This is probably the longest post of this series, so empty thy bladder and grabbest a cup of coffee before pulling up the page. It's full of good info and I think we all can relate.
The first session I attended in the Forward with Ford Conference dealt with the realities of the aging population. How do I fit into this demographic?
I'm 41. So not a old person, clearly. (Unless you catch me at boxing class. Then I feel like a dinosaur, working out with guys 18-25.) My husband is 56. My mom is older than him, and my father in law will be 90 in a week. So I do deal with the older people as they are driving.
And may I say that the funniest thing ever - and I love my husband, so I can totally say this - is watching him drive his work car? He drives a 2011, and it has all the bells and gadgets and whistles that one can want - and it's mostly wasted on him. He doesn't have a smart phone, has no interest in many of the technological advances, and turns off his forward collision warning and parking adapters because the beeping makes him crazy. He doesn't really understand Pandora radio, goes online because he has to, and his most common comment to me is Do you have to be looking at your phone every second of the day???
First, the facts, if you please, ma'am:
(my notes, with questions and explanations. But, alas, no pictures, as they were all on my now missing camera...)
- There are 78 million baby boomers in America
- Baby Boomers were responsible for innovations like disposable diapers and baby food. They are a very creative and resourceful set of people.
- Cars of the 70s were designed for smaller families (one or 2 children) and dealing with the gas crisis. Minivans became popular in the 80's as boomers had families and in the 90's luxury became the gold standard.
- It used to be thought that you hit midlife and went into a slow decline but that is no longer. Baby boomers wanted to be different from their parent. I see this in my own life. My grandmother was content to sit in her chair and complain the day away, but my mom goes more places and does more stuff than I do, and that's saying a lot. She works about 50 hours a week, travels with her friends every weekend and is the most active person I know.
- One of the top trends is the growing awareness of women as an influencer. The "girlfriend syndrome" isn't about dating but it's about the awareness of the importance of your girlfriends. It was at one time a negative to hang out with other " widow women" but now it's a reality, due in large part to the fact that women outlive men.Women haven't saved enough for retirement and we don't feel good about the future. This generation is a creative one and they can come up with a way to "get it done" with less. Older women often buy houses together and live with their female friends. There is a large population of Red Hat groups, etc - women hanging with their friends and in many cases they are widowed.
- There is status in living simple with status. Luxury is being redefined.
- Car buying is very often age and stage related. Cars are designed for different ages. Minivans made on a car chassis to make it easier to enter, for example.
- Blessings of the empty nest means that you don't need to think of anyone elses needs. Just your own.
- The average life span has increased 40 years and many of those years are in the middle instead of added onto the end, where they aren't useful. Think of it as having an extended midlife - no kids in the home, your health is still relatively robust, often you have energy and desire to do things and see places that you weren't able to afford as a a young parent or can't as an elderly person.
- Recession has created a situation where the boomers who didn't want to retire are now competing for jobs with those who are younger.
- Larger number of baby boomers than Gen xers and online presence reflects this. Greater numbers of Baby boomers are on Facebook than middle aged people (I wonder about this statistic...)
- The average person buys 14 cars in their life and half of them are in the timespan of 50 plus. ( Hmm. Is this a real statistic? Can it be supported by real life? How many cars have you owned?)
- Is there a future in marketing to boomers? Boomers live 20-30 years longer than previous generations and it makes financial sense to market to them
- Maslow's pyramid as it pertains to aging. (Basically, if producers design products meeting consumer needs, consumers will more often choose those products over those of competitors. Whichever product better fills the void created by the need will be chosen more frequently, thus increasing sales. Credit: wikipedia) We have to understand that the older people have the potential to be at the peak of the pyramid and we shouldn't squander the knowledge and wisdom of the older generation. When I was at the airport, there was an old woman who was struggling to understand many basic functions about the reality of airline travel. A young girl, maybe 13, was making fun of her, and her mother told her, "One day, you will be old." Yes, indeedy - for what is the alternative?
WHAT ARE FORD's solutions for the aging population?
Ford has its employees who work in concept development occasionally wear aging suits - specially designed body suits that restrict head and neck movement and slow the response time in order to mimic the slower movements of the aging body. They wear glasses that duplicate the blurred vision and reading strain that many older people experience. They do these things to understand what needs an older client may have, and then vehicles can be adapted. Minivans are built on car chassis to make them easier to enter. Displays for the dash can be made larger or in different fonts in order to facilitate easier reading.
Ford has created a Heart rate monitoring seat that works with outdoor stimulus - other drivers, traffic etc. If the driver's heart rate level is up, one example might be that an incoming phone call will go directly to voice mail or front sensor warning may go off earlier. Brakes may be applied by the car if you don't do it yourself due to possible stressful situation.
In what was probably the coolest thing (but also the most reminiscent of Big Brother and admittedly gave me pause), I saw a display of the WellDoc partnership that Ford has created new initiatives for Health care. It's a medical device with connectivity via Bluetooth - for example, if you have continuous glucose monitoring with insulin pump. Ford feels that this is essential because of higher number of diabetics -26 million who have a collective average a1c over 9. Higher a1c means greater risk of death. Just a 2 point reduction could mean 1800 dollars in savings per person per year.
Watch this cool video to see it at work, and tell me your feelings.
What do you think? if you have diabetes, would you want your car to be questioning your diabetic care plan?
There is also an asthma and seasonal allergies component, to alert you to conditions that might aggravate your asthma.
Videos from Ford's Youtube Channel - and, coincidentally, the guy with the ponytail did the demo at the event as well.)
I was extremely impressed with the amount of study that goes into creating a car that will meet the needs of any individual that may purchase it, no matter their age or health.
In short, we spend over 28 hours a week in our cars. (Some days, I feel like I spend all of those hours in one day....) We are a captive audience and its a great time for education, instruction and knowledge transfer.
Feelings? Thoughts? Another cup of coffee??
Made it through one cup. I questions some of those statistics as well. But, the Boomer generation is taking over.
Posted by: addy | June 25, 2011 at 08:55 PM
I am 46 year old and have owed 6 cars since I bought my first in 1981. They were in order:VW Super Bug, Ford Escort, Hyndai, Toyota Tercel, Ford Taurus, and a Toyota Siena. The Hyandai I had less than 6 months and was a total lemon. The Taurus was a great car, when I gave away to a friend's child it had close to 200,000 miles on it. She is still driving the Taurus.
Posted by: Mary @ A Simple Twist of Faith | June 26, 2011 at 04:52 PM
Hmm, I also wonder about the statistics. I'm 46 and owned 1 card prior to marriage, a 1974 Ford Maverick. Since marriage, together we have owned a 1980 Ford Fairmont, a 1986 Chevy Spectrum, a 1994 Ford Tempo, a 1995 Dodge Caravan, a 2002 Dodge Caravan, and a 2004 Subaru Outback.
As for the WellDoc thing, I'm not so sure about the benefits of monitoring a hemoglobin A1c. I would think that somehow monitoring random blood sugars might be more appropriate given that a sharp spike or drop in blood sugars could be a safety issue for driving.
All that said, I'm not sure I'd use all the fancy technology, but I'd love to be driving a brand spanking new anything!
Posted by: Mandie | June 27, 2011 at 12:17 AM