people. Similarly, whilst most buyers of Honda cars are in the 40 to 60 age range, the advertising for the cars "portrays youthful activities and targets a youth mindset" (in the words of American Honda's national advertising manager). Oldsmobile automobiles had, by the 1990s, long been branded as "old man's cars" and "Buick clones". John Rock became the chief executive in 1992, and by January 1993 was implementing a strategy to bring in younger buyers that comprised (in Rock's words) "throw[ing] out old brands and creat[ing] new ones" and becoming more "Saturn-like". (In a 2006 interview, Robert Lutz, vice-chairman of General Motors said that for the Saturn "you don't have to overcome preconceived public notions", whereas the fact that Buick "is an old person's car is a notion that's constantly reinforced by the media", making it easier to grow a brand like Saturn.) One part of doing so was an advertising campaign aimed at shedding the old man's car preconception, involving the slogan "This is not your father's Oldsmobile." Kassof states that the advertising campaign was a flop, and further opines that it may indeed have backfired, reinforcing and even introducing the old man's car preconception in the minds of those people who had not previously thought of Oldsmobile vehicles as being such. GM eventually successfully courted younger buyers with the Buick brand, following the phaseout of Oldsmobile in 2004 and the phaseout of Saturn and Pontiac in 2010 after GM's bankruptcy. Availability As manufacturers have increasingly shifted towards attracting younger buyers, there is now less choice of elderly-friendly cars than there were in the early 2000s. In the United States, manufacturers sponsor events that typically attract younger people with cars styled to attract drivers who seek a contemporary design. Manufacturers are reluctant to be seen as producing vehicles for the older generation and the reputation that comes with it. Traditionally, brands such as Buick, Cadillac, and the Lincoln-Mercury line were the top choices for older buyers, however sales of cars to older buyers have increased more towards the basic versions of mainstream vehicles. Adaptations Car makers have gradually been adapting vehicles to be elderly-friendly, without necessarily targeting these features at older drivers. For instance, larger door handles and improved lighting are beneficial to the older driver while being discrete enough that younger drivers will not associate the changes with older age. An ergonomics supervisor at Ford suggested in 2003