Whenever Mom & Dad went car shopping, the salesmen would always address my father and ignore Mom. Until Dad turned to her and said, "I'll be across the street having a beer. Come get me when you're ready to sign the papers."

Hah! That reminds me of what my brother told me about the time he and his wife went to buy their first minivan. Cynthia is in charge of finances in their house (she can make a penny scream with pain), but they got the same treatment at the dealer. She let the guy continue on in that vein until they selected the car they wanted, and then she began the haggling. Ended up the dealership lost money on the sale, since she "forgot" to mention until the price was written in stone that she had already arranged for financing elsewhere, and the profit they were looking to get on the in-house financing wasn't going to happen.

It doesn't just happen to women, though. Cyn's dad, who was a very wealthy man due to some savvy real estate deals he made back in the 1950s, had a small tree nursery business that he started after retiring as a restauranteur. One day, he went shopping for a work truck in his shabby-looking work jeans. He got the "you can't afford our trucks!" attitude at one place, and got so fed up that he finally asked the salesman for the owner. He told the owner both his name and that he was willing to pay cash for the truck that day if he hadn't gotten treated the way he did, then he walked out. The owner was all apologies, but no deal.

Heh. The last time one of my cars had a major breakdown, I was in the middle of the wilds of outer Marin County at a rehearsal; the director very kindly waited until the tow truck came and then drove me into town, planning to give me a ride home. My car, not his. He wasn't a spouse or a relative or anything but a sub-minimum-wage employer for 2 hours a night. He and I both stated, repeatedly, that it was my car, that he knew nothing about it and it was a meaningless pile of metal to him; and still the gas station guy (who wasn't even a crotchety old sexist, but was probably 19, tops) kept talking to him and ignoring me. Finally, he said loudly, "So, I'll just wait outside while you get all the information you need from the actual owner of the car, kthxbye." The obviousness and impenetrability of the guy's cluelessness was gobsmacking.

I complained to the owner the next day, and he denied vigorously that anyone on his staff would ever do such an ignorant thing, and my director and I must have completely misunderstood the situation. There ain't enough @@ in the world.

When we go car shopping for me, the salesguys always start with "What color car do you want?"

I will say that the Honda dealership I got my new Civic from was very good about treating me well. The salesman (young Eastern European immigrant, most likely Polish or Slavic, considering the neighborhood) was very laid back and still respectful. Probably helped that I was by myself and didn't have my dad with me.

The obviousness and impenetrability of the guy's cluelessness was gobsmacking.

Seriously. I told this guy flat out. "That, right there, is a big part of the problem. I am not your mother. I am not your aunt. I am a customer. Do not treat me like anything else." but I know he didn't and wouldn't get it.

When we go car shopping for me, the salesguys always start with "What color car do you want?"

I yelled at a saleswoman for starting with that question. I told her, "I don't even know if I like the car yet. How do I know what color I would like. I'm here for a test drive."

But clearly you're a girl, and you should want a pink car.

My most important criteria is an engine with enough pickup to help me navigate the freeways here, but they somehow don't expect that.

PINK!

But clearly you're a girl, and you should want a pink car.

My most important criteria is an engine with enough pickup to help me navigate the freeways here, but they somehow don't expect that.

I also don't understand why one automatically rules out the other.

One of the reasons I bought my car is that it is very very pretty. (Robin's WBB confirmed once that it was a total chick car).

One of the other reasons is that it goes 85 without much effort at all.

I know when *I* buy a car, I just want 3 things:

(1) It makes me look pretty;
(2) It complements my eyes; and
(3) It doesn't make my butt look big.