How many "older" people own a sonic?

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wingnut

New member
I understand chevy targeted a younger demographic with the sonic and with no disrespect intended toward younger owners, I was wondering how many older owners of the sonic, say 50 on up, there are. Also curious as to why said older persons bought the car.

I'm 55 (today actually) and I bought the car for the gas mileage, and the fact that I could make it into a little hot rod that I couldn't have as a youngster. I have the 1.4T with a manual tranny.
 
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Lazza

New member
Happy Birthday! :) I am 58 y.o. and also have a 1.4L with 6MT. I have no plans on doing mods other than perhaps change the head unit (I hate touch screens). But I bought the Sonic for the better gas mileage and, much more importantly, enjoy driving again. The combination of a turbo/6MT is awesome. Only in heavy stop-go traffic does it get burdensome.

I find it sad that older guys, who usually know how to drive a MT, simply go with big cushy vehicles. Comfort and a numb driving experience wins out over fun. And they pay twice for the gas also.


_Lazza
 
The Champ

The Champ

New member
I'll be turning 61 in February - don't know if that makes me the oldest Sonic owner on the board or not...;)

We bought a 2014 LT hatch with the 1.4 turbo in September. We were looking for something as a second vehicle (prime daily driver is an '06 Pontiac Torrent) and my wife didn't want something that looked like "all the other cars" out there. If we need cargo space we have the Torrent, but for just simply running around the Sonic is plenty of car.

I would have preferred a manual - but my wife wanted the automatic.

I can't really say that fuel mileage was a huge issue for us - as my wife flies all over North America for work (was in Alberta Canada and San Jose, CA in recent weeks - heading to Boston, MA in early December) and I have a company car provided for my job traveling in southern MN and norther IA. But it was interesting to get 38 MPG on our first 200 mile road trip...;)

I actually have several "toy" cars - '49 Caddy Limo, '64 GTO convertible, '72 Camaro and an '81 C10. The Caddy and the C10 are mostly stock - but both the GTO and the Camaro have some serious performance changes. The Camaro is my wife's car - and is a 4spd (she can drive a stick - and she demanded a 4spd in her Camaro...;) )

Our Sonic is kind of a daily driver "hot rod" like you mention.

Already took the OE tires off and replaced the OE Hankooks with 225/50/16 Goodyear Eagles Sports on a set of the optional black rims (new car take offs for $200.00)... Of course those will be coming off soon for my stock size Goodyear winter tires on the OE silver rims.

OE tires:


New 225's:
 
SouthFLSonic

SouthFLSonic

Active member
The Champ said:
I'm not a moderator - but I think this is a different topic.

It's for us ***y senior citizens...:D
Click to expand...

No, I am pretty sure it is the same topic just worded differently. The OP asks "How man older Sonic owners" and the other thread clearly has a vote going on showing the age demographic and how many of what age group.....

I am no moderator either but I was just guiding the masses to an existing thread before this one was potentially shut down for duplicate thread. If it is not closed then carry on, no harm no foul.
 
Thesoccerone7

Thesoccerone7

New member
For some reason, a majority of sonic owners i have observed in Pittsburgh are of the older generation. I also felt this car was a younger generation car based on the commercials and their targeted demographics and am suprised to see the contrary.
 
Blue Moon Sonic

Blue Moon Sonic

New member
To make the old feel young again. I see a lot of people in madison running around in sonic's, but the grand majority of the drivers are all in their mid 40's to early 60's with the exception of a person around the age of 19 I met who had a blue metallic topez sonic by a taco bell/which wich. I've seen a few people in their early 30's driving one but that was a rare sight.
 
ahtoxa

ahtoxa

New member
I'm basically in my early 30's and drive a Sonic, but yes, around here it's mostly 40's and up that I see driving them. Mostly women, too.
 
$ub$onic

$ub$onic

The Sticker Guy
After some debate with another moderator we have decided to unlock this thread.

This thread is specifically for older sonic drivers, say 50 and older.
 
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Papasonic

Papasonic

Active member
I guess I qualify by age to participate in this thread: I am 62 years; 63 in Feb.
I didn't really need another vehicle, but I wanted a smaller, fuel efficient, quality built, made in USA vehicle to use as a daily driver. The idea was to keep miles off of my more valuable cars so they would be reliable for a longer period of time.
When I first started researching the purchase of the Sonic, I had decided that I wanted the most basic model (LS) and went to see one at the local dealer. I liked it OK, but the wife kept noting the features that it didn't have. She found one she liked at another dealer, an LTZ sedan, that we test drove and took home with us.
After that purchase, I later told her that now she had the car she liked, but I still didn't have what I wanted. After more internet searching I showed my wife what we should have got instead. It was a LTZ hatch, 1.4 turbo. Not what I initially was interested in, but liked the content of the LTZ trim.
Without my knowledge, my wife went back to that dealer, and decided that we should have the one I wanted also. That is how we have two matching color LTZ Sonic's; hers, a 1.8 auto sedan, and mine, a 1.4 manual hatch.
Things that impressed me was the styling, fit/finish, handling, fuel efficiency, and the roominess of the interior; specifically the drivers position. Legroom, headroom, and elbowroom. It feels bigger inside than one would expect from a sub-compact category vehicle.
 
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LTZ ICE

New member
Just put a set of Goodyear Eagle Sport All Seasons on my LTZ sedan. Huge improvement over the OEM Handkooks. My Hankooks had 23,000 miles ( about half worn) The car not only rides and holds the road better, it handles better and is more responsive as well.
 
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The Champ

The Champ

New member
Papasonic

I found it interesting that both of us bought our Sonics for very similar reasons. Of course, we only have one Sonic, but we do have a few more cars/trucks than you do and normally only drive our personal cars on weekends due to our jobs.

I remember when the 2004 GTO came out. One of the local Pontiac dealers called me up and asked me how he should option his 1 allocated GTO (he valued my opinion based on my 3 year frame off restoration of my '64 Convertible). When it came in - he called me again to take it out and drive it (Bermuda Blue 6 spd). I literally drove it right out of the showroom. My wife enjoyed driving it almost as much as I did.
 
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