In the run-up to Election Day 2012, pundits have used everything from polling data to Halloween sales to try to predict the winner. But could a map of customers' car color preferences predict the winner?
National Car Rental analyzed data from past rentals and found that when customers are given a choice between red or blue cars, the results look like map of red and blue states, ABC News notes. According to the data, 54 percent of customers chose blue cars, while 46 percent chose red ones.
ABC News then matched up the car rental map with its own political predictions. In 40 out of 50 states, the predictions were the same.
(View the National Car Rental map. Story continues below.)
If translated to represent political parties, the National Car Rental map would represent a victory for Obama, with Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin all choosing blue.
The car color poll joins a long list of odd presidential election indicators.
Convenience store 7-Eleven let customers choose between a Barack Obama or Mitt Romney coffee cup. So far, Obama is winning in the coffee cup index, 59 percent to 41 percent. According to a 7-Eleven representative Obama has been in the lead since their polls opened on Sept. 6.
The first lady bake-off, which pits the incumbent and challenger in a cookie contest of delicious proportions, is another odd election predictor. This year Michelle Obama's white and dark chocolate cookies beat out Ann Romney's M&M cookies in a Family Circle vote.(Since it started in 1992, the bake-off has correctly predicted the election in every year except 2008.)
In addition, Halloween mask sales have correctly predicted the outcome of every presidential race since 1996, according to 9News. As of late October, President Barack Obama was leading in that category as well.