Nocar in the United States relies more on the septuagenarian motorist for its sales than the Buick Park Avenue. Half the people who bought this stately mid-sized luxury model last year were 70 or over (see table 5). But what do those on the eve of retirement buy? Nearly half the buyers of the BMW Z3, a snazzy little sports car, were in their 50S. And if not a BMW sports car, then perhaps a Harley-Davidson. Last summer the AARP'S magazine ran an article on older bikers, pointing out that over half the buyers were 45 or older and interviewing a gutsy 62-year-old lady who ran the Brooklyn chapter of the Harley Owners Group. Guessing from the habits of today's old folk what tomorrow's will be like is almost certain to produce the wrong answer. The baby-boomers have done many things later than their parents did, and a few things that the old folk would never have contemplated. They married late and had families late. Quite a few men in their 50S and 60S are in a second marriage, and still raising school-age children. When, a few years ago, the AARP interviewed people about life's pleasures, it found that 61% of men aged 55-64 and 66% of 65-pluses thought they got as much (or more) fun out of life as they had at a younger age.
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