How cars can blow your mind

• New survey shows how cars affect us
• Highlights differences between men and women
• New phenomenon of 'Green-upmanship'

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Men drive with one hand on the wheel, drivers are more likely to sing on the way to work rather than on the way home, and 'Green-upmanship' is an ever-increasing social phenomenon among car owners.

These are just some of the findings of a new survey into human interaction with cars.

The study was commissioned by BMW and carried out by the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) in Oxford, and was designed to highlight human behaviour in cars and how that might affect the future of car ownership and motoring.

Men v women
The study found that men behave in a different way to women in the car.

A man may cruise with one hand on the wheel, but women are more likely to grab it with two - psychologists say this is because men consider their cars to be part of themselves, but women see it as a separate entity.

'Women are more comfortable expressing their feelings directly and see the car as separate. That's why women give names to their cars,' said co-author Iain MacRury, of the University of East London.

Men are also able to get out of a car and walk away within eight seconds, while families can take between one and 10 minutes.

Singing solo
Motorists are more likely to sing on their way to work than on their way home, the study revealed.

This is because they think of their cars as a cocoon, or extension of their shower or bath, according to the report's authors.

On their way home, motorists are winding down and are thinking about other things, such as catching up with their families, so they sing less.

Four times as many people sing in the morning rush hour when the weather's bright than when it's dull or rainy, too.

Other trends and statistics
Here are some other findings in the report:

• 'Green-upmanship' is a new phenomenon in motoring - it's when vehicle owners want to appear as environmentally aware as possible in their choice of car;

• Our choice of car colour is changing, too. Drivers are switching to 'expressive' colours such as neon pink, after a decade or so in which black, sliver, blue and grey have dominated.

Also, drivers in south-west England and Wales prefer blue cars, those in Greater London can't stand green cars and Scottish drivers are most likely to choose red cars.

• Cars are a place for couples to talk - more so than in the home, and the discussions they have there are often meaningful and intense.

• Children think it strange if one parent sits in the back of a car;

• The message most drivers would like to express but cannot is 'sorry' - the universal sign of an upraised hand was ambiguous, the report showed.

Conclusions
The report showed that the car is going to have to evolve to meet our ever-changing lifestyles.

It said 'New technologies must adapt to us, rather than us to them if they are to serve a purpose and survive.'