Posted on 05/12/2014 9:47:14 AM PDT by mkleesma
With most consumers favoring smaller foreign cars and the US auto industry seemingly headed for the toilet, there is still one demographic that Detroit has a solid hold on Retirees. Buyers over 65 are the last hope for the good old American car. In some dealerships, upwards of 85 percent of all Buick buyers are 55 and older. Thats an ominous sign for the future of American autos.
The over-65ers look at brands like Buick, Lincoln and Cadillac as status symbols. Those brands have what advertisers call the Mind Share in that demographic. Retirees remember a time when the only people driving those cars were celebrities and other high profile members of society; now they want in to that high-profile group of Cadillac drivers. Plus, older folks like familiarity, they know these brands, they've heard them their whole life.
Check out the list of the top ten cars most popular with retirees:
(Excerpt) Read more at ridelust.com ...
Mostly pricey town-car types, the classic old fart car. I prefer a Hyundai Accent.
My 83 year old grandfather drives a Toyota Corolla. Never understood why he went foreign after supporting American autos for over 60 years.
Some of those turnpike cruisers can be made into nifty sleeper hotrods...
We live in a 55 plus community and the most popular car is a Lexus RX350. Tone of them.
Someday I’ll reiterate!
I drift every day on my way to work.
I generally still don’t trust American cars and their lousy quality and reliability. My 220K mile 1997 Honda Accord outperforms and needs MUCH less maintenance than my wife’s 70K 2002 Ford Taurus.
I’m retired (for a year now). I drive a Corvette convertible on “no rain” days. And a Silverado Pickup on not so pretty days. There is no better car than the convertible (unless it was a new one).
My 62 year old mother-in-law is driving a Ford Focus, and my 57 year old mother drives a Mercury Milan. Ford’s been knocking them out of the park. I’ve got 110K miles on my Mercury with no end in sight. Good maintenance is the key.
Never buy GM products now that Bo and his union crooks hijacked the company and the taxpayers.
We had a 2008 AWD Milan, driven primarily by my wife while we lived in the country in Idaho.
One of the best and nicest looking cars we’ve ever owned.
And with the AWD and studs all the way ‘round you could climb trees with that thing.
The Corolla has the honor of being the best selling car, ever. Over 41 million sold. The Corolla is very durable, cheap to fix and last forever. There is a 1991 on my driveway with 270 k on it. The 87 FX-16 Corolla I bought new is still going on my stepson’s driveway.
the crude reference to an “RCH” kinda soured me on whatever class this article might have had.
If you are willing to pay for some of the more expensive maintenance items, you can easily get more than 200k out of a car these days. I traded in my 2001 Chrysler 300m with 185k on it. We loved that car and dumped it for two reasons:
1. AC went out and it would have been expensive to fix (and AC is REQUIRED around here).
2. A buck ran into the side of it, wiping out all but the rear quarter panel, four days after I cancelled comprehensive insurance.
It was not practical to continue to maintain it.
I'm over 65 and no way would I want another sedan! My Hyundai Tucson is a dream to maneuver in parking lots and stepping into and out of it is a lot easier on the joints then bending down, twisting, and putting on that stress on your knees and lower back.
Neat Car. A Toyotaroo, or subayota. I was pleased to see Toyota bring back RWD with IRS.
I prefer my F-three fiddy but the wife still works and loves her trailblazer SS to get around all the slowpokes.
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