Republicans Go Big And Thirsty, Democrats Go Small And Green

The differences between Republicans and Democrats extend beyond mere political ideology. When it comes to buying cars, party loyalists on both sides have distinctly different tastes, but their respective vehicle choices don’t always play to stereotypes.

As the latest survey from Strategic Vision reveals, not every Republican drives a Lincoln, Cadillac or Mercedes-Benz sedan; in fact, no sedans from these automakers cracked the top five in Republican purchases.

Likewise, not every Democrat drives a Toyota Prius or a Chevy Volt. As you’d likely guess, neither of these made the top-five list for cars purchased by Democrats, either.

Republicans prefer the Ford Mustang Convertible, followed by the Audi A8, the Mercedes-Benz GL, the Ford Expedition and the Ford F-150. Generally speaking, Republicans bought more luxury cars, convertibles, minivans and trucks than did their democratic counterparts.

Democrats buy the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Volvo C30, the Nissan Leaf, the Acura TSX Wagon and the Ford Fiesta Sedan. If there’s a commonality here, its that all of these vehicles are small (relatively speaking), fuel efficient and practical.

Democrats still buy luxury cars, but buy more luxury multi-function vehicles than Republicans. In general, Dems buy more small and medium-sized cars, multi-function vehicles and SUVs than do Republicans.

Perhaps we’re reading too much into the data, but three of the top five Republican vehicles come from U.S. automakers, while only one of the top five Democratic vehicles is from a domestic company.  While the survey doesn’t break down into foreign versus domestic detail, we’d expect more Democrats to favor domestic vehicles.

We’re not sure why Republicans favor convertibles, either, but the data clearly shows that they do. As Strategic Vision president Alexander Edwards quipped, “If I were selling a convertible, I’d consider buying some air-time on Fox News.”