(SPENCER EGGERS/The Daily Campus)

Students on SMU’s campus may feel as if they are walking through a luxury car dealorship instead of a college parking lot.  It is not unusual to see a Canary Yellow Lamborghini parked next to a Candy Apple Porsche, with the occasional BMW sprinkled along the way.  Is this picture just a skewed perception of what students are driving, or is the reputation deserved?
 

It is a fact that SMU is an upper tier, private university.  But just because the cost of a four-year degree is higher than the price of the average American’s house, does that mean that the brand of students’ cars follow the same trend?
 

In order to separate truth from myth, Park ‘N Pony was consulted for some statistics on the types of cars currently registered to students.  While they did not have the information regarding what brand of cars students have, they did state that there are approximately 4,500 cars on campus registered to students.  
 

On Monday morning, there were eight cars in Peyton Parkway that were above the $35,000 sticker price. In the parking lot in front of Umphrey Lee there were two cars above this price, and behind McElvaney Hall there were 12 cars that fit into this category.
Regardless of the facts, seeing even one or two of the types of cars many only dream of driving can cause some students to feel insecure about their own cars.  SMU first-year Christina Maturino says although she sees BMW’s and Range Rovers everywhere, she feels that it’s part of the SMU experience, and has grown used to seeing them over the past semester.
 

Other students claim that they are not concerned about their cars, and are more focused on getting the most out of the SMU experience.
 

SMU fourth year Veronica Davis follows this ideal every time she gets into her car. Davis likes her Nissan Frontier, though she said it would be nice to have one of those “dream cars” after she graduates.  She continued to explain that she feels absolutely no pressure to have a luxury car to “fit in” with the rest of the parking lot.
 

Jana Danahoo, an SMU third year and 2000 Ford Focus Hatchback owner, loves her car in spite of its flaws.  In fact, she says, it’s what makes her car hers.
 

“I love my car. It has character,” Danahoo said. “The windows do not roll down all the way, but it is my car.”
 

Other students like second year Derek Hubbard are glad to have a car to get them from point A to point B. When asked if he felt insecure about driving his Chevy Trail Blazer on campus when so many cars are above the $35,000 dollar ticket price, he was confident.
 

“No. I have always been an independent person,” he said. “I am happy to have four wheels to get me where I am going and that is good enough for me.”
 

So, what does all this mean?  It shows that even though students may like to look at the Canary Yellow Lamborghini and remember that it was parked next to a Candy Apple Porsche, they do not necessarily gain a feeling of insecurity about their cars.
 

In fact, it makes them value and love their cars with their quirky characteristics and broken windows.