Calling the opinion of all the ladies on the Le Femme

"JR1" (type35bugatti) 07/28/2014 at 19:25 • Filed to: dodge le femme

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Meet arguably the most perfect car for a women ever made (major stereotypes ahead). In the 1950s Dodge realized more and more women had an opinion in the car being bought for the house. Therefore they realized a possible market niche and created the Dodge Le Femme.

Dodge had of course thought they outsmarted the market with the creation of this all girl centered car. Two tones white with either pink or purple (depending on the year.) The Le Femme was offered in two door hard top configuration. Extravagance and excellence in design were key to success.

The icing on the cake for the Le Femme however was not the paint scheme, not the body style, but the accessories. God knows women love accessories (or at least that is was 1950s era a Dodge thought.) All you see above was offered as well as a rain gear. Why rain gear? I honestly have no idea perhaps the designers made a deal with a clothing company.

Note the interior which was also designed with women in mind. I must say I like it quite a lot. The beautiful seating and regal dash layout beats any automotive interior designed today.

But alas the Dodge Le Femme did not work for the company. An estimated 2500 were sold as a $143 optional extra. I assume it had something to do with the lack of families owning more than one car during the time period. Or perhaps the women were just insulted by the blatant stereotypes I mean they are a little offensive. What do you fine ladies on this sight think? I would love your opinion since the Le Femme would be marketed directly at you.

Hope you enjoyed the history lesson I believe the info is accurate. That being said I did just learn about this car 20 minutes ago!

yamahog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:31

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My opinion?

HAH. HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.

Also, for a more helpful answer, here is an article from Autoweek:

http://autoweek.com/article/car-ne…

GhostZ > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:33

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Does zis remind you of anything?

JR1 > yamahog 07/28/2014 at 19:34

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It seems to me like a bunch of old men sat around and just shouted off stereotypes of what they thought women would like. Then they failed. They failed horribly

JR1 > GhostZ 07/28/2014 at 19:36

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Coincidence? I think not...

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > GhostZ 07/28/2014 at 19:36

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How about zis?

yamahog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:36

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Oh, how the times haven't changed!

GhostZ > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/28/2014 at 19:38

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JR1 > yamahog 07/28/2014 at 19:40

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The fact that Dodge has made this mistake twice shows a lack if interest in their own brand identity. And of course corporate stupidity

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > GhostZ 07/28/2014 at 19:41

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ranwhenparked > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:46

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And yet, decades later, when Volvo got together an exclusively female group of designers and engineers and told them to make the car they wanted, the result was still widely panned as somehow sexist.

ranwhenparked > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:47

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Well, it was quite elegant, but that has more to do with just being a Forward Look car as opposed to anything specific to the Le Femme.

JR1 > ranwhenparked 07/28/2014 at 19:50

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Gender based cars no matter the gender designing them will always be a bad idea. It is like telling me a man I can't buy that Mustang over there because it is a special mustang designed only for girls. One it insults me and two it would make me then feel uncomfortable and not manly if I did indeed buy the car.

$kaycog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:51

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It doesn't appeal to me. Not a fan of pink and not a fan of Dodge. The accessories are more of a turnoff for me. I wonder what women thought of it back then. It's a pretty '50's car though.

JR1 > ranwhenparked 07/28/2014 at 19:52

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I agree. And I am not sure but I think the only real difference is the accessories (stupid) and the interior upholstery which I actually quite like

yamahog > ranwhenparked 07/28/2014 at 19:53

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Because regardless of who actually designs the thing, the concept that women are a homogenous pool who want or need a separate vehicle for "their needs" is still inherently sexist and to some extent even reinforces the idea that men are the default gender that cars are designed for. The only physical differences between men and women as far as cars are concerned are average sizes, and carmakers nowadays cover wide enough ergo ranges to accommodate practically everyone. It's just eye-rollingly stupid all around.

ranwhenparked > yamahog 07/28/2014 at 19:56

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That said, it has also been established that there are certain models that disproportionately attract either male or female customers, but that applies primarily to niche-type vehicles. Mainstream products are pretty much gender neutral.

