You don’t drive new cars all the time without learning that the idea of a “chick magnet” car is a fallacy. There are cars that might disproportionately attract women, but those are not the cars normally associated with the concept.
A Fiat 500? That might get a woman’s attention. A Nissan Pao? Absolutely. I knew a guy who would drive around NYC in a plain white Austin Mini, and every time I saw him, he was surrounded by models, or at least by companions that were indistinguishable from models. That he was handsome and tall probably skewed the results, but it generally tracks with my own experience.
If I had to make an ideal “chick magnet” situation, it would probably be a Suzuki Cappucino driven by Glen Powell.
With the exception of a $2 million Bugatti Veyron convertible, I’ve never gotten any kind of attention from a woman because I was driving a sports car. More often than not, a loud performance car encourages disdain from the opposite sex.
Dudes, though? Dudes are attracted to the flashy car with a bright paint job.
This Is Not The Post I Intended To Write
The best way to ensure that it will not snow is to give me a car with snow tires. With wintry weather in the forecast, my favorite local Honda rep reached out to see if I was interested in driving a manual Integra Type S with Blizzaks. The answer was an immediate “yes.”
Because my luck is my luck, by the time the car arrived, the snow had passed. No worries, I’d just drive a couple of hours north to grab lunch with my pal Andrew Collins, who lives in a mountainous area known for snowy roads.
Lunch was great, but by the time I got there, Andrew informed me that every highway, byway, and driveway in the area had been plowed and salted. Yet again, the surprise competency of the NYSDOT conspired against me. I did find an underplowed parking lot and had a little fun, but that’s not quite the same thing as hitting curvy mountainside slick roads with a proper set of tires.
It’s not like I needed an excuse to drive an Integra Type S; it’s just that we’ve reviewed the car multiple times. Emme did the first write-up when she did the launch in 2023, and Thomas did a thorough review of it when it hit the fleets in 2024. It hasn’t fundamentally changed since then.
My dream of doing a snowy drive story was scrambled.
Driving home, I noticed that I was being noticed. A guy in another lane slowed down long enough to give me an approving nod. This would be the first of many moments over the next week where I got attention, and it was 100% from dudes.
Dudes Love An Integra Type S
Is it the bright color? It might be the bright color. Thinking back on it, I got some attention for the pink Porsche 911 Carrera T and, also, for the bright red Toyota GR86, although that was mostly from kids.
This Integra, though, seems to have them beat. One of the few significant upgrades to the Integra for 2026 is the Double Apex Blue Pearl paint, a lighter version of the previous year’s Apex Blue.
It’s an excellent color. In fact, Double Apex Blue Pearl may be the best blue since Volvo’s Swedish Racing Green. The Swedish color was a very aughts, slightly matte color, whereas Double Double Apex Blue Pearl isn’t afraid to sparkle.
Because it was a cloudy day, you don’t quite get the full effect in these photos, but the moments of sunlight experienced later in the week showed off the Integra’s spectacular tint.
I suppose the combination of the trident-style exhaust tips, the paint, and the offsetting black accents was just too much for the dudes. And it wasn’t even just one type of dude.
There was a Civic Type R owner who, even though his car is mechanically almost identical to this one, chatted me up about whether or not he should swap into the Acura. He obviously knew his stuff and could weigh the pros and cons on his own. I think he just wanted to talk about cars.
At the other end of the spectrum, there was a guy who started stalking me from his white, last-gen Chevy Impala. My daughter was in the backseat, so the sight of a driver keeping pace with my car first put me on guard. Then I noticed he was checking out the car. At the next stoplight, he stopped short and didn’t even wait for me to roll down the window to start talking to me.
“What’s that? What’s that?!?” he loudly inquired. I explained it was the new Type S. “How much power?” I said I couldn’t quite remember, but over 300 horsepower (it’s 320 horsepower, so I wasn’t wrong). “Damn, it looks great.”
Indeed, it does look great. I wasn’t sure that the $54,000 starting price was quite worth it, given that there’s more performance to be had elsewhere for the same number of drachmas. If you want to be noticed, it’s a steal compared to what you’d need in a German car to get the same quantity of eyeballs.
I think the Type S is the right mix of familiar and unfamiliar to grab attention, but also not make anyone fear they’re going to do anything but flatter the owner. That Lambo owner might be aggro, but an Acura owner can’t complain, right?
Seemingly every time I got in the car, someone would try to talk to me about it. And by “someone,” I mean “dudes.” So many dudes. That doesn’t bother me, though. I always want to talk about cars, so this fits nicely into my lifestyle. Another way to say “dude magnet” is “future friend magnet.”
