Thursday, May 3, 2012 | Edited by Daniel Moores

Survey: Men Seek Speedy Cars, Women Want Practicality While there appears to be less of a gender gap in the brand preferences of car buyers, there are still distinct differences in the types of vehicles men prefer -- or fantasize about -- compared with the ones women drive. According to a survey by TrueCar.com, an auto-industry research and forecasting company, men like fast and flashy vehicles while women tend to be more practical when shopping for a car. The company said its buyer-behavior data are based on more than nine million retail purchases in 2011. "While gender preferences amongst the buyers of various automotive brands still exist, the gap is narrowing," said TrueCar analyst Jesse Toprak. "The SUV and truck heavy mix of the domestic automakers continue to generate a disproportionate number of male customers, while the exotic brands remain to be the best medicine for a midlife crisis." TrueCar said female car shoppers tended to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers while males went for big pickups and SUVs or fast, sporty cars with "curb appeal." The lists below show the top ten brands and models with the highest male and female purchase ratios: Top 10 Female Brand Purchases in 2011 MINI, 46.2% Nissan, 45.7% Kia, 45.6% Honda, 45.5% Mitsubishi, 44.9% Mazda, 44.3% Lexus, 44.2% Suzuki, 44.0% Subaru, 43.9% Hyundai 43.7% Top 10 Male Brand Purchases in 2011 Ferrari, 92.5% Bentley, 83.4% Maserati, 82.8% Porsche, 76.5% Jaguar, 73.9% GMC, 73.5% Dodge, 72.0% Land Rover, 71.2% Ford, 68.6% Chevrolet, 67.8% Top 10 Female Purchases in 2011 -- Makes/Models Volvo S40, 57.9% Nissan Rogue, 56.9% Volkswagen Eos, 56.4% Volkswagen Beetle, 54.6% Hyundai Tucson, 54.0% Honda CR-V, 53.4% Toyota RAV4, 53.0% Nissan JUKE, 52.7% Jeep Compass, 52.7% Nissan Versa, 52.2% Top 10 Male Purchases in 2011 -- Makes/Models Porsche 911, 88.2% GMC Sierra, 87.5% Ford F-Series, 87.0% Chevrolet Corvette, 86.9% Chevrolet Silverado, 86.4% BMW M3, 85.1% Audi S4, 84.7% Audi A8, 84.4% Cadillac Escalade EXT, 84.3% Maserati Granturismo, 84.3% (Source: The Wall Street Journal, 04/24/12)