What’s Up in the Forums: Club Lexus Member Ignites Lexus NX ‘Gender War’
Is there even such a thing as a ‘man’s car’ or a ‘woman’s car’? Our members debate the target audience of the Lexus NX.
For decades, automakers built certain cars with an eye toward a specific demographic. They still do this today, to some extent anyway. After all, a person that lives in a big city might prefer something smaller and easier to park over a ginormous off-roader. But one thing we haven’t really thought about in a long time is what cars, if any, target a specific gender.
Until we ran across this thread, that is. It seems that Lazerboy and his significant other are in the midst of a debate over the Lexus NX. You see, she seems to think that the little crossover is a “woman’s car,” which obviously means that any man who owns one should immediately trade it in. Or something like that. As you can imagine, the responses to his post are pretty hilarious and insightful.
“Oops! Better get rid of it and get into something manly,” remarked LexBob2.” It’s a *****es car, you better sell it, fast! Your manhood is in question,” added no1SomeGuy.
Of course, plenty of folks eschewed humor in the name of reason. Ward6096 states the obvious by saying “It just amazes me that people would put any stock in this sort of comparison. Its just a car for crying out loud.”
“Lexus’ new design language leans more towards masculine, especially F-sport…you probably see more women driving the NX because women seem to gravitate more towards crossovers for higher seating position and slightly more practicality,” adds dchar.
One thing we can confirm is that women like the Lexus NX, whether or not Lexus designed it that way. “Don’t know if it’s a woman’s car, but women certainly seem to like it. I’ve had plenty of approving looks from the ladies – never used to happen with my last car (2012 Camry Hybrid),” proclaimed ladies man astinus4.
Toymom adds “Hhmm.. interesting. I’m a woman and like it. I do think the F-Sport is a bit more manly than the regular. I had a 2008 RX400h, and my husband thought that was a girly car.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the NX appeals only to women. “I like it and I’m a man, especially in black, blue, or grey it’s definitely a more masculine looking vehicle,” said jmull3r.
Then again, you can just modify the thing with the hopes of increasing its testosterone levels, like NXOwner did. “I’m hoping my blacked-out emblems, hitch receiver, and caliper covers make it look more masculine than feminine.” Indeed.
Obviously, it’s difficult to prove what gender is most likely to own/drive/like a Lexus NX. Unless Lexus decides to release some concrete data for us to peruse. But we do know the demographics of our own Club Lexus NX owners, thanks to this (non-scientific) thread. And they’re overwhelmingly male.
We’re confident that the days of “men’s cars” and women’s cars” is over. But we found this debate to be interesting and fun nonetheless. And we’re curious to know what you think. So head over here and chime in with your thoughts on who, if anyone, the Lexus NX is geared toward!
