Auto Face

Does your car look friendly or aggressive?

The front end of a car resembles a human face – and the expression on there is no mistake. That VW Bug looks wide eyed and friendly – the Mustang’s long hood and narrow headlights have male features which are more aggressive. Auto designers take that into consideration to appeal to their target customers. Other drivers react to that auto expression too – it’s human instinct to get out of the way if something aggressive is approaching from behind – and we’re more likely to help that friendly or submissive looking car merge into busy traffic.

Source: Dennis Slice, a professor of scientific computing at Florida State University