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Harvard Business Review
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Harvard Business Review
Age Inclusion Is Your Company's Next Competitive Advantage
For decades, companies built entire strategies around the pursuit of youth. Automakers, for example, sold independence to Baby Boomers coming of age—the Ford Mustang, Dodge's 'join the rebellion' campaigns, and Volkswagen's Beetle all signaled that youth wasn't just a stage of life; it was a valuable new market category. But time moves on. Those consumers are now in their 60s and 70s. Meanwhile, fertility rates are falling worldwide, youth pipelines are shrinking, population growth is slowing or reversing in many nations, and people are living