So What’s It Like?
A full review is unnecessary given what we’ve already done, but I did have a few impressions. The last Integra I drove was the manual Type A, which features the 1.5-liter turbo inline-four and about 200 horsepower.
The Integra Type S has 60% more horsepower out of just 33.3% more displacement. This is a big deal. The Type A is a fun, reasonable commuter vehicle that can get out of its own way if you drive it quickly. The Type S is proper quick.
For the way most people drive, I actually think a front-wheel drive performance car is the best choice. If you’re limited by cops or ethics to staying reasonably close to the spirit of the law, you’re better off with something small and Miata-sized if you want a RWD car. Unfortunately, if you want something bigger than, say, a GR86, you’re looking at something with more power than you can use most places.
The fun thing about a quick FWD sedan is that there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had from trying to find the edge of traction before hitting understeer, and attempting to use trail braking to get around a corner… all of which can usually be done without raising too much attention or increasing your risk of a crash. Try doing that in a Hellcat Challenger.
Admittedly, the same Blizzaks that would have made snow-driving that much more fun probably handicapped my enjoyment, contributing to both a rougher ride and a little less traction on dry roads. In a snowy parking lot, at low-ish speeds, they kept the car pointed in the right direction.
This is probably where the other shortcoming of the car comes into view, although it’s not unique to the Type S. Most modern cars have gotten rid of the manual parking/e-brake, which means there are just fewer opportunities to be stupid.
Otherwise, the six-speed manual in the Type S is an absolute dream, and the total package is worthy of the male gaze it attracts. This, in a boring color, is probably more of a sleeper, if a sleeper is what you want.
If you want friends, though, get it in the good color.
All photos by the author
Another part of owning a flashy/sporty car is all the “dudes” who seem to want to have an 1/8 mile race at every stoplight. Eyeballs and comments are cool but I could do without the F1 drama.
You’re not wrong. I’ve got a tuned Mk8 380 GTI in Kings Red Metallic and it’s amazing how many guys think that they’re at the US Nationals at EVERY light.
Does it allow left-foot braking? I know after all those Toyota drivers couldn’t figure out their floor mats slipped onto the accelerator or that hammered the wrong pedal in panic, some OEMs programmed an accelerator override if the brake is hit. In my old cars, once I started using left foot braking, I almost never used the hand brake (which was good as it was pretty stretched out by then).
Obviously, this is a generalization, but women seem to love the GR86, especially in Smurf blue. Never got so many random compliments on a car from women (or everyone, really) since my Subaru art car in HS. Recently, one older woman even dropped the window of her Cadillac in pouring, freezing rain in a parking lot to ask me what it was and said she had waited for me to come out of CVS to ask. She was a car person (I think said she had a ’60s Camaro and Nova she used to run at the drag strip), but most aren’t. Much of it here, though, might just be car people vs normals—a normal can appreciate the appearance of a sports car, be it purely aesthetic or a romanticized idea, but a sedan is just another car and they don’t know or care what’s underneath it that makes it special.
i think it should. On the wrx i can have both brake and gas at the same time, but not in other Subarus that i tried. Press the brake pedal, gas pedal stops responding.
this is the truth. big wings, blow off valves, and loud exhausts are like flies to trout.
Trust me my guy, my proven method involves getting out of my Ferrari body kit Fiero while clumsy dropping stacks of $10 bills and bags of colored fish tank stones that look like rare gems. Worked the best at the Hooters charity car wash event parking lot in Clearwater FL. Player gotta play
Thank god the Type S kept the black grille up front. If you get the normal Integra in that blue or red color the grille is also body colored which looks absolutely stupid.
I agree about the body-colored grille looking bad, but as I understand it, that’s just an option. You can still get the black grille on any model.
Top shot made me think the Icy Hot Stuntaz were back. Points for that.
Only car I’ve ever known that attracted any attention from women was my VW Beetle.
Way back when, a housemate of mine said that their MG convertible was the best car they ever had for attracting women. Pale yellow in color if I recall correctly. Can’t recall if it got her any girlfriends or not though, it was long ago. But it was certainly a better woman magnet than my brown/tan VW bus. Luckily I already had a girlfriend (now wife).
I’ve never heard of Glen Powell.
That’s because he is a capybara who’s wish to become a real boy came true.
Don’t you insult Capybaras like that.
I want to note that I think all the comments on this article that reveal the author’s gender are from men. That’s an observation, not a criticism, and probably not surprising for a car site. That said, I really hope there is also a female audience here and also hope this conversation doesn’t feel alienating.
