There's a new "old person" car around town.

Kinja'd!!! "mazda616" (mazda616)
05/27/2014 at 13:25 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 12

And it's not what you'd think.

Chevrolet Spark.

I have seen no less than five, all driven by octogenarians. Today, I saw an elderly couple getting into one in this weird green color. It even had a handicap parking license plate.

Kinja'd!!!

I also had to help another elderly couple when they got their pale yellow Spark high centered on a chunk of concrete in a gravel parking lot last weekend.

So far, I've seen this green one, the yellow one, a pale pink one, a sky blue one and a red one...all driven by elderly folks.

I guess...it's easy to park? I risk aging myself, but the car of choice for elderly people when I was younger was the boxy Buick Park Avenue or the Cadillac Deville with faux "fins." Quite a difference from the Chevrolet Spark.


DISCUSSION (12)


Kinja'd!!! m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:27

Kinja'd!!!2

At least they can't really hurt anyone else while driving.


Kinja'd!!! William Byrd > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
05/27/2014 at 13:29

Kinja'd!!!0

It's the "Scion effect". Build a cheap, trendy looking small car and old people will break a hip to get in and buy them apparently.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:33

Kinja'd!!!0

I still think the headlights look like a wound.


Kinja'd!!! TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:34

Kinja'd!!!0

Here in Hong Kong, you see OAPs drive expensive performance cars, with the premise that "most expensive must be the best".

Which explains why I saw a 70 year old woman trundling around in an E55 AMG...


Kinja'd!!! mazda616 > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:36

Kinja'd!!!0

The only experience I have with the Spark is pushing the yellow one off of a piece of a concrete block and checking its undercarriage for damage (there was none, remarkably). But I assume crosswinds and interstate travel are quite interesting. I mean, it doesn't seem much bigger than a Smart.


Kinja'd!!! Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:38

Kinja'd!!!0

It's cheap. I don't mean it is inexpensive, it's cheap. It is one of the worst cars I've every driven. A horrible piece of crap!


Kinja'd!!! Vicente Esteve > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:40

Kinja'd!!!0

This must frustrate Chevrolet so much, with all their hipster effort to show this car as a cool "Transportation Portable Device".


Kinja'd!!! Jayhawk Jake > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 13:42

Kinja'd!!!0

I'm sure it's popular with old people for a similar reason the Soul is: small, economical, cheap, and easy to get in and out of.


Kinja'd!!! Sn210 > William Byrd
05/27/2014 at 13:52

Kinja'd!!!1

exactly! I remember only seeing old people driving scions when they first came out. It's amazing that nobody's marketing department has realized this yet.


Kinja'd!!! CalzoneGolem > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 15:46

Kinja'd!!!1

Old people love cheap new cars. You don't need all that space to bring Mrs Tinkles to the vet and hit up McDonalds every morning to hang with your bros.


Kinja'd!!! StevenG > mazda616
05/27/2014 at 15:49

Kinja'd!!!0

You should have left it stuck.

If they can't avoid a chunk of concrete they are probably a danger to others.


Kinja'd!!! Slave2anMG > mazda616
05/30/2014 at 07:26

Kinja'd!!!0

Not expensive, good fuel mileage and being tallish and chunky probably easy to get in/out of...after I had my double hernia surgery 7 weeks ago I rented a car...and picked a Mazda 5 because it was really easy to get in/out of....