CULAYTR

I just came across this on AOL Autos and I think they're spouting some really bogus data. What do you think? Here it is:

{{ According to Auto Pacific data, the Chevy Corvette "seems to be more often a reward car. Its buyers are older than the industry average, with 88% born before 1946. Only 11% of Corvette owners are in Gen Y or Gen X." Bell adds: "Sadly, the usual stereotype of the Corvette buyer as a 57-year old male deep in a mid-life crisis is proven." }}

That's not right, 88% born before 1946? That would make almost everyone here over 63, and that just isn't so! Then it goes on to say:

{{ Bell sees another side to the Corvette. "It is the absolute greatest performance bargain on the planet," said Bell. "It's an affordable giant-killer." Markwalder adds, "There have been 1.5 million Corvettes produced since 1953, and while plenty of old guys drive them, they are an engineering marvel that will run 180 mph or return 30+ mpg highway fuel economy." }}

Hmmm, much friendlier tone there. By the way, who here is getting 30mpg?

FiftySix

I get 28.7 on the highway and 23 plus in town. But I'm an old fart going through a mid life crisis. Oh, I bought the vette as a present to myself for my 53rd birthday. But other than that I think the article is BS.

BTW - non of that explains why my first vette was bought at 20 years old. The second at 23 and the third at 24. I just can't understand why I waited for the stereotype to catch up before I bought number 4.

Restroom

At the risk of being facetious, I think you might be the first person to even wonder if AOL Autos is a credible source for auto-industry trend reporting. If this Bell who's being quoted works for Auto Pacific, that's one thing, and he likely has nothing to lose from making a disparaging and wildly irresponsible claim about owners being "deep in a mid-life crisis", but I suspect that Bell is instead some mouthpiece the AOL guys found at a car show. It would not bode well for someone employed in the trade of statistics to make a statement that implies the average life expectancy for males in the US is 114-120 years.

As far as smashing datagrams goes, I landed my first 'Vette at the tender age of 28, my '08 A6 consistently returns 28MPG if I keep my foot out of it, and if people would just stop having children I'm reasonably confident there would be more 'Vettes on the road than you could shake a stick at, of all generations. The polarization of Vette owner registration data is probably coming more from the fact that it's a two-passenger coupe than anything else, which I wouldn't change for the world (sorry, Nomad section) and which even the 911 guys don't have to deal with.

dvilin

Same old crap.

janicept

Owner: 32 y/o female. It's like owning your own roller coaster!!!!!!

My display says 20.7 mpg - too hard on the gas?

Wayne O

"...By the way, who here is getting 30mpg?"

Not me, I'm enjoying my 'mid-life crisis.' My car's on the race track more than the street so I most often average 5 -6 mpg.

george vee

The vette is an adrenalin rush, I guess thats what keeps us mid lifers feeling so young.
I get 27mpg at 65mph and 23mpg at 100, at 145mph it matches my heart rate LOL.

cthusker

Could not agree more! If you're having a mid life crises (whatever that is) it had better be around 40 not 50 or 60 unless you planning on living well over a 100! It's simply a stupid over used cliché by hack writers! I owned my first vette at 22 so I guess it was a very early crises! What a load of .....

Vettes are bought by a lot of folks OLDER because they have the freaken money to buy a 2 seater toy! Most have 2 cars and the vette is simply a 2nd or 3rd car. How many Porsche's or Ferrari's are owned by 20 somethings? Frankly I've given up reading that drivel because it's the same old same old. Been that way for about 40 years now.....

spinalator

Yes, I am close to 50, however, I've been driving Vettes for the past 17 years without a break. This is my 5th one and I also had one in 1980 so if it is a mid life crisis, it started a very long time ago and I must still be going thru it...

danl72

Maybe he is jealous because he doesn't have one.

vettedoogie

Do you really care what they say? If so, why?

offthehook1

My mid life crisis was almost 20 years ago!!! At the tender age of 58 I took some of my hard earned penny's and bought my first Corvette a 2009 c6. I consider it more of a bucket list issue. The love of my life went blonde and now life if good. I just hope that I can continue to get in and out of it for the next ten years. Let the mo's write what they want. When we talk about the American dream, it is all about hard work, patriatism, dedication and the freedom to do what we want to do with our own money. At the end of the day we are probably a dying breed.

AtHomeSoda

Guess I have been Mid-Life for a long time... My love of performance cars goes back to pre-teen for me... man what a crock..

C-INRED

I got over 30mpg between Washington state and Indiana last summer in my 2006 '06 A6. That was completely loaded with luggage and with a passenger typically running between 60 an 80 and crossing two major mountain ranges (Cascades and Rockies). We did not have strong tail winds...the weather was fairly benign the entire way.

The details are here....... http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...vs-actual.html

My typical everyday mileage is in the low 20's which is a combination of local and highway driving (we're in a fairly rural area so no stop-and-go driving).

Another little tidbit. I've got 34,000 miles on the original GS2 runflats and it looks like they'll go at least 40,000.

You gotta love it!!

Bones_TX

I get better age than mpg. Im 34 and get 9mpgs.

Nutshell

Are they saying the average age of the owners is 57? No freaking way...that would mean half of the owners are over that...very hard for me to believe.

Got my first vette at 26 and on my fourth now at 35. I guess that midlife crisis hit me at age 6 as I distinctly remember knowing I had to have one at precisely that age.

Vipor

with everyone.

I've been"hinted" to about the same BS by people who have no clue. Probably because they themselves have never owned a 'vette.

I got my 1st one ('01 C5) at age 36. Got my 2nd one ('04 C5) at age 39. Got my 3rd one a few months ago ('09 C6) and I am STILL a ways from being 57 years old.

By the way, I made a trip to and from San Antonio a couple of weeks ago. Averaged 28 MPG on that trip.

On daily driving here locally in the city, I am averaging about 16 MPG.

WMark

Who cares! Regardless of age, the Corvette is a super performance value. I bought my first Vette when I was 47, but I've been a car nut all my life.

As to MPG... Really happened, but not a real world test... Fairly flat/more down than up. Left Tombstone, AZ headed for Scottsdale, and reset my Avg MPG. By the time I went through Sunday Tuscon traffic, I was averaging 33.1 MPG. (Okay, lots of slow traffic on I-10)

However, by the time I parked in my Scottsdale garage, 29.1 MPG average. Still not bad for 400 HP! My overall average is around 23.

mcc978

This stereotype was started by the media and the media loves to use it. I don't know where they got they're numbers from but I doubt it was a realiable source. I got my vette at 29 and wanted one since I was a kid.

As far as mpg goes, 27 mpg is the best I've ever seen.

scj05

I live in a retirement community, and we have plenty of vettes. Most have owned a vette before, but the most common statement was "could not have a vette while working, I never would have received a good increase". So now we enjoy the car and still get BS. But at the end of the day we have the vette, if I have mid life crises.. very enjoyable with 436 HP.