According to long-standing stereotypes, men crave powerful, exciting vehicles. Women, in contrast, are thought more likely to pick smaller, milder-mannered models. We’ve heard about those alleged preferences ever since psychologists and analysts began studying gender differences in the automotive marketplace, decades ago.

There’s one little trouble with stereotypes: while most of them are just plain false, some are at least partially valid. Therefore, the results of TrueCar.com’s third annual demographic study shouldn’t be a surprise. Based on more than 9 million retail vehicle purchases during 2011, the study revealed that gender differences still rule. Specifically, they found “men prefer flashy or brawny vehicles,” whereas “women prefer import brands and smaller vehicles.”

Volkswagen’s Beetle has been ousted from its previous position as the top favorite among female car buyers. The model with the highest percentage of female buyers in 2011 was the Volvo S40 sedan (57.9 percent), followed by the Nissan Rogue and Volkswagen Eos. Beetles came in fourth, followed by five compact crossover SUVs: Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Juke, and Jeep Compass. Perhaps because of its redesign during 2011, the Volkswagen Beetle drew considerably more male buyers than its predecessor New Beetle attracted in the prior year (45.4 percent, versus 39.4 percent in 2010). More...

Few Americans will remember this past April 17—a.k.a. tax day—fondly. But 48 years ago, April 17 marked the debut of the Ford Mustang at the World’s Fair in New York. The original pony car had a 101-horsepower, 170-cubic-inch inline six under the hood, with two V8s—a 164-hp 260 or a 210-hp 289—as options. First-day sales totaled 22,000 units. Read autoMedia's test drive of the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca edition.

Modern cars are so well insulated that some drivers no longer hear those big engines they paid for, so some carmakers are “enhancing” the sound of their engines. The new BMW M5 plays the sound of the engine through the stereo system, and the Ford Mustang GT’s exhaust system has a resonator pipe between the engine and the firewall, while the Boss 302 gets a second set of exhaust pipes behind the rocker panels.

Proving that the Internet is good for more than cat videos, the readers of automotive website Jalopnik helped catch two suspects in a fatal hit-and-run after police posted a picture of a part that fell off the fleeing vehicle in hopes of identifying it. Within minutes Jalopnik readers determined it had come off an early 2000-era Ford F-150 pickup. The tip led Virginia police to the suspects. The police cited Jalopnik’s readers as “critical” to solving the case.

Germany, meet America. Volkswagen Chattanooga CEO Frank Fischer has expressed his discomfort with a bill in the Tennessee state legislature that would allow employees to keep guns in their cars on company property while they’re at work. "That's a sort of thing that makes us a bit nervous," he told the Associated Press. "We would not welcome people being able to carry weapons on factory grounds, probably just as little as the state House or Senate would like people to enter their building armed." The NRA, which says vehicles are an extension of private property no matter where they’re parked, is backing the bill. More...

The Thrill Is Gone — Hybrids have been a tough sell to new-car buyers, but now it seems they’re also not that popular with hybrid owners. About two-thirds of hybrid owners didn’t pick another hybrid when they bought a new car last year. The exception is Toyota Prius owners, 41 percent of whom bought another Prius, or a hybrid from another manufacturer.

Drop and Give Me 20 — Say what you will about the health of the American automobile industry, but one of its icons, former auto exec Bob Lutz, is in great shape. Appearing on The Colbert Report to talk about his new book and recent events in the car industry, Lutz was challenged to a push-up contest by host Stephen Colbert. The 80-year-old Lutz easily bested the much younger Colbert as the audience chanted “USA! USA!”

Another Reason to File Early — The day taxes are due is a day fraught with anxiety for Americans, but that’s not all. A research group in Canada has been studying the number of highway fatalities on U.S. tax day—April 17 this year—and their findings show an average of 13 more people die on U.S. highways on tax day compared to other days in April.

The Hangover, Part 3 — Even though what happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, sometimes the hangover you get there threatens to last forever. But now you can call the Hangover Heaven bus and relax in a bunk while you’re treated to the Redemption package, which uses intravenous hydration to flush the booze out of your system, or the Salvation package, which adds vitamins, anti-nausea and anti-inflammation meds. In about 45 minutes you’re ready to go back out there and hits the slots.

Continuing Mazda’s promotion of its SKYACTIV technology, a midsize four-door sedan concept makes its North American debut at the New York Auto Show. Named TAKERI, it’s the first concept with a SKYACTIV clean-diesel engine.

TAKERI is Mazda’s second concept vehicle to incorporate the full suite of SKYACTIV components: transmission, engine, body, and chassis. It’s the third one to stem from Mazda’s KODO (“soul of motion”) design language.

Mazda’s earlier Minago concept led to the 2013 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover vehicle. Hedging somewhat, Mazda notes that TAKERI features “also could undoubtedly make their way into a future production vehicle.”

TAKERI is derived from a Japanese word for “male,” and Mazda promotes the vehicle’s “masculine manner.” Mazda notes that it displays the company’s “new family face” with a sharp five-pointed grille. “A lean, chiseled front fascia” is complemented by “strong rear fender hip lines and taut trunk layout.”

Finished in metallic red, the TAKERI rides on 20-inch satin-chrome alloy wheels. The cabin exhibits “elegant simplicity,” according to Mazda, blending “functionality, luxury and comfort.” Satin chrome trims the mostly-black instrument panel. Ceramic white leather seats incorporate side bolsters, and alloy pedals are installed. More...

Shelby 1000 Photo Tricks: Since the invention of Photoshop, seeing is no longer believing, but someone at Shelby American didn’t get the memo. The maker of the soon-to-be-released 950-horsepower Shelby 1000 sent out a couple of photos of the car lifting its front wheels in what appeared to be a power-induced wheelie. But sharp-eyed car guys all over the Internet noticed right away something wasn’t right, mainly the rear tires, which don’t seem to be under load. Shelby American later admitted the fakery and blamed it on the photographer.

VW Group Makes Offer for Ducati: Going from rumor to press release in two weeks is Audi’s interest in buying the Ducati motorcycle brand. An Italian newspaper reports that the Volkswagen Group has offered 750 million Euros for the bike builder many call the Ferrari of the two-wheel world. Most interesting little known fact to emerge from the bid is that about 7 percent of Ducati is owned by the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan, where instead of giving you a gold watch when you retire, they toss you the keys to an 1199 Panigale.

2013 Ford Explorer Sport: Soccer practice starts in half an hour and you’re running behind—what do you do? If you have a 2013 Ford Explorer Sport, you hit the gas and light up the 350-horsepower EcoBoost Twin-turbo V6. The AWD sport-ute will come with a terrain management system for different surfaces, a paddle-shift six-speed automatic, and a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds. More...

During the first week of April, the Jacob K Javits Center in New York City will host the last major new-car show of the season. Automakers are teasing out what will be shown there, such as the Fisker Nina, Honda Accord Crosstour concept, Hyundai Sante Fe, and Nissan Altima. Now, Chevrolet is officially confirming it will display the 2014 Impala sedan and next-generation Traverse crossover, as well as previously seen notables, such as the Malibu Eco, Spark, Tru 140S and Code 130R concepts from the 2012 Detroit auto show, and the 60th-anniversary Corvette 427. More...