Return to article list
New Volkswagen Beetle voted ‘happiest’ car
The new style Volkswagen Beetle has been ranked the happiest looking car in a worldwide study. Researchers asked hundreds of people to rate images of a wide range of international cars in a bid to investigate the phenomenon of pareidolia – the tendency to find faces and human traits in inanimate objects.

The study conducted by Sonja Windhager, an anthropologist at the University of Vienna, found that people instinctively attach human personality traits to cars, saying that those with slit-like headlights, large grilles and wide air intakes were seen as being more mature, masculine and dominant whilst those with rounder headlights and larger windscreens were seen as being more childish, feminine and submissive.
The findings are no surprise to Peter Cooper Volkswagen in Southampton/Portsmouth/Chichester who has already seen huge demand for the new Beetle which is launched next month.

Darren Cooper, managing director of the Peter Cooper Volkswagen Group, said: “The survey is a bit of fun and the findings don’t surprise me. The new Beetle is an amazing looking car with a long heritage which dates back over 70 years. Due to the popularity of the new styled Beetle we have seen a huge surge in enquiries and would recommend people reserve a test drive now.”
Darren added: “It really shows that the car you drive really does give clues about your personality so it’s obviously an important decision when coming to choose a new car! We would like to think all our customers are very happy and from this it would sound great to say they are the happiest in the World!”
The Peter Cooper Volkswagen group is going into the last quarter of the year following a number of good trading months and the successful launch of the Golf Cabriolet earlier this year has been a great success.
Darren added: “With our ‘Unbelievable Value Campaign’ we have a number of incredible deals on both new and approved used cars and our dedicated sales teams are always on hand to give advice in selecting the perfect car for our customers.”
Peter Cooper Volkswagen Group has four dealerships in Hedge End, Southampton, Portsmouth and Chichester. It has now established itself as the largest privately owned Volkswagen group on the South Coast of England.
More on the new Volkswagen Beetle