147:, intended to be a high profile announcement to the U.S. public that Pontiac was "no longer an old man's car company". Townsend had two teenage sons, who, according to Hoover (the engineering coordinator for the engineering division for the race programme in 1961), when Townsend took on the position of president "made it known to dad straightaway that this stuff was nowhere. He was highly sensitive to the fact that the product line was nowhere out there with the young people.". Townsend used this rationale in his directive to change the image of the product line in October 1961.
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shedding the old man's car preconception, involving the slogan "This is not your father's
Oldsmobile." Kassof states that the advertising campaign was a flop, and further opines that it may indeed have backfired, reinforcing and even introducing the old man's car preconception in the minds of those people who had not previously thought of Oldsmobile vehicles as being such. GM eventually successfully courted younger buyers with the Buick brand, following the phaseout of Oldsmobile in 2004 and the phaseout of Saturn and
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tracks. Mueller observes that Ford "could just as easily have demonstrated the ease of entry or exit for a cane user or a number of other features especially useful for drivers with limitations due to age or disability", but chose not to because that would be attempting to sell features that appeal to older people to young people, whereas the campaign that Ford went with actually sold features that appeal to younger people to both younger and older people.
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supervisor at Ford suggested in 2003 that the company are not aiming to build cars specifically for older people, because they will not buy them. Instead, discreet changes to lighting or technologies such as parking aids are designed to help drivers of all ages. Although car makers are increasingly
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As manufacturers have increasingly shifted towards attracting younger buyers, there is now less choice of elderly-friendly cars than there were in the early 2000s. In the United States, manufacturers sponsor events that typically attract younger people with cars styled to attract drivers who seek a
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in the United States. One advertisement showed a group of youths climbing out of the rear of the car after having pulled into a parking space too narrow for them to open the side doors. Another showed a similar group of youths nervously holding coffee cups as the car passed over a series of railway
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Car makers have gradually been adapting vehicles to be elderly-friendly, without necessarily targeting these features at older drivers. For instance, larger door handles and improved lighting are beneficial to the older driver while being discreet enough that younger drivers will not associate the
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said that for the Saturn "you don't have to overcome preconceived public notions", whereas the fact that Buick "is an old person's car is a notion that's constantly reinforced by the media", making it easier to grow a brand like Saturn.) One part of doing so was an advertising campaign aimed at
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that such cars are difficult to sell. Several automobile manufacturers have taken steps to shake the perception that their cars are intended for an older generation because it tarnishes the brand's image in the eyes of younger buyers.
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clones". John Rock became the chief executive in 1992, and by
January 1993 was implementing a strategy to bring in younger buyers that comprised (in Rock's words) "throw out old brands and creat new ones" and becoming more
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cars are in the 40 to 60 age range, the advertising for the cars "portrays youthful activities and targets a youth mindset" (in the words of
American Honda's national advertising manager).
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contemporary design. Manufacturers are reluctant to be seen as producing vehicles for the older generation and the reputation that comes with it. Traditionally, brands such as
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Two automobile company executives are associated with the adage that "You can sell a young man's car to an old man, but you cannot sell an old man's car to a young man."
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line were the top choices for older buyers, however sales of cars to older buyers have increased more towards the basic versions of mainstream vehicles.
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in July 1956. Knudsen espoused this philosophy during the changes that he made to
Pontiac from 1957 to 1959, which began with the release of the
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114:) is stereotype of a car that appeals to older buyers rather than to younger ones. It is widely held in the United States
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adding gadgets that can aid older drivers, little thought is given as to how they may be a distraction to older drivers.
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87:. Large vehicles such as the Brougham have become stereotypical "old man's cars" due to their appeal to older consumers.
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98:. Before ending production in 2011, approximately ninety percent of Town Car buyers were over the age of 65.
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Hemi: History of the
Chrysler Hemi V-8 Engine and Hemi Powered Cars (MBI Muscle Car Color History)
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Warren
Richard Plunkett; Raymond F. Attner & Gemmy Allen (2005). "Leadership".
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James
Mueller (2003). "Universal products in the U.S.". In John Clarkson (ed.).
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automobiles had, by the 1990s, long been branded as "old man's cars" and "
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265:"BEHIND THE WHEEL/Cadillac Fleetwood; Requiem for a Heavyweight"
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182:-like". (In a 2006 interview, Robert Lutz, vice-chairman of
548:"Carmakers quietly adapting vehicles for ageing drivers"
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Management: meeting and exceeding customer expectations
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472:"Oldsmobile's Demise - What GM could learn from radio"
322:. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. pp. 9–10.
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Ford employed this adage in its advertising for the
280:"These are American senior citizens' favorite cars"
372:Inclusive Design.: Design for the Whole Population
297:. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. p. 36.
501:"Fastest Growing Car Brand in America? Buick"
29:The examples and perspective in this article
8:
67:Learn how and when to remove this message
293:Anthony Young (1991). "426 Race Hemi".
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449:. Thomson South-Western. p. 482.
7:
422:"GM's Lutz: In It for the Long Haul"
347:. Crestline Imprints. p. 93.
14:
420:Patricia O'Connell (2006-01-06).
163:Similarly, whilst most buyers of
263:Schuon, Marshall (28 May 1995).
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403:"Seeking Customers, Not Bodies"
139:who became General Manager of
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554:. 7 December 2003. p. 36
522:"Cars with the oldest buyers"
503:. Advertising Age. 2010-08-16
409:. iMedia Communications, Inc.
401:Gunjan Bagla (2004-07-28).
229:changes with older age. An
43:, discuss the issue on the
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131:, who became president of
345:American Cars of the '50s
267:– via NYTimes.com.
580:Automotive terminology
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88:
343:Mike Mueller (2003).
318:Mike Mueller (1994).
94:
82:
470:Mark Kassof (2001).
434:on January 10, 2006.
376:. Springer. p.
49:create a new article
41:improve this article
31:may not represent a
320:Pontiac Muscle Cars
244:Old age and driving
116:automobile industry
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552:New Straits Times
476:Research Insights
407:iMedia Connection
85:Cadillac Brougham
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51:, as appropriate.
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278:Roth, Dan.
224:Adaptations
151:Advertising
574:Categories
507:2011-06-03
486:2006-09-27
250:References
231:ergonomics
212:, and the
171:Oldsmobile
157:Ford Focus
145:Bonneville
57:March 2010
558:13 August
532:13 August
526:USA Today
45:talk page
238:See also
210:Cadillac
133:Chrysler
39:You may
585:Old age
218:Mercury
214:Lincoln
189:Pontiac
141:Pontiac
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180:Saturn
206:Buick
175:Buick
165:Honda
83:1988
47:, or
560:2021
534:2021
451:ISBN
382:ISBN
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102:An
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