Here's a big news flash that ought to blow some minds: According to a study conducted by researchers at UC Berkeley, people who drive expensive cars in the Bay Area are four times more likely to drive like complete jerks when compared to other, less flashy local motorists. As a car's sticker price increases from say, a Honda Civic to something like this fine German automobile, so does the likelihood that its driver will cut you off at a four-way stop or refuse to wait for a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

To get their data, researchers hid near an intersection in downtown Berkeley, observing the make and model of passing cars and noting whether or not the drivers properly waited their turn to enter the intersection. Their findings, which became part of a larger National Academy of Sciences study on the unethical tendencies of the country's upper class (broken down by our pals at Gothamist over here), led researches to conclude that there is "a significant correlation between the price of a car and the social class of its driver." Which should surprise exactly no one.

When asked whether or not his team over in Berkeley was engaged in class warfare with their research, the study's author noted, "Berkeley has a certain reputation, so yeah, we get that."

These findings also suggest that Guy Fieri must drive like a complete asshole.

[LATimes]
[Gothamist]