Like most professors, I am aware of some of the common stereotypes that exist about us – tweed jackets, elbow patches, and bow ties come to mind – but I was still interested to see what the readers of the auto enthusiast site Jalopnik thought we drove. Some of the answers were more surprising than others. Their list of the ten perfect professors’ cars (click on the link for pictures and brief descriptions if you are a stereotypical professor who doesn’t care about cars):
10. Chevy Volt
9. MG Roadsters
8. DeLorean DMC-12
7. Subaru Outback
6. Rover P6
5. Audi R8
4. Volkswagen TDi Wagon
3. Audi A4 Avant
2. Volvo Wagon
1. Nissan Leaf
I do not currently know any professors who drive a car on the list, though if the Prius had been included that would have changed things quite a bit. When I was an undergrad, though, my mentor did show up to our lunch meeting one day driving a new Volvo station wagon. Shortly after that he got married and had a child, so it is hard to nail down the independent variable there…
Memoirs of a SLACer 