The End is Nigh: Boomers getting too old for sports cars

[Kchrpm]

http://alabamanewscenter.com/2016/10...ar-sales-fall/

It was a sign of things to come this month when Ford Motor Co. idled its Mustang plant for a week as sales for the year fell 9 percent. Other sports cars have faded at a similar rate, and even stalwarts like the Chevrolet Corvette and most Porsche models are slumping.

While there are still plenty of buyers who love the passing lane, automakers face a pesky reality. Men born between 1946 and 1964, who buy most sports cars, are cruising past their peak spending years. And as age 70 beckons, a person folding up like an accordion to get into the front seat of a speedy roadster is hardly the prescription for an aching back. Some men are even turning to high-powered versions of luxury sports utility vehicles.

“Boomers are starting to age out of sports cars,” said Eric Noble, president of the CarLab, a consulting firm in Orange, California. “When you get into your 60s, comfort becomes more important. Sports cars are not going away, but the market will get smaller.”

[dodint]

Well, the 'Vette is doomed. That has been their bread and butter since, what, the C4 and on?

[Kchrpm]

I'd say the C3. Guys in their 20s and 30s were getting them back then, including my dad.

[Godson]

It'll work out in the end. Just won't be as large of market volume. Im ok with that

[dodint]

Also, there are already plenty of awesome cars out there. If they stop making something I want I'll just go buy a collector I like.

[IMOA]

Any article that claims most Porsche models are slumping has to be viewed with a significant chunk of suspicion, especially since they're breaking records every year

In other news, there's an 18 month waiting list for the mustang in Australia.

[Kchrpm]

Any article that claims most Porsche models are slumping has to be viewed with a significant chunk of suspicion, especially since they're breaking records every year

They provided more detail later in the article.

That makes sense when you look at Porsche. This year and in 2015, the brand’s passenger car sales have fallen by 8 percent. At the same time, the Macan SUV has grown by 30 percent this year and is now Porsche’s top seller. Company spokesman Christian Koenig said the sales decline is due to replacement of the 911 and Boxster sports cars, which caused shortages of inventory, and the announcement of a new Panamera coming in January 2017. Porsche believes the new sports cars will once again juice sales, he said.

[21Kid]

So... Old people are interested more in comfort than performance. This is news?

[Kchrpm]

No, the news is that the last of the boomers is finally getting "old", and their kids don't have the money/interest for new sports cars that the boomers did.

[21Kid]

A bit of both...

“Boomers are starting to age out of sports cars,” said Eric Noble, president of the CarLab, a consulting firm in Orange, California. “When you get into your 60s, comfort becomes more important. Sports cars are not going away, but the market will get smaller.”

The generational handoff won’t help sports cars much either, Noble said, because there are fewer Generation Xers, buyers in the 35 to 50 age range. And the boomer children — the millennial generation — aren’t yet earning enough money to buy Mustangs, which start at $24,915, let alone a Corvette Z06 that can sell for more than $100,000, Noble said.