What does vehicle performance mean to women? In my book performance is power, power is control and whoever has the most power and control outperforms everyone else and wins the race, which I did in the 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT. Sliding into the premium leather trim drivers seat with my adrenaline pumping and with a full solid stomp on the gas pedal, this bad girl did 0-60 mph in less than five seconds, not many street legal cars can giddy up like that.
In addition to the raw excitement of going fast, we noted that ample horsepower actually adds to a vehicle's safety. There are many times when swift acceleration is critical -- like getting up to freeway speed from a dead stop, or passing that slow guy on your right.
We recently test drove three of the Chrysler and Dodge models that all delivered ultimate performance:
- Chrysler 300 Hemi V8 363 HP complemented my black Massimo heels
- Black Dodge Challenger SRT HEMI V8 470 HP styled with my red Guess heels
- Red Dodge Charger R/T Plus Hemi V8 370 HP matched my red leopard Candies
Power and torque are clearly vital to a car's performance, but you have to be able to harness and control that speed and power -- with confidence and poise just like wearing the perfect shoe. That's why various handling characteristics ranked high on the HerHighway list of performance attributes that women want. Of course solid braking, stable cornering (without leaning or drifting), responsive steering, and easy parking were all important criteria when considering overall vehicle performance.
A recent KBB survey shows the average age of the female automotive shopper is 43, and she currently owns two vehicles. It was also surprising that 31 percent female car buyers do NOT have children! So it's safe to say that women buy more than minivans.
HerHighway shifted the survey into the next gear and found the top measures of a vehicle's overall performance for women is maximum power "horse power" that is. It doesn't matter where we're going -- to the office, to the mall, or on family road trip -- women want to have plenty of power in their cars. A little extra automotive muscle also comes in handy when we're running late, but we always make a grand and confident entrance, as if we were arriving to meet up with a dreamy George Clooney or Patrick Dempsey.
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