styling cars: February 2010

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Top 10 most popular cars bought by over the 65's (U.S)

With most customers favouring smaller cars, there is still one demographic that Detroit has a solid hold on… Retirees. Buyers over 65 are the last hope for the good American car. In some dealerships, anything upto 85% of all Buick buyers are 55 and older.

The over-65’s 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.

Studies in the U.S have shown that the next generation of OAP’s prefer sporty, performance type vehicles as opposed to the large cloud cars on this list. As for now, here are the 10 best sellers with the old folks:

(The models are ranked based on the percentage of buyers age 65 or older, using market research data from J.D. Power and Associates. All the cars on this list get less than 20 mpg in town driving and less than 30 mpg extra urban driving.)

10. Ford Taurus – The Taurus is one Ford’s best selling models, in fact it was the best selling car in the 90s. Ford went through some weird phase where all the cars had names starting with ‘F’. They got rid of the Taurus title and called it the “Five Hundred”. Either way, the Taurus is back now and old people still love it. Upto 35% of all buyers are 65 years old or older.

9. Lincoln MKZ – Compared to the rest of the cars on this list, the Lincoln MKZ is a lightweight. It’s marketed to a fairly younger consumer, but just like the Taurus, 35% of it’s buyers are 65 or older.

8. Cadillac STS – The STS is probably the “sportiest” car on this list, although like the rest of the cars, it has a roomy interior and the blind spot/back up cameras that older people like. Retirees love the Cadillac brand, they remember it as being the ultimate car brand. 39% of all Cadillac STS buyers are over 65.

7. Toyota Avalon – The only foreign car on the top ten list is Toyota’s flagship sedan. That’s because Toyota specifically designed the Avalon to compete in this particular market of over-65’s. Because of all the press, 39% of all Avalon sales went to retirees.

6. Mercury Sable – The Sable is the Ford Taurus’ upmarket cousin, and just like it’s always been, it’s essentially just a Taurus with a Mercury badge. Old people love it though, nearly half of all Sables sold (48.5%) have gone to people over 65.

5. Buick LaCrosse – The top five on this list is where the real favourites lie; there is a substantial jump in the percentage of over 65 buyers as we go from #6 to #5 on the list: Only 48.5% of all Sables want to old folks, meanwhile, almost 64% of all Buick LaCrosse sales were to people over 65.

It has old folk favorites like OnStar, electric seats with memory and remote audio controls on the steering wheel. We’re in the over-50% zone now, so it’s a safe bet to avoid all Buick LaCrosses you see.

4. Buick Lucerne – The Lucerne is the beefier version of the Buick LaCrosse, plus is has parking sensors and reversing cameras. It also has ‘Lane Departure Warning System’ that alerts the driver if the car starts to move out of its lan. Still, with a full 67% of all Lucerne’s out there belonging to over 65’s, I’ll still steer clear of them, with or without lane departure warning system.

3. Mercury Grand Marquis – The Mercury Grand Marquis costs a little more than half the price of the Lincoln Town Car and the two cars are virtually identical. If you exclude cops and other fleet drivers, a full 69% of all Grand Marquis drivers are over 65.

2. Cadillac DTS – The DTS is slightly larger and less sporty than the STS. It’s actually a direct competitor to the Lincoln Town car, so it appeals to retirees for all the same reasons. Brand recognition, quality image, and lots of technology like lane-departure warning system and blind-spot systems that many of the other top ten have make 72% of OAP’s buy one.

1. Lincoln Town Car – More than 75% of all Town Cars out there are driven by someone over 65, so keep an eye out. The Town Car is probably one of the spacious sedans for less than $47k. It has more interior space than many large executive cars.

The car is just the typical old man car: huge interior, rear-wheel drive, mirror like ride, plush seats and a powerful V8 petrol engine.

the New Honda VFR1200F

The motorcycle market had all become a bit stale and predictable over the last twelve months. New models were released without a great deal of modifications being made, old models were tweaked to make them seem more appealing and new concept models that actually looked very promising on paper were scrapped.

Despite all of this, Honda has managed to come through for the attention starved fans with the release of the new Honda VFR1200F, which had its first outing at the Intermot motor show in Cologne in October of 2008 as a rather bizarre and confusing mould.

However, just over twelve months on from that motor show the Japanese manufacturer has managed to turn that model into a new Honda V4 motorcycle that is set to take the world by storm.

The new Honda V4 was shrouded in secrecy from the very beginning, with many claiming that it was to be a new V4 style superbike to rival the Aprilia V4 that had just been released. The configuration of a V engine has certain benefits to it, including the reduction in size needed to fit the engine, whilst also providing better traction out of the corners over the more aggressive inline four configurations.

However, after the rumour mill stopped turning the Japanese factory finally decided to release some details about the new Honda, which would instead provide the touring community with a new motorbike to rival the likes of BMW who at present have the touring sector sown up.

The new Honda has been tipped to revolutionise the market with a new automatic gearbox making riding a much simpler experience for the touring generation. Although there doesn't seem to be a specific age limit, the touring bikes seem to be more reserved for elderly riders who prefer comfort over speed.

Initially Honda claimed that the new machine would make a significant impact upon the market, similar to that experienced by the Fireblade back in 1992. Whether it can live up to the hype is something that we will have to wait and see, initial reaction to the bike appears to be like the popular food spread Marmite, people are either loving the new design and details that come out or hating it. There doesn't seem to be a lot of undecided voters.

One thing Honda should be applauded on is the fact that they have actually bothered to take the bold step of developing something new. They have strayed off the beaten path and I for one hope it works for them.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dominic_Donaldson

Used BMW Motorcycles

BMW as a model has always been associated with prestige and class. This has resulted in the brand being an all-time bestseller in almost every continent of the world. While BMW have diversified greatly, the company has stayed true to its brand and model attracting millions of fans worldwide. Since 1923, the company has moved from aircraft to luxury cars and now luxury high speed prestige motorcycles.

While many people generally prefer brand new motorcycles, the current state of the economy has caused people interested in BMW motorcycles to go bargain hunting. This means that used BMW motorcycles have become a huge hit especially to upper middles class individuals.

In the world of motorcycles, it is generally agreed upon that motorcycles retain a much higher value than even cars. Japanese motors have been great. And do have been Harley Davidson from the USA and Italian brands. But BMW has continued the legacy of quality and class that started with its brand name cars down to its newer offerings-the motorcycles.

Prestige and class as we have mentioned, marks the reason why people go for BMW motorcycles. First of all, the brand has made a name for itself. This means that the class and prestige and is associated with BMW is beyond reproach. Quality is also another element that buyers have come to expect from the BMW models. This is the same with the motorcycle. Because the German car maker has distinguished itself as a top player in the auto world, the same is trusted in the world of motorcycles.

Motorcyclists are very particular about their bikes. That is why when embarking on its production of top-of-the line motorcycles, BMW had this in mind. Technically, there are two types of used BMW motorcycles, the R- series and the K-series. The differences include two cylinders which are horizontally-positioned for the R series and three to four cylinders usually lying side-by-side for the K-series. Innovation on the part of BMW has also produced the F -series which has only only one cylinder and chain. There are further divisions within the R series. One is the fact that it is modern and has a fuel injection system. This is preferred because it translates into ease of repair and cheaper costs.

As we mentioned, the best way to get a used BMW motorcycle is to visit your local dealer or certified used car lot. This is important because you get to choose and feel what you want and even do a test drive. This is advantageous in that people who shop on eBay do not have this luxury.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Theodor_Cartman