Topping the list with 75.9 percent of its buyers 65 and up is the massive Lincoln Town Car, according to J.D. Power and Associates. The following four all have more than 63 percent of its buyers as retirees: The Cadillac DTS, Mercury Grand Marquis, Buick Lucerne and Buick LaCrosse. It is notable that these models are all large sedans.
So basically those in the 65 or higher club prefer big, spacious cars, especially if they have boatloads of grandchildren. Power steering, power seats, door height and accident response programs also comfort and reassure retirees in their old age. Their favored automobiles also tend to be overwhelmingly American, since most of them belong to a generation that still believes that buying GM is helping America.
However, should older people be driving cars like these?
The top consideration, experts say, should be how easy it is to see outside of the vehicle, which can be a definite problem with vehicles like these.
"You need to be able to know where the front and the back of the car is," David Melton, director of transportation and technical consulting for Liberty Mutual Insurance, says. "If you can't see that, you will find it hard to maneuver into a tight spot. I'm always concerned that older drivers aren't looking carefully at sight lines."
As the top twelve favorites of American retirees are large sedans with somewhat constricted sight lines, this is something of a problem.
The 65 and over age group may also be where domestic automakers still hold a monopoly. Thirteen models out of twenty belong to American makers, and the only import model to crack the top ten is the Toyota Avalon, which was specifically designed to compete in this segment.
The rest of the list is as follows:
-Lincoln Town Car
-Cadillac DTS
-Mercury Grand Marquis
-Buick Lucerne
-Buick LaCrosse
-Mercury Sable
-Toyota Avalon
-Cadillac STS
-Lincoln MKZ
-Ford Taurus
-Cadillac XLR
-Hyundai Azera
-Cadillac SRX
-Lexus LS Series
-Lexus ES Series
-Chevrolet Impala
-Buick Terraza
-Kia Amanti
-Jaguar XJ Sedan
-Jaguar S-Type
via Newschannel5