Picture this. You're driving down the road. As you travel, passers-by hears you shout "I pride myself on being green" or "I'm sensible and practical" or "Look at me," or even "Get out of my way."

The interesting thing is, all this was said and you never opened your mouth. That's because, whether you realize it or not, your automobile is saying something besides vroom, vroom.

It's saying a lot about you.

For example, Mike Austin, the technical editor of Car and Driver Magazine , said that a person with a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup is saying, "My horse trailer is bigger than yours." Or, perhaps, "I need a truck because I occasionally drive on dirt roads."

The driver of a 1999 Lexus GS 300 is sending a very different message, according to Willie G., a contributing editor of Rides Magazine , an urban magazine targeted at younger readers. He said that hip-hop singers such as Jay-Z helped make Lexus -- particularly the GS -- a household name in the 1990s, and that anyone still driving one "definitely has style but (is) ...old school in their mentality."

Nissan Altima drivers are "more into their career or personal relationships than their material possessions," he said, and owners of Mini Coopers are either driving fanatics or are "very secure in their personal style and (couldn't) care less what the world thinks of them."

Machines such as the 1969 Pontiac GTO are macho muscle cars, said Mike Tarczewski, the editor of Carmagazine.com.

Here's the thing: The cars they are describing are driven by well-known local residents. Your job is to match the driver with the ride.