Even in the press releases for the YCC, Volvo did emphasize that female and male consumers were looking for 90+% of the same attributes in cars, but there was enough slight variations in the data to justify a few specific features.

ranwhenparked > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:57

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Not necessarily, there were plenty of Canyonero F-Series sold to men in the '90s.

yamahog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:59

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That opens up a whole new can of worms: Something being "girly" or even "womanly" is seen as inherently inferior to something "manly." What does that say about our view of women?

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > JR1 07/28/2014 at 19:59

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"Yeah broads love that shit, do that " - Dodge design team.

JR1 > $kaycog 07/28/2014 at 20:04

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Yeah I think perhaps it did appeal to women in the 50s more. The accessories look dated I must say but then again they are. It was a valiant effort, dumb but valiant.

yamahog > ranwhenparked 07/28/2014 at 20:05

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What it comes down to is any of these products aimed at women (have you seen the Amazon reviews for women's specific pens?) have to make broad assumptions about what women want. And you know what they say when you have to assume. We're roughly half the population being categorized by nothing but gender, what could you say about a group of people that large that would be universally true and then incorporated into a car that they could all be expected to buy?

JR1 > ranwhenparked 07/28/2014 at 20:05

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I have never heard of a Canyonero F-Series

JR1 > yamahog 07/28/2014 at 20:09

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I wouldn't say it is inferior in a general sense. I would say though it is inferior to men. Just like how there are "manly" things that a women would consider inferior to them.

JR1 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 07/28/2014 at 20:11

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Keepin Oppo weird 24/7

ranwhenparked > JR1 07/28/2014 at 20:17

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Well, it is kind of fictional. But it did have lipstick in place of a cigarette lighter. Which I found an odd choice, because everyone knows women still smoke, they just smoke slim cigarettes because they fit their hands better.

Alfalfa > JR1 07/28/2014 at 20:17

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I would dd one, just for the lols.

yamahog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 20:18

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Throwing like a girl, driving like a girl, screaming like a girl, running like a girl. All commonly used as insults. When is "like a man" is used to show similar contempt and weakness?

$kaycog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 20:27

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I'll give them an E for effort anyway.

Kat Callahan > JR1 07/28/2014 at 20:53

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...I like it.

I actually have been meaning to write a post on the Honda Fit She's, the "Fit for Women" no one asked for ever. Given Honda's previous claims about not making "a woman's car," I am disappoint.

JR1 > yamahog 07/28/2014 at 21:02

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Dress like a guy, smell like a guy, walk like a guy, write like a guy. Not used as commonly but it is still the general males are messier and less groomed than women. Which of course is insulting to men who do not have those traits.

That being said women do tend to get the short end of the stick compared to men. But it is far better than it was 50 years ago. The Le Femme is a perfect example of progress.

JR1 > Kat Callahan 07/28/2014 at 21:04

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I can hardly believe what I am seeing. I honestly just commented on how the Le Femme is a perfect example of progress and companies wouldn't do anything like that car anymore. Wow guess I was wrong.

That being said I like the Le Femme. Pastel Pink and Purple just worked on cars back in the 1950s

Kat Callahan > JR1 07/28/2014 at 21:05

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Exactly, I like it because of the body style. It screams 1950s Rock and Roll, Pink Ladies, Grease, something Elvis might have rocked...

yamahog > JR1 07/28/2014 at 21:50

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I love being told by men how much better things are for women nowadays, and then finding out that they are not even aware that America is basically the only developed country without paid maternity leave. Progress!

JR1 > yamahog 07/28/2014 at 21:56

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Yeah I would like to retract my earlier statement. I actually did know about the maternity leave which by the way it bull shit. Gotta love corporate greed.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > JR1 07/28/2014 at 23:48

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I actually wouldn't mind owning a La Femme, purely because to me, it doesn't look particularly feminine. So many cars back then had such radical paintjobs that the pink doesn't look out of place.

yamahog > JR1 07/30/2014 at 08:06

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Stumbled across this today, thought you'd appreciate it!

and they made one "for men" too!

JR1 > yamahog 07/30/2014 at 08:22

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Good start to my morning definitely made me laugh. But yikes some product planners are idiots