Wall Street Journal auto writer Joseph B. White comments on the problems automakers face leveraging the potent spending power of Boomers. Auto marketers have figured out that Boomers don’t want to be addressed as “mature” consumers. Instead, their tastes in cars seems to run closer to those of millennials in their 20s and 30s:

Sheryl Connelly, manager of global consumer trends and futuring at Ford Motor Co., says the similarities between boomers and millennials are stronger than those between boomers and their parents. People in their 50s and people in their 20s and 30s have in common that they grew up in times of economic prosperity and “have a very strong sense of entitlement.”

According to White, the sweet spot will be cars that appeal to Boomers and Millennials that are priced around $30,000, offer luxury features, good horsepower, connectivity and style. Examples of models that fit this profile include the Honda Accord now on the drawing board, an overhauled Chevy Malibu scheduled to debut later this year and Ford’s revamped Focus.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 11:45 am and is filed under Advertising, Automotive, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.