"He" wants a bigger car or a specific brand. "She" thinks about ease of driving, the kids, safety, or perhaps the same brand. One sets the budget, while the other uses the car more. One may pay for it, while the other spends more hours behind the wheel. It isn't simply about choosing a car, but a small test of decision-making within the home.
The family car is one of the few purchases that combines money, taste, social status, daily needs, and shared responsibilities in a single decision. A decision on four wheels can therefore reveal more than we might imagine about the relationship between spouses: Who decides? Who compromises? Whose needs are prioritized? And who ultimately holds the veto power?
From a sociological perspective, the things we buy do not serve only a practical function. French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu linked consumption to concepts of taste, distinction, and social position. In this sense, a car may be a means of transportation, but it can simultaneously serve as an indirect announcement about the lifestyle, status, and image its owner wants to project.
The family car is one of the few purchases that combines money, taste, social status, and shared responsibilities in a single decision. (Pexels)
This is where one source of conflict within a family begins. One spouse may see the car as an extension of identity: the brand, design, power, or even the impression it leaves. Meanwhile, the other may perceive it from a completely different standpoint: Does it accommodate child seats? Is it easy to park? How much fuel does it consume? Will the maintenance cost be reasonable after three years?
An amusing result appeared in an American survey of five thousand car owners in 2013. When participants were asked who had greater influence over the purchase of the family car, 72 percent of men said they had the most influence, while 60 percent of women, on the other hand, said they had greater influence.
Though this result is outdated and cannot describe the American family today, it highlights a notable social point: even within a single relationship, spouses may differ in defining "who made the decision."
Family and consumption studies actually differentiate between individual decisions, decisions dominated by one spouse, and joint decisions. As the cost of a product and its associated financial risk increase, so does the likelihood that more than one person will be involved in the decision. Moreover, the traditional boundaries between what was considered "a man's decision" and "a woman's decision" have become less rigid as work, income, and education within families change.
The question itself changes in societies where owning more than one car per family is common.
In the United States, for example, a large percentage of families own two or more cars, making the car less associated with the idea of a single vehicle chosen together by spouses and more connected to distributing cars according to the user's needs.
Here, different roles can emerge: a car primarily used by the husband, another by the wife, and perhaps a larger car for family trips or transporting children and belongings. This does not imply that every American family owns three cars, but the presence of multiple cars allows each vehicle to serve a different function within the home.
In this scenario, the balance of choice also changes. The person who uses the car daily often has the strongest voice in determining its size, design, and features, while the family car becomes a more shared decision because it serves everyone.
In Europe, the picture is less uniform. Owning more than one car is related to location, income, and the number of working family members. Families living in rural areas, where public transportation options are fewer and distances to work and school are longer, tend to own two or more cars, whereas owning a car, or even opting out of car ownership, is more common in some major cities with public transportation networks.
The family car becomes a more shared decision as it will serve everyone. (Pexels)
Here, another sociological concept helps explain the decision: invisible labor within the home.
American sociologist Arlie Hochschild is known for the concept of "The Second Shift," describing household and caregiving tasks that begin after a paid workday ends and are not always evenly distributed between spouses.
The person who takes two children to school every day, then stops by the supermarket before taking them to an afternoon activity, views the car through a different experience from someone who primarily uses it to commute between home and office.
Transportation research therefore uses the term "care-related travel," focusing on sequential trips associated with children, the elderly, shopping, and household services.
Consequently, when one spouse insists on a larger trunk, easier doors, or more flexible seats, they might not be less interested in the "car" than the other. They may simply be more knowledgeable about how it is actually used.
In Lebanon, a car being practical may not be enough. Another element is difficult to ignore: its brand name and what it says about its owner.
Here, as in many societies, a car is more than just a means of transportation. It can be part of the social image one wishes to project. Lebanese studies have explored the relationship between consumption and social status, with a car being among the goods that can clearly convey social position.
In Lebanon, a car being practical may not be enough. Another element is its brand name and what it says about its owner. (Pexels)
The car's size, brand, and design may become part of the language of status, especially in a society where appearances and social image remain present in consumption.
