Whether it's a mid-life crisis, a teenage dream or just a personal milestone, many people, especially men, mark their life changes with a car - often an expensive one. But that won't do anything to attract women, according to a new study.

Flying in the face of decades of conventional wisdom, the new study, commissioned by Top Gear Australia, shows that there's no difference in the reaction a typical woman's brain shows to a any given man whether he's in a jalopy or a Rolls Royce.

Men that are generally regarded as attractive are especially immune to the vagaries of how a car might reflect on their perception. "If you're a good looking bloke, don't even worry about it," said Peter Pynta of Neuro Insight, the company that performed the study.

More average-looking guys benefit from being shown with just about any car, according to the survey. But some men, such as the typical laborer, aren't going to meet with feminine approval regardless of the car they're in.

We'll leave it up to you to assess the veracity of the study's conclusions.