The NY Times just ran one of the more inspired articles I've seen in a while -- it's all about whether your car signifies whether you're gay or not. Check back in tomorrow for breaking pieces on "Does this shirt make me look gay?", "Does this little dog make me look gay?", and of course, "Does this civil partnership make me look gay?"

The article notes that some people think that certain car models look "gay" (Mazda Miata, Volkswagen Beetle, Mini Cooper -- anything cute and fun that doesn't fit children, apparently), while others are more "straight" (Cadillac Escalade, Pontiac Grand Am -- any gas-guzzling land-yacht generally driven by cigar-chomping white men over 65 and door-to-door cosmetics saleswomen, apparently). Wow. There's some hard-hitting investigative journalism for you.

My favorite bit is the part right at the beginning, when they quote straight people who have had their dates ruined when the people that they were dating thought that they were homos because of their wheels:

A few years ago, Meghan Daum, an op-ed contributor to The Los Angeles Times, wrote about a promising first date with a man that never led to a second one because, she later learned, the guy saw that she drove a Subaru Outback station wagon and concluded she must be a lesbian.

Just a thought: maybe a guy who would jump to ridiculous conclusions regarding your sexuality based on the car that you drive isn't the most stable partner to begin with. And maybe it was actually the fact that you crushed a beercan on your forehead during dinner that made him think you were a lesbian.

I'm not sure what I expect from the Style section, but this is just preposterous, and totally worth reading for a laugh or two.

Oh -- and as for the Beetle, I can't say I'm surprised. I always thought Herbie looked a bit light in his brake shoes.