They are called Baby Boomers, Generation Jones, and just plain Boomers – a segment of the consumer market born between 1943 and 1964 that today, have already raised their families, have a sightline to retirement, and are now focused on what they want, or what they have dreamed about having all their lives. Chevrolet knows these Boomers well. They are the Automotive Generation and one thing is certain – they love their ride!
A generation raised on muscle cars like the Camaro; on luxury cars like the Impala; on the affordable family-style Malibu, and on the sheer need for speed like the Corvette; unlike the generations before them, the Automotive Generation grew up on motorized vehicles and the freedom of the open road. Whether by interstates, highways, or byways, they demand fashionable, affordable, safe, and economical auto-mobility.
The Chevrolet family knows that most Boomers always remember their first car and according to Scotia Economics, a research and policy development company, Baby Boomers account for more than half of all new vehicle purchases and make up almost 60% of all drivers. According to George Hoffer, an auto analyst, they have a “fixation” on their cars born out of the days when gas was cheap, credit was easy, and for the first time in history, you could just jump in your car and go. This generation of car buyers has driven automotive styling for the past 50 years, and that is why several of Chevrolet’s models have lasted just that long, evolving as times change.
No automobile proves this point better than the generation who grew up lusting after the Corvettes and Stingrays of the 1960s – and turning 50 doesn’t seem to dampened the passion for the Vette’s sleek curves. According to Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for pricing at TrueCar, the lifelong dream of owning a Corvette is representative of a group of Boomers now known as empty nesters. Corvettes are “…aspirational vehicles. They’re getting it for themselves, not the family. It’s what they’ve always wanted.” And according to Mark Reuss, president of General Motors North American division who recently spoke about the next generation of Corvettes on FOX News, “There is a good chance every new Corvette we do has got to be dramatically different… As we go through time, there will always be an evolution of materials… Fiberglass is at the heart of the car. Materials are continually more efficient, stronger, and I think you’ll see that in whatever we do with the Corvette.”
