Jujharoo

I feel like a sucker. lol

leedogg

People do want cushy, isolated vehicles. This is one of the main reasons why Lexus is so popular. I would also say that instead of getting caddy's most of the elderly are going for Lexus's or Mercedes now. You can even see in all the caddy commercials, they are geared torwards younger, performance oriented (and female), markets. So Caddy wants to get away from the 'Old person's car' image.

If I were to give a very rough evaluation I would group vehicles into 2 categories: Sport tuned, performance oriented, and isolated luxury oriented.

Different car manufacturers are targeting different audiences and generally speaking fall into one of these, although some manufacturers (i.e. Mercedes) try to target both markets with different models.

Sport first, then Luxury:
BMW,
audi,
acura
Caddillac


Luxury first, then Sport:
Lexus,
Mercedes,

LexFather

Yes they do, they are now jumping to other brands for that ride. Not everyone wants 45 series tires and a punishing ride. Not everyone gives a crap about handling in a corner.

When you are older and have more $$$$ (technically) you will have more cars, your cruiser and if you are into it, your sports cars.

Very true, Lexus has their cushy cars for people that want them. I totally disagree with your list though.
Sport
BMW
Infiniti
Benz
Lexus
Cadillac
Acura

Luxury
Mercedes
Lexus
BMW
Caddillac
Infiniti
Acura

Max707

I owned a LS400 years ago and I've rented driven old Cad's. No comparison they are not even in the same comparison group. JMHO

STIG

Well at least, the only brand performing very consistently in your opinion is Acura. Kudos to them.

leedogg

I did not mean to rank anything, just group a manufacturer into a category of either sport oriented or luxury oriented. Basically, do their vehicles tend to isolate you from everything for more ride comfort, or do they try to connect you with everything for more driving enjoyment.

encore888

Interesting points, it also shows in the age, although there are some websites claiming '60' which is the ES age, the Lexus median recently was around late 40's, as was BMW's...Mercedes was higher.

doug_999

I seem to remember it the other way around - with Lexus having one of the higher median ages.

encore888

There have been such reports, it depends where you look at it. In 2003 there was a survey showing a higher median age, what I was referring to was this 2005 result in USA Today, from CNW Marketing Research, which had median buyer age of Lexus 49.4,
BMW 46.1, and Mercedes, 58.7. This is probably affected by the share for each brand's segment vehicles...notably entry-level:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...ars-usat_x.htm

In 2008, according to J.D. Power, the average age of a C-Class buyer in Q1 was 47, BMW 3-series 42, and Lexus IS series 41. In the compact luxury class, the average age overall was 45. Anyhow, Lexus does have 40% buyers 60 and over...what astonishes me though is the meme online on car boards recently that the 'average' Lexus buyer was 60+...that is an inaccurate stereotype by far.

Anyhow back to the main topic, this relates in that current Lexus VP Mark Templin attributes Lexus' age increases to loyalty, stating that it's not so much a problem if their customers are staying:

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2...6-33597851_ITM

Max707

I don't understand what difference age would make? Older= smarter and wiser? Older= senile and stupid?

encore888

Well, the marketers are always saying 'think young' because theoretically you can sell them more cars over the lifetime. There's concern for the ES 350 because the average age is closer to 60 and the main occupation is retired. So that's where the IS comes in with the average age lowest in class, at 41.

But that said, the luxury market tends to skew older, Lexus came in at the right moment when this sector expanded greatly with baby boomers. And with lifespans increasing, their customer base is plentiful.

Moreover, all this marketing spiel rests on a huge caveat--loyalty. Having a young-skewing customer age means less if, for instance like some other luxury brands, most buyers look elsewhere for their next purchase. Lexus owners are the most loyal, and according to Mr. Templin that can also keep the age up. But I agree, older = smarter and wiser, for the most part. Those that are, older but not active, are probably not doing the buying as much as those who are older, have worked hard, and are researching luxury cars.

doug_999

or alternatively put, a young average age with a high loyalty rating = lots of future car sales.....

LexBob2

The last time I looked at Buyer Demographics on JD Power, of all Lexus vehicles, the LS had the highest % of buyers age 56+ (that's as high as they go), followed by the ES. Both were 50%-55% of vechicle sales to the 56+ group. It's been a while since I looked, but I doubt if those numbers have changed much.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

idc how old the people who buy the cars i like are. as long as they aren't the ones with super loud music, seatsbacks that almost hit the rear seats, and have pants that are down to the knees, If i like the ls, and everyone else who has it is almost the age of my dad, or grandpa, let em enjoy they earned it

Max707

I don't think they are the ones that normally buy new cars.