For years I've been suggesting that automakers are too narrowly focused on youth. Now comes a study from AutoPacific that seems to bear this out. It says automakers ought to worry less about the youth market and instead pay more attention to the Baby Boomers, who range in age from 41 to 60.

They have the cash to spend on cars while younger buyers may like them but can't afford them. According to the study "it appears the auto industry, like the Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon, is chasing a fountain of youth that may not exist. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, are the most affluent Americans, with three-quarters of the nation's financial assets and $2 trillion in disposable income annually."

It also notes that the average American household purchases 13 cars over a lifetime, seven of which are owned after the head of the household turns 50. That last statistic led me to do a little counting: 39 cars so far, and I'm not finished yet. Some dumb choices among them but at least I can lay claim to not being average.