We all know that male and female buying decisions differ greatly so it will not come to as a surprise to learn that the two genders have diverse preferences when it comes to choosing a car.

Automotive research firm Truecar.com released its third annual demographic study that examines car-buying behavior between the two genders in 2011. Instead of looking into absolute sales, the survey set out to find the car brands and individual models with the greatest percentage of male and female buyers.

Among the key findings of the study is that the brand with the highest percentage of retail sales to females in 2011 continues to be MINI (46.2 percent), followed by Nissan (45.7 percent), and Kia (45.6 percent) compared to 2010 when MINI (47.9 percent) came in first, followed by Kia (46.8%) and Honda (46%).

Males contribute the most sales in exotic and sports car brands with Ferrari leading the pack (92.5%), followed by Bentley (83.4%) and Maserati (82.8%).

The study also found that sixteen of the top 20 brands in 2011 with the highest percentage of female buyers were import brands, while thirteen of the top 20 brands in 2011 with the highest ratio of male buyers were either exotic or luxury brands.

“While gender preferences amongst the buyers of various automotive brands still exist, the gap is narrowing,” said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Market Intelligence at TrueCar. “The SUV and truck heavy mix of the domestic automakers continue to generate a disproportionate number of male customers, while the exotic brands remain to be the best medicine for a midlife crisis.”

When it comes to individual models, the Porsche 911 is the vehicle with the highest percentage of male buyers (88.2%), while on the other side of the spectrum, Volvo sells more S40’s to women (57.9%) than to men – which you may find ironic if you take a good look at the Swedish brand’s logo…

“Female car buyers really gravitated toward smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers,” said Kristen Andersson, Senior Analyst at TrueCar. “It was the complete opposite for male buyers, who preferred either a fast and sporty vehicle with distinctive curb appeal or a big vehicle, like a large truck or SUV.”

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