Well, the responses are in, and we now know what cars you think are the most targeted at older drivers. Many readers disagreed with my suggestions, and some were even upset, including my father, who was a little miffed that I besmirched the good name of Steely Dan (whose music, for the record, I enjoy deeply).
Many thought that the Corvette was the natural answer. In fact, reader nope claimed that the average buyer is still over 60-years-old. Indeed, a look at the lineup of people who camped out at MacMulkin Chevrolet earlier this year to order the first E-Rays would seem to agree with that claim.
However, some agreed with me that Chevrolet’s decision to place the engine in the middle of the eighth-generation Corvette made it less of a midlife crisis in the form of a sports car.
Other users thought that the Jaguar F-Type was the car most likely to be seen with gray behind the wheel, while reader Chuck wrote that the Bentley Continental GT is actually the correct answer here. Although it’s a little heavier than some other sports cars, it does make a lot of power, and has seats high enough for even those with the most tender of knees to enter and exit with grace.
More: What’s The Most Old Man’s New Sports Car In The Market?
However, much of the conversation revolved around my suggestion that the Porsche 911 is the car that most appeals to older drivers. While some, like KingChop felt that I was wrong because the car has a “classically great design” (which, for the record, I don’t disagree with), others thought I was right.
Reader Ken Olmstead said that he’s 72 and loving his first 911 (that’s awesome, man, good for you!). Meanwhile, reader Kip said that while it makes him “introspective and sad to admit this, the author got it right.” He also brings up the point that a lot of the things that make the 911 an old man car also make it great, and I couldn’t agree more!
No one wants to be accused of being old, I get that, but with age comes wisdom and (god, I hope) disposable income. Why drive a car that makes your ears bleed and your back ache? If you aren’t at the racetrack, there’s simply no reason to do it, and older guys probably know that.
And so, I will hand the proverbial mic over to reader rwd300hpmanual who had a good point to make about the very notion of the “old man cars” in general.
“I hate this narrative because people really won’t buy some of the mentioned cars because they think they’re for older folks,” he wrote. “If I had to wait til I’m an ‘old man’ to get one of those, I’d still rather drive one and be told I’m going through a midlife crisis than drive something boring to meet society’s standards.”
