Key Survey Data Points
- One-in-four Americans consider themselves and their partner
car-incompatible
- 50% said they frequently have to readjust their car's seat
positions, mirrors, seatbacks and stereo volume
- Mazda partnered with expert LMFT, Elizabeth Earnshaw, to share advice on how to
address car-incompatibility conflict resolution and how features in
the all-new 2025 CX-70 can help ease these disagreements
IRVINE,
Calif., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North
American Operations (MNAO) is revealing what could be driving
arguments with couples when it comes to their vehicles. While
infidelity and financials are frequently cited causes for riffs in
relationships, a new culprit is creating turmoil in garages across
the country: sharing a vehicle. A recent survey of 2,000 married or
cohabiting couples, fielded online by Talker Research on behalf of
Mazda, found surprising facts about what couples argue about when
it comes to sharing a vehicle.
The survey found that nearly half (45%) of married or cohabiting
couples admit they argue over a shared vehicle monthly. Some of the
items that participants cited as topics that they often argued
about when it comes to sharing a vehicle are the need to frequently
have to readjust seat positions (62%), mirrors (55%), seatbacks
(51%) and stereo volume (50%) after their partner uses the vehicle.
With this in mind, the 2025 CX-70, Mazda's all-new two-row
mid-size crossover SUV, was thoughtfully designed to bring harmony
to the driving experience and to relationships across the country,
through new technologies such as its available Driver
Personalization System.
The Driver Personalization System uses the vehicle's internal
camera to scan facial features and converts them into numeric
information creating a driver profile. The system then uses the
driver profile to automatically restore over 250 personalized
driver settings to their desired positions such as seat position,
mirror position, driving display and stereo settings. This means
that the next time the driver gets ready to hit the road after
their spouse last drove the vehicle, all of their preferred
settings will be adjusted with no extra effort on their part. The
driver profile is secured locally on the vehicle only and is not
subject to remote access. Saved driver profiles can be deleted at
any time.
The Driver Personalization System within the CX-70 can help you
focus on the things more important in life. In fact, 21% of those
surveyed would reward their spouse for properly readjusting vehicle
settings by taking them out on a romantic dinner date.
To address car-incompatibility issues, one in four Americans
with long-term partners would completely clean the car once a week
to avoid arguments about their shared vehicle.
In order to provide additional help for partners to feel less
car-incompatible, Mazda is partnering with Elizabeth Earnshaw, Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist, founder of A Better Life Therapy, author of "I Want
This To Work" and the upcoming "Till Stress Do Us
Part" and influencer. Earnshaw, LMFT has developed tips for
couples to address car-incompatibility while highlighting how
features of the Mazda CX-70 can help mitigate these arguments.
"Many times in my sessions, I see arguments around vehicles
causing deeper problems with couples in their marriages," said
Earnshaw. "Clear communication and understanding of your partner's
wants and needs is important to a healthy relationship and the
Driver Personalization System within the Mazda CX-70 can help
alleviate relationship pain points."
Elizabeth Earnshaw, LMFT tips
for dealing with car-incompatibility:
- Understand your mental load: Couples should take time to
sit down with their partner to make a list of all of the things
that have to be remembered in a day in order to manage their
relationship, home and car. Explore who tends to be responsible for
the bulk of it. Discuss together whether this feels fair or if
things need to be redistributed and work to redistribute as
necessary.
- Manage your stress: Too much stress makes it difficult
to relate to others, even the people we love the most. To manage
stress, partners should prevent the small stressors as much as they
can, learn to self soothe by doing things like deep breathing and
muscle relaxation and work together to solve big problems. When
dealing with stress around a vehicle, make sure to take the time
for deep breathing before addressing the issue.
- Interdependent Relationship: Even though partners share
their car, they still want to be able to be themselves.
Interdependent Relationships are the gold star and means that as a
couple, partners can integrate who they are as a unit and who they
are as unique individuals. Couples who have the ability to make
space for time together and time apart tend to be the happiest.
Work together to understand each other's needs for personal time
and regularly schedule time to spend together and apart for
relationship balance.
- Practice Active Listening: Couples get stuck arguing
about their differences in preference, especially with their
vehicles, when they focus on who is right and who is wrong when
they should be practicing active listening. Partners can practice
active listening by putting their own agenda to the side so you can
truly hear and understand their partners viewpoint. If they catch
themselves starting to drift towards other thoughts, bring their
attention back to what their partner is saying. After they've
finished talking, summarize what they shared and then they should
ask if they've missed anything before providing solutions or
sharing their own point of view.
With its inspiring, yet sophisticated design with thoughtful
cargo solutions paired with the latest technology and conveniences,
couples can expect that the Mazda CX-70 will deliver peace and help
you focus less on the little things, like adjusting settings, and
more on the important points of life with your partner.
To learn more about the all-new Mazda CX-70
visit: www.mazdausa.com/vehicles/cx-70
About Mazda North American Operations
Mazda North
American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales,
marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in
the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Colombia through approximately 795 dealers.
Operations in Canada are managed
by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill,
Ontario; operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de
Mexico in Mexico City; and operations in Colombia are managed by Mazda de Colombia in Bogota,
Colombia. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including
photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center
at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.
Follow @MazdaUSA on social
media: Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube,
and Threads.
About Elizabeth Earnshaw,
LMFT
Over the last decade, Elizabeth
Earnshaw, LMFT has become one of today's most trusted
relationship teachers. Elizabeth is a Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist and Clinical Fellow of The American Association of
Marriage & Family Therapy. She founded A Better Life Therapy,
where her team serves thousands of couples a year and is the
creator of the Instagram Account @lizlistens where she
shares relatable relationship advice. In addition to making couples
therapy more accessible, she is the author of "I Want This To
Work". Elizabeth often contributes to publications like The
New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post.
*Survey Methodology
Survey was conducted by Talker
Research on behalf of Mazda from Apr. 9 to
Apr. 15, 2024, with a panel of 2,000 married or cohabitating
Americans who have been in a relationship for at least five years
and share a vehicle.
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SOURCE Mazda North American Operations