Is the C7 Corvette Nothing More Than an Old Man’s Car?
Corvette name has long carried this overblown stigma. However, from the looks of things, it might just be true after all.
If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that our Corvette Forum community is made up of folks from just about every generation, young and old alike. That said, there’s one stigma that continues to perpetuate among the automotive enthusiast community. That’s the idea that only old guys drive Corvettes. For whatever reason, this stereotype continues to live on, even though there’s no concrete proof to justify it, and Corvette Forum member Kevin A Jones decided to go there recently in this thread.
“I never really thought much about it prior to joining this forum a year or so ago. But it does seem most every C7 Corvette I see on the road is driven by an older gray haired gentleman. But then there’s quite a few Porsches in my area and I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone other than a 60ish male driving them either. Perhaps it’s just a sports car thing rather than a C7 thing? Has GM ever reported official C7 purchase/ownership average age data? Or could the old man ownership thing just be urban myth?”
Ironically enough, the OP admits that he falls into this “old man” ownership demographic himself. Though, perhaps he just lives in an area that’s ripe with more retirees? Regardless, there’s no denying that plenty of members are over the age of 50, at least. Including Zjoe6.
“Kind of true. Bought my first one at 50. Second one at 54. When I’m on the road I am one of the younger ones but not the youngest. What’s cool is when I’m out in public I get a lot of positive comments from the older gents and I think that’s pretty cool.”
And there are some valid reasons for this, of course, including the higher cost of a Corvette, as cheapthrills correctly points out.
“Expensive sports cars clearly are for older guys in general, for all the reasons you stated. While my son would love to own my Z06 it’s not financially possible nor desirable for him to spend that kind of money on a toy.”
That notion is certainly something that fyreline agrees with, too, but he prefers an alternative term to just saying that we’re “old.”
“We ‘seasoned citizens’ are the predominant market for the Corvette because we can now afford them. When you’re younger, a little thing called life tends to get in the way. Kids, college costs, mortgages, etc. While I’m sure GM would prefer a younger buyer demographic, there isn’t much they can do to improve the financial position of a potential younger audience. It is what it is.”
And as JDSC7VETTE points out, it’s kind of hard to justify buying a Corvette when you have kids and a 9-5 job.
“For me it was more about where I was in my life. Having a family, a two-seat sports car didn’t make a heck of a lot of sense. I also was a contractor for 35 years and had work trucks my whole life. So if I wanted a sports car I would have too many specialized vehicles. A sports car just didn’t make sense when it came to raising a family with both my wife and I going to work everyday. Now that I’m retired, I can daily drive my Corvette and it makes a lot more sense for me.”
So perhaps the Corvette is an old man’s car, after all. Even if quite a few of our members are not old by any means. And the real question might be is that such a bad thing? Head over here and tell us what you think about this age old stereotype!
