Mirror, mirror: vanity not always standard

David Yochum

“You got to primp before you pimp.”

Mirrors may be an afterthought for car companies, but not for drivers with good personal hygiene.

“It’s natural to check yourself before you get out of a car,” Dinovo said. “You have to make sure there’s no food in your teeth, check lip gloss – stuff like that.”

Vanity mirrors in The $16,000 Challenge came in different shapes and sizes, a feature overlooked by Rogers and Sheth, but not by Dinovo and Goffe. The ladies checked every vanity mirror for usability, finding Honda Civics offered the nicest view, Scions the worst.

“xBs was the size of a credit card,” Dinovo said. “It didn’t give you enough viewing space and had a tacky Velcro covering.”

The ladies also voiced frustration with poor mirror lighting, as some cars only used a single, rear dome light for passengers in the front and back seats.

“These cars have all that other (stuff) like OnStar, but they don’t have lights on the mirrors,” Goffe complained.

Dinovo said she isn’t sure if lighted mirrors would help sell more cars, but admitted “mirrors are definitely a girl necessity.”

“If I saw a guy checking himself out for too long in the vanity mirror, I would think he’s probably a little too into himself,” she said. “A simple flip and check is good.”