Couple in a Red Car

Submission 16,533

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About

Couple in a Red Car refers to a series of two-panel exploitable memes based on a vector stock image of a couple driving in a car. In the memes, various interactions between the couple occur, usually with the man asking the woman a question and the second panel showing either the couple kissing or the woman being left out of the vehicle.

Origin

On February 12th, 2016, artist Alexander Pokusay uploaded a vector pop-art stock image of a couple driving a red car to stock image websites, including Shutterstock,^[1] Vectorstock^[2] and Dreamstime.^[3] In addition to the original version of the image (shown below, left), several versions of it were also uploaded by Pokusay.

The author of the two-panel version in which the man leaves the woman out of the car is currently unknown. The format first saw use in September 2020, with the earliest discovered meme based on the format posted by Cobra Kai Kompanion^[4] podcast on September 17th or earlier (post no longer available). On September 17th, Twitter^[5] user @amazing_haynes reposted the meme, which is the earliest available post based on the format (shown below). In the meme, the man abandons the woman after learning that she doesn't know about the Cobra Kai TV series.

Spread

Starting in mid-September 2020, the format achieved notable usage among Spanish-speaking internet users, with the earliest discovered Spanish version of the meme posted by Facebook^[6] page Reg Ska on September 18th (the post was created using an earlier post made by another page which likely predates the September 17th Cobra Kai meme; shown below, left). The post received over 220 reactions and 310 shares in one year. On September 30th, 2020, Tumblr^[7] user nineinchnailsmemes posted the only other English version of the meme created during that period, with the post gaining over 60 likes and reblogs (shown below, center). On October 3rd, Facebook^[8] page Memessbk posted a series of three memes based on the template, with one of the posts (shown below, right) gaining over 340 shares in one year and being widely circulated^[9] in the following months.

In early January 2021, the first English version of the meme to reach viral status, created by an unknown user, was posted. On January 12th, 2021, Facebook^[10] page I'm a lil hii memes made the earliest found repost of the image, with the post accumulating over 510 reactions and 3,100 shares in nine months (shown below, left). More viral reposts of the image were made in the following weeks.^[11]

On March 27th, 2021, Instagram^[12] page stevienicksnation posted a music meme based on the template that gained over 3,900 likes, spawning a trend two months later (shown below, center). On May 16th, 2021, Twitter^[13] page @LaflameScott posted a version of the meme that gained over 2,100 retweets and 10,600 likes in five months (shown below, right).

The post inspired more versions of the meme to be posted on Facebook and Instagram in the following weeks, with the format achieving its viral point in early June 2021. For example, a May 31st, 2021, post by Instagram^[14] page jodyhighroller gained over 62,000 likes in five months. In early June 2021, several viral versions of the meme about K-pop bands were posted. For example, on June 1st, Facebook^[15] page Only EXO posted a meme that gained over 11,000 reactions and 2,900 shares in five months (shown below, left).

On June 11th or earlier, an unknown Instagram page posted an altered version of the format with the couple kissing in the second panel. On June 11th, Twitter^[16] account @TeamDreamville posted the earliest found version of the meme that used the altered template, with the post gaining over 4,000 retweets and 15,800 likes (shown below, center). In the following weeks, more memes based on the altered template were posted. For example, on June 12th, 2021, Twitter^[17] user @itsdannyneary posted a version of the meme that gained over 25,000 retweets and 172,400 likes in four months (shown below, right).

In the following months, both versions of the format maintained notable prominence on all major platforms.