"You are what you drive" (a random post)

Here is the all new 2010 Toyota Prius

2010 Toyota Prius looks like this

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2008/10/the-2010-toyota.html

As the ultimate “anti-status”-status symbol in our uniquely “you are what you drive” Angeleno car culture, your motor vehicle represents more than just a mechanical device to get you from point A to point B. Here, Toyota’s internal combustion-electric medium “is the message” (borrowing from McLuhan’s phrase) and the hybrid vehicle, particularly the Prius, evokes sentiments of environmentalism, frugality, and political activism with “yuppie appeal.” This new Prius appears the answer the complaints that focused on the car’s lack of aesthetic appeal –it appears more “sporty” with more “aggressive” front facia—changes that reflect a direct response to charges that it’s looks were very “vanilla” and “effeminate.” I’m curious to hear what others have to say about the cultural gendering of automobiles or automobile style—how certain cars get labeled as ‘chick cars’ while other forms of automobile styling is referred to as being masculine.