Filed under: Aftermarket, Car Buying, Trends, Sedans/Saloons, Wagons/Estates, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln
Young drivers going after "grandpa cars"
The Wall Street Journal is reporting on a rather disturbing trend among younger buyers of new and used cars - the tendency to buy outside of the culturally acceptable boundaries of age and generation. Why, there's an absolute epidemic of young adults, some not even yet out of their teens, cruising around in Oldsmobile Cutlass Supremes, Buick Park Avenues, and Chevrolet Caprices! Buick's Lucerne appears to be one of the heirs to the throne currently occupied by Chrysler's 300C, and there are more than a few youngsters roaming around Cadillac, Lexus, and Lincoln dealerships as well.
We mock the WSJ only because this isn't a new trend (despite the CNW marketing data - specifically, its "stodgy index" - that shows the emergence of this buying habit). The release of the Chevrolet Impala SS in 1994 attracted buyers that were an amazing 10 years younger than typical Caprice owners, and lit off a B-body customization craze that continues today. Older RWD cars, including the large number of retired police cruisers that hit the market every year, are a blank canvas for the custom crowd. Want to throw it on bags and "lay frame"? No problem. Do you have a desire, as misplaced as it may be, to lift your car four feet and throw on a set of monstrous 28s? Go right ahead - it's as easy as lifting a pickup truck. There's also some serious performance potential. And for those going for a more subdued look, a clean set of dubs on an mid-nineties Buick Riv or Ford* Lincoln Continental is an easy and affordable way to stand out from the sport-compact crowd while still giving yourself and three or four friends plenty of room to stretch out during road trips. Of course, there's an ironic tinge to all this, what with so many pensioners going after 'youth brand' cars like the Scion xB.
In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that the author of this Autoblog post owns two vehicles with wire-spoke hubcaps and stand-up hood ornaments.
[Source: The Wall Street Journal]
*Thanks to the reader who pointed out my error - apparently, driving old-people cars can also cause slight dementia.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Corey 6:46PM (5/09/2006)
By "custom crowd," original poster means ghetto. Mind you, not ghetto fabulous, but ghetto with broken taillamps, banged up quarter panels, mismatching colored doors, 2 15's in the back, with gentlemen who'd you rather not ask to turn down their gazillion watt no-name stereo.
Well done Vics, Caprices, Impalas, etc are far and few between, with the majority of them looking like complete POS's
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Talis 6:50PM (5/09/2006)
I'm 22 and have looked at a '99 Cadillac Eldorado to replace my 94 grand AM after the intake failed on me. I would love to have a 96 Buick Road Master Estate Wagon; I can yank the motor and upgrade it, or simply put in a new LS2 Corvette crate engine. The wagon already has mostly heavy duty driveline parts and brakes, so there is very little (but still enough) upgrading to do to make it an awesome road hauler.
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Eric Bryant 7:27PM (5/09/2006)
"Well done Vics, Caprices, Impalas, etc are far and few between, with the majority of them looking like complete POS's"
Well-done anythings are few and far between.
Just out of curiousity, what do you drive that's so great?
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TrippyFool 7:28PM (5/09/2006)
I tend to agree with #1. The "younger crowd" they speak of are the kids that decided not to go to college, and instead went into full-time work after high school. They want the biggest car they can find with the biggest nameplate they can find, which is why they all drive beat-up Cadillacs and Caprices.
On the other hand, the guys with money to burn want to upstage the guys without it, which would explain why the football players at my school drive old Caprices with 24" wheels on them (I kid you not, one has "24"" in big silver numbers on his rear fenders).
As a point of reference, I'm almost 20 and wouldn't mind driving an old boat as mentioned above if it would get me out of my dad's old Geo Tracker.
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Rmi 7:31PM (5/09/2006)
So, i'm out whit my Subaru 2.5RS coupe?
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j-dawg 7:33PM (5/09/2006)
I love the full-size rear-drive American sedan, including the B-bodies and the Ford Panthers. My dad's old Continental with a 32v V8 is an awesome car, except that it's front-wheel drive. On the other hand, I can't stand the Chrysler LX cars. Old people cars are the best, forget going fast.
I am by no means "grandpa," or even "pa." I think, though, that people like me are an exception to the rule, because when I tell my friends what kind of cars I like they all look at me funny.
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PJ 7:43PM (5/09/2006)
I briefly went through a "grandpa car" phase in high school. When I was 17, I bought a low-mileage, banana-yellow 1973 Cadillac sedan DeVille with a 472 cubic-inch V8 for $2,000. I loved the irony of doing smoky burnouts and blowing off poorly-modifed Civics in an old man's land yacht, but the realities of "classic" reliability and 9 MPG fuel economy made the joke get old after a few months. I sold it a year later, and remain cured of the grandpa-car bug.
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Talis 7:52PM (5/09/2006)
#4, although you are only stating what you have seen, to say that most
of these people who like to mod their car didn't go to college is stereotyping. I am a design/business major at Arizona State
University and a friend of mine is a Pharmaceutical major at The College of New Jersey. I said I would like to "hotrod" a 96 Buick
Estate Wagon, and my friend is modding his Kia Sportage.
Because we are both in very competitive majors which take up most of our time (and money for supplies) we have either had to put our automotive projects on hold, or not do a mod at all. To look at my friend's Kia, click the link!
The "Keskalade": http://www.cardomain.com/ride/676514
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bgdc 8:15PM (5/09/2006)
Talis,
Why? Why put money into a worthless vehicle like that? Honestly, no matter what is done to the kia, it's still a poor handling kia made with substandard parts. Every dollar put into modding it is essentially flushed away. Every moment spent could have been used on anything worthwhile.
