Ford Mustang Buyers Are Getting Older, And That Could Be A Problem
Nostalgia for the 1960s is driving the sales of the muscle car.
Ever since they first arrived on the scene en masse during the 1960s, muscle cars have remained some of the most exciting American-made machines on the market. These V8-powered bruisers carry a certain attitude that is unrivaled on the street, and nowadays they have the performance to match their presence. While these machines were once seen as a symbol of youthful abandon, things have shifted over the past few decades. Nowadays muscle cars are often considered to be a vehicle of choice for older enthusiasts, as nostalgia for those original models grows. We wanted to see just how true that statement is, so we sat down with Ford Mustang Marketing Manager Jim Owens to discuss the demographic breakdown of the average Mustang buyer.
Demographic vs. Psychographic
The Ford Mustang is the best-selling sports car in the world. That is an incredibly impressive feat for any muscle car, and one that only highlights the broad appeal of the nameplate. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Ford has always done their best to market the Mustang as a vehicle centered around driving enjoyment. As such, Owens noted that Ford doesn’t particularly like to break their buyers down by traditional demographic categories.
“We like to talk about to talk about it as a psychographic instead of a demographic,” said Owens in an interview with MC&T. “It’s somebody that wants that driving experience, that car that makes you feel like you’ve taken a vacation every day. Whether you’re 5 years old and grabbing that HotWheels or 103 and buying your first car ever and it’s a Mustang. It’s that zest and love of life. That’s the psychographic.”
And while this is a great way to look at things from the automaker’s perspective, it doesn’t mean that people of all ages are actually buying the thing. In short, the pony car’s average buyer has indeed been getting older over the past decade or so, regardless of Ford’s efforts to make the car appealing to people of all ages.
(photo credit: Matheus Pach - MuscleCarsAndTrucks.com)
