Got a nice car to sell

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It is a well known fact of life that the 65-and-older age group is largely an afterthought to many in the advertising community. But if agencies and media buyers are charged promoting the sale of top-line automobiles, perhaps they should think twice about it.


TrueCar.com says that people shouldn’t be too surprised at the choices senior are making.

“Seniors are looking for a luxurious and comfortable vehicle from a brand they are familiar with and trust, and many seniors grew up with these iconic American luxury brands in their parents’ garage,” said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Trends and Analysis at TrueCar.com.

That is not to say seniors aren’t looking at some newer brands as well. “We are starting to see senior citizens branching toward non-domestic brands and into luxury and high-performance models by Porsche, BMW and Lexus, but the majority of purchases of American luxury automakers are still made by seniors,” said Kristen Andersson, Automotive Analyst for TrueCar.com.

Check out these charts:

Top Brands for Senior Buyers 2009/2010
With Percentage being bought by seniors
1 Buick 57.5%
2 Lincoln 47.7%
3 Cadillac 44.0%
4 Chrysler 36.1%
5 GMC 32.4%
6 Chevrolet 31.2%
7 Porsche 29.5%
8 Lexus 27.6%
9 Jaguar 26.5%
10 Hyundai 25.0%

Top Models for Senior Buyers 2009/2010
With percentage bought by seniors and MSRP
1 Lincoln Town Car 89.6%, $48,170
2 Buick Lucerne 86.8%, $30,495
3 Cadillac DTS 84.8%, $47,600
4 Cadillac CTS Wagon 74.2%, $39,340
5 Cadillac STS 71.0%, $48,155
6 Hyundai Azera 64.7%, $26,270
7 Chevrolet Impala 61.3%, $25,320
8 Buick LaCrosse 58.9%, $27,990
9 Lincoln MKZ 53.8%, $35,520
10 Toyota Avalon 53.7%, $33,955

RBR-TVBR observation: We remember back in the day when we were studying music in college, when we were among the few in our age group who tuned in to Classical WGMS-AM in the Washington market (yes, it was that long ago). We listened to lots of other stuff, and frequently heard our friends’ radio station choices. But just about the only place we heard ads for high-end cars was on WGMS. Apparently attaching such ads to programming with an older audience profile is still an excellent idea.