In so cal the tuner crowd is comprised mainly of spoiled middle class kids. Their parents put them in average civics/galants/eclipses and the kids now spend their income (while living with parents) on wings, exhausts and all manner of parts that do little to enhance the cars.
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Corey 8:17PM (5/09/2006)
#3, What exact make/model of what I drive is irrelevant.
Point was that most Vic's, etc owned by the younger crowd are in terrible shape, banged up and mismatched panels, etc.
Here's an example of one of the better ones:
http://www.craigslist.org/pen/car/157907773.html
BTW, my the color on my car's panels all match and are still shiny since it's always parked in the garage. All the lamps work as well! Wow, what a concept!
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Phil 8:19PM (5/09/2006)
I believe insurance is cheaper on large cruiser cars as well. That could be another factor into why people keep buying these cars. I'd love to have a Police Interceptor Crown Vic to sweeten the engine up a bit and leave it stock looking. Not to mention the ride is so comfortable in a big car.
I'm 20, drive a pickup truck, and I don't like small cars because they are uncomfortable when you're tall and kind of big. Granted the gas mileage
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Michael Karesh 8:23PM (5/09/2006)
One additional bonus: rock bottom insurance rates.
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74TA 8:24PM (5/09/2006)
#4, I'm a young, college graduate and I love the big, body-on-frame cars. And for all the same reasons listed in the article. Can't say I fall in the 24" wheel crowd though.
#8, I second the '96 Buick Estate, last of the great ones. There's something about the ride and capacity that you can't get in newer, more "sophisticated" sedans. I'm dreaming of an LS7, 6sp auto Buick Estate.
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Bow tie optional 8:24PM (5/09/2006)
ya well given the fact that they are cheap to own and insure, fast, and the previous owner probably never took it past 55 mph so its candy. There was no reason not to buy an old man's ride when you are young and can't afford much.
you people kock on kids for driving new cars, old cars big cars, small cars it don't matter, some crancky coot on here has to bitch about the "kids these days"...
anywasy thats why everyone was out to buy 80s Cuttys when i was in school. Just a hell of a deal for kids with limited funds.
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Corey W. 8:42PM (5/09/2006)
Talis,
Wow! You took the words right out of my mouth, last year I was also thinking about 96 RoadMaster Est. Wagon, 96 Impala SS or 02 Eldorado ETC. The LT1 is a great base to build from, LS1/LS2 upgrade was a little more than I wanted to spend.
I've seen some really nice customized RoadMaster Wagons, and not just dropped, new wheels and a paint job.
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Talis 8:42PM (5/09/2006)
#10, it's fun, it's different, it's better a better high than crack (I would assume)... why not? I know I can spend the money else where, but guess what; I don?t live in a country that tells me how to spend what I work hard to earn! I can buy a new Bangle-Butt BMW that seems to want to drive me, and not let me drive it... OR I can buy a car that I can put 9 people in, smoke the tires with, look good in (personal opinion) and have fun modifying.
It's just a personal preference. You don?t like idea, I do. This is the new generation of so-cal hotrods. Remember that during the late 50's and early 60's kids buying junk yard ford model T's and A's dropping the front, putting different sized tires on, dropping big V8 engines (ford flat head, Chevy pushrod) and painting them wild colors? This is the same idea, buy a cheep car, and make it your in your own way over time spending what you can when you can however you want.
I like new cars just as much as I like old cars, I go to show rooms and classic shows, I detail my '03 Mazda and my '75 Cadillac... It's all personal preference, and I feel as though if someone cannot appreciate cars of all kinds than you really have no place in the automotive world.
?Just a little deuce coupe with a flat head mill
But she'll walk a Thunderbird like (she's) it's standin' still
She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored.
She'll do a hundred and forty with the top end floored
She's my little deuce coupe
You don't know what I got
(My little deuce coupe)
(You don't know what I got)?
-Beach Boys, ?Little Deuce Coupe?
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s 9:10PM (5/09/2006)
Yeah when your poor and 1st car.... anything will do
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GrowUp 9:21PM (5/09/2006)
Dude, like there's no such thing as a FORD Continental. It's a Lincoln, bro. And for future reference should you write another grandpa car related article, just in case, there's no Buick 98, Olds Caprice, or Plymouth New Yorker, either.
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Jane 9:33PM (5/09/2006)
We (some of us older folk) are forgetting about the sheer joy of the SOB (slide over baby)feature of these boats. The comfort of being able to sprawl out with your lover is highly underated, especially when you're young and have no where else to go. The larger glove box also accommodates a larger box of condoms. Oh the memories with my high school sweetheart...
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Koba 9:36PM (5/09/2006)
Well, I think the fact that this trend is being noted at all shows that we shouldn't buy every idea that marketing and PR depts. throw at us (i.e. some of us don't fit nicely into their view of the world).
Anyone who has a serious freeway commute ahead of them every day can and will appreciste large American sedans. Anyone who has ever been t-boned by an idiot will appreciate them even more. They are especially attractive considering the minimal differences in fuel economy versus typical v6 mid-size sedans of similar age (v8 w/ 20mpg vs. a v6 w/ 22-24mpg). These cars have many, many strengths with buyers, and the american public's love affair with large vehicles should be no surprise (look at the growth of camry, or the SUV fad).
What's most important to remember is that this is not at all some craze. These cars are selling for cheap, due to low demand compared to supply. Everyone who deals with used cars knows that the money is in imports, not old tech land yachts.
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