almost exclusively with hairdressers, despite who actually drives the car in real life. The supposed soccer mums who are all roaring around aggressively in their huge and intimidating 4x4s. The chavs and boy racers who drive any little hatchback that can possibly be “souped” up and have an oversized exhaust gaffer taped to the underside.

One of the brands that gets this discrimination worse is BMW. In fact, BMW owners have become something of a hated species, blamed for nearly everything that can and will go wrong on the roads. Someone misjudges a gap in traffic on a roundabout? Blame the BMW driver. Someone forgets to switch their indicator off after their manoeuvre? Must be a BMW driver. No matter what the situation or the problem, the poor much aligned BMW driver has to take the brunt of the accusations.

So, who is this BMW driver? Well, stereotypically someone who drives a BMW is considered to be a man. They drive aggressively and scarily, and will almost definitely be speeding along at significantly over the speed limit. They think only of themselves in a self-centred way, cutting in front of people and messing up other car’s driving. They have an irritating habit of tailgating quite badly, forcing people out of lanes on motorways and ensuring that the road is clear for them to drive as they wish. It isn’t a nice picture, and it is one that I have known to put off a few of my friends from buying themselves a lovely used BMW.

Stereotypes aside, however, I think it needs mentioning that BMWs do not a bad driver make. Perhaps there is a certain trend for people who like to drive aggressively to own a BMW, but then again perhaps there isn’t. I, personally, know loads of lovely, conscientious and caring people who drive a BMW on a daily basis – and some of the BMWs they drive are right up at the top of the model range, where people expect the spoilt rich kids to hang out. In fact, I have had more trouble on the road with drivers of small non-BMW hatchbacks that I have had with Beamers!

It is strange that in the modern world such peculiar sets of associations and assumptions have arisen. This isn’t even really connected to a personal characteristic as with most discriminations, instead being purely to do with what car you drive. A BMW is a bully car, a sort of judgement that I thought I had left behind at school. And perhaps it isn’t the most serious area of stereotyping, and perhaps we don’t need to worry about it – but it does show just how strong the human urge to segregate and separate is, the urge to label everyone dependant on features, belongings or political views. It is quite fascinating, when you think of it like that!

Author Bio: Pete J Ridgard is a writer and a car enthusiast. He currently writes for the automotive industry. Here he discusses Used BMW cars.

Category: Automotive
Keywords: Used BMW,BMW,Cars,Automotive