I’ll just say it: any perspectives from ppl who identify as anything other than cis-men are welcome and appreciated.
The last time I checked the data, about a quarter of our readers identify as a gender other than male. 🙂 This, at least per the data that I looked at, was measurably better than our competition.
Also, I deleted that other comment. Come on, guys, we’re better than that!
I was curious and thank you for sharing. The critical comment disappeared but I still wanted to say my point is we’re discussing the well known belief that women are attracted to men with nice cars and the closest we’ve come to a female perspective is a bunch of guys telling us what their wives think (and ppl seem to be interested in those comments!).
Normally we don’t have much reason to reveal our genders since what’s that got to do with a sexy taillight. But due to the topic, a lot of ppl have on this thread and they’ve all been men. If I was a woman reading this I might wonder if I was the only one or if this was a place for me. Plus I’d love some perspective from the half of the population not represented in this conversation.
As a straight white dude, I don’t know what else to do other than offer an invitation and show some empathy. Weird that it offended someone but since the comment disappeared maybe he changed his mind.
Also, not everyone “outed” their gender in their comments and based on your demographic info, surely some identify as other-than-male. Maybe they have more to say but didn’t feel like they could.
The comment disappeared because Mercedes deleted it, rightfully so.
I had a feeling, but still hoped the OP had decided on his own to reconsider. I know that’s asking a lot.
Is this teasing an Autopian feature film? 😉
In the 9 years I’ve owned my Corvette, I’ve been approached by exactly two women (weirdly, in the same week) and have lost count of the number of men. Mine is yellow, which probably makes it a little more appealing to the fairer sex. Also worth noting that of the two, one was a drive-by compliment at the gas station which led to nothing and the other was recently divorced (and not happy about it) who was definitely into me for all the wrong reasons. So my advice if you’re buying a car like that to pick up chicks is be careful what you wish for.
Oh, and for the young men out there trying to impress girls with their lifted pickups: I was at an ice cream place a couple of years ago when a guy drove past and blasted the accelerator pedal. All of the teenage girls who were there looked at each other and said, “Small penis.”
While I think that stereotype is unfair, it’s a good data point for people to know that is the reaction they’re likely to get.
And also there’s a difference between people who are into lifted trucks vs antisocial a**holes rolling coal or pealing out of the DQ parking lot. Say all the awful things you want about the latter group.
Yeah, it certainly wasn’t just about the truck, but being an anti-social prick with it.
I’ll also add that trucks (of any height) are absolutely not my thing. I credit this site to opening my mind that different people have passions for different things and to not just “tolerate” that but genuinely respect it.
But, as I said, I draw the line at anti-social behavior (needless environmental/noise pollution etc).
I once heard from a lady that car meets/shows are where your boyfriends go to pick each other up and having attended a whole bunch I think this completely true.
Ok I couldn’t find the video I was thinking of but this one makes the same point of how absurd it is for guys to think girls care about their cars:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=999602918450414
Every time my wife hears exhaust pops or an aggressively loud (probably Dodge) V8 she rolls her eyes and says with exasperation “No girls are into that, only guys.”
It’s like the old Top Gear joke about a handbrake turn being man’s equivalent of peacock plumage.
The piece of shit Dodge Colt from today’s SBS would be a chick magnet with Glen Powell in it.
I’m not even into guys, but I’m pretty sure I’d watch anything with Glen Powell in it. Dirty Jobs remake when?
I love my A-Spec Integra (the Type-S had not come out yet when I had to buy mine), and I do get comments about it. Mostly about the color though, because that Apex Blue Pearl (as seen in the header photo) looks really fantastic in person.
Apex Blue is A Good Blue. When I bought my CPO ’24 I was looking for Apex but the closest was four-plus hours away, and it had 20k more miles than the PRP (also a great color) A-Spec I purchased locally. It’s a shame Acura doesn’t venture from the greyscale more, because when they do actual colors they tend to be excellent.
“Dudes Love An Integra Type S”
Yup… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… performance cars and classic cars are great for attracting MEN.
If you want to attract women, you’re better off getting a luxury car with heated leather seats from a brand with more ‘prestige’ (even if the car itself is worse than a Honda or Toyota in practice).. and get it in black and have it really clean.
That, in my direct first hand experience, is the type of vehicle that will attract women instead of men.
Depends on what you call a classic. My 2CV sure feels like a “classic” car, and I get attention/questions from all age brackets and genders. The best are older folks from outside the US (college town) who tell me stories of their 2CVs or their parents’. So I guess you just need a goofy classic.
I suppose if it’s a classic that looks ‘cute’, it might attract more women than many other classics.