# Senior citizens and Buicks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243 "2010-12-07T05:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/21 "2010-12-07T15:59:04Z")
According to this article, the [Average Age of Buick Buyers](http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/05/buick-sales-up-average-age-of-buyers-down.html) has dropped from 64 to 61. Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/22 "2010-12-07T16:01:57Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Not really: > > Saab- On sale > Hummer- Sold To Chinese > Saturn - Sold To Penske Group > Pontiac- Discontinued > Oldsmobile- Discontinued Saturn has been discontinued. Penske backed out months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/23 "2010-12-07T16:04:28Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > You forgot LaSalle. Sloan’s ladder wasn’t so much “stage of life” as “size of wallet”. He wanted to assure that as the customer could afford a more expensive car, they could stay with a GM product. He found that he had two major gaps - between the entry level Chevrolet and the Oldsmobile, and between the Buick and the Cadillac. He acquired a company called “Oakland Motors”, which became Pontiac to fill the gap between Chevy and Olds. The gap that existed between Buick and Cadillac in those days was losing GM a lot of money to Packard and Auburn from customers who could afford a step up from a Buick, but not the leap to where the Cadillac was priced then. Enter the Lasalle, which was sold as a “companion car” to the Cadillac, and sold through Cadillac dealerships. Eventually, the gap between Buick and Caddy disappeared, and so did the LaSalle, which had increasingly come to resemble the Buick. You’ve got it a little mixed up here. The original lineup was Chevrolet-Oakland-Oldsmobile-Buick-Cadillac. They filled in price gaps and came up with Chevrolet-_Pontiac_-Oakland-Oldsmobile-_Viking_-_Marquette_-Buick-_LaSalle_-Cadillac. It lasted only a few years before they cut it back down to Chevrolet-Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick-Cadillac. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/24 "2010-12-07T16:11:35Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Buick actually [sells a huge number of cars in Asia](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12801549/ns/nightly_news/), many to the young professional crowd. Asians like big American cars, and Buick is one of the last companies still making the traditional full-sized sedans. A big American car has long been a status symbol in many Asian countries so those who cannot afford a Cadillac or a Town Car buy a more affordable Buick. However, lately Buick has been marketing themselves as a luxury brand catering to the newly rich Asian businessman. This in fact is one of the key reasons that GM keep the Buick brand over Pontiac and Oldsmobile; Buick is BIG in China, the China market is definitly starting to determine what is produced by other countries. I always suspected that Buick was big in places like China and Cuba because when they went communist back in the fifties they stopped importing the newer models; so most of what the working class saw was the people in power driving around well maintained older style cars like Buicks; thus they grew up with the mentality of Buick= rich and powerful. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/25 "2010-12-07T16:13:05Z")
My first car was a used 1986 Buick Skylark…naturally the former owner was an “older lady” according to the guy at the used car lot it was purchased at. If there is a car that is the exact opposite of a sports car used for male over-compensation, I think that might have been it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/26 "2010-12-07T16:28:15Z")
I’d never buy a: Buick Lincoln Oldsmobile Just never, never. They just don’t appeal to me. If there is somewhere they are being marketed to younger people I just don’t see it, and I’m not even exactly a “young person” anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/27 "2010-12-07T17:12:02Z")
There’s also the simple fact that the name “Buick” is kind of an ugly name. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/28 "2010-12-07T17:30:17Z")
The 50s marketing point to Buicks was that they were for the doctor who made good but didn’t want to flaunt his wealth by buying a Cadillac. It didn’t matter whether this was true, or that only a tiny number of people actually fit this description. People felt good by buying a car that had this understanding and that’s what marketing is all about. From my understanding, it’s pretty much the same deal that makes Buicks popular in China today. Buick, BTW, was the guy’s name, just like Ford and Chevrolet and Olds and Chrysler and so many others. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/29 "2010-12-07T17:35:54Z")
Yeah I know Buick was the guy’s name. But some names make better brand names than other names. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/30 "2010-12-07T17:40:27Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Yeah I know Buick was the guy’s name. But some names make better brand names than other names. Like Edsel. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/31 "2010-12-07T17:41:13Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > You’ve got it a little mixed up here. The original lineup was Chevrolet-Oakland-Oldsmobile-Buick-Cadillac. They filled in price gaps and came up with Chevrolet-_Pontiac_-Oakland-Oldsmobile-_Viking_-_Marquette_-Buick-_LaSalle_-Cadillac. It lasted only a few years before they cut it back down to Chevrolet-Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick-Cadillac. I’ll accept that, but LaSalle lasted until 1940, long after Viking, Marquette and Oakland had been discontinued. And Oakland never sold that many cars under the Oakland marque, although it was acquired in 1909. Within months after GM created the Pontiac marque, it was outselling Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/32 "2010-12-07T17:45:30Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d never buy a: > > Buick > Lincoln > Oldsmobile Since Olds was discontinued years ago I don’t see that as a problem. Buick and Lincoln are skewing younger now, but I doubt they’ll ever be a young person’s car. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/33 "2010-12-07T17:56:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I think the OP’s “over 55” should be changed to “over 75.” I’m 65, and I don’t know of anyone my age who’d buy a Buick. Those cars are strictly for the black-socks-with-shorts crowd. I used over 55 because 55 is the age people can get the senior citizen discount and I used senior citizen term in the thread title ( I’ll be eligible for that discount in under 5 years!:eek: ) In all reality most of the people I see driving Buicks are well over 65. > [@Anaamika](#): > > I’d never buy a: > > Buick > Lincoln > Oldsmobile > > Just never, never. They just don’t appeal to me. If there is somewhere they are being marketed to younger people I just don’t see it, and I’m not even exactly a “young person” anymore. Oh, I don’t know. I bought a new 2004 Olds Alero (the last year Olds was made) and it was very [sporty](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Alero-OSV-Oldsman.JPG) for that brand. A very zippy 6 cylinder engine, leather everything, electric everything. At the time my youngest (who was 19) thought it was cool as hell and always wanted to drive it. Too bad almost everything on it went to shit!:mad::mad::mad: Head gaskets, breaks (in 15k miles) all 4 wheel bearings went **twice** , the stereo went twice, and the second replacement they put in all the number & letter decals on the buttons just fell right off onto the floor. Even the tires were defective and were replaced. All this happened under warranty (yes they fixed the breaks, but only after I bitched to high heaven) so I figured I better get rid of it before it’s me who has to pay for it! So in retrospect had I to do it all over again I wouldn’t buy that Alero again, but not because it was an “old man car” but because it was a freaking lemon.:(:mad: I traded it in on a Mustang GT with which I couldn’t be happier!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/34 "2010-12-07T18:11:15Z")
Buick had a few great cars in the late 80s. The [Buick Gran National](http://www.dragtimes.com/images/5135-1987-Buick-Grand%20National.jpg) and GNX were truly awesome for their time and appealed to the younger generation. Too bad they dropped the ball here. ---
**Author:** ![SurveyorAlpha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@SurveyorAlpha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurveyorAlpha)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/35 "2010-12-07T21:46:48Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Buicks and Mercurys. > > Although 2011 is the last model year for the Mercury, their Grand Marquis shares the same market as Buicks in the US. > > I think you have to present an AARP card before purchasing either one. 🙂 Ah-HA! I am only 30, but I have purchased two Mercuries in the last couple of years, and in the last 6 months I have been getting non-stop mailings from AARP, addressed to me, even though I am nowhere near being a retired person. Now I understand why. The Dope solves all of life’s little mysteries… ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/36 "2010-12-07T23:16:15Z")
> [@SurveyorAlpha](#): > > Ah-HA! > > I am only 30, but I have purchased two Mercuries in the last couple of years, and in the last 6 months I have been getting non-stop mailings from AARP, addressed to me, even though I am nowhere near being a retired person. Now I understand why. > > The Dope solves all of life’s little mysteries… Glad to be of service. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/37 "2010-12-08T00:43:24Z")
My grandparents had a Buick in the 50s. Even then I thought of it as a car people’s grandparents had. It was much nicer than our Ford station wagon, and I always felt so elegant in it. I think it was more middle class than a Cadillac, which was another old person’s car. It seems like things haven’t changed. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/38 "2010-12-08T00:52:18Z")
When I was about 17 (around 1980), my grandfather once told me “You know you’re successful when you buy your first brand new Buick.” ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/39 "2010-12-08T01:08:57Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Buick had a few great cars in the late 80s. The [Buick Gran National](http://www.dragtimes.com/images/5135-1987-Buick-Grand%20National.jpg) and GNX were truly awesome for their time and appealed to the younger generation. Too bad they dropped the ball here. Gran **d** National, but yeah. I believe the GNX was actually the fastest production car in 1987. However, as awesome as the GN and GNX were for their time, the interior was straight Buck Regal…including those old-people-car “straps” to pull the doors shut, velour seats, and a column shifter. They definitely look a lot more badass from the outside than the inside…nothing like a car that is ONLY available in black. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243/40 "2010-12-08T02:51:24Z")
I made this point in another thread recently, but it’s not as if the fact that Buick sells cars mostly to older folks is a _bad_ thing! Older folks buy new cars at a _much_ higher than the populace in general. The only way it could be a problem is if it were, in fact, all just Buick loyalists who are buying them out of habit and will eventually die. But since the average age of Buick owners has been somewhere in the 60’s for as long as I can remember anyways, this does not seem to be the case. There seems to be something intrinsic about aging and the purchasing of comfortable but non-flashy transportation. For that matter, I always hear the statistic for Buick (usually with associated chuckles), but I honestly don’t know if Buick buyers are really that much older than any other mid-size car buyers. Its not like you see a lot of young folks driving new Camrys or Accords or the bigger Benz and Lexus sedans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senior-citizens-and-buicks/563243.md?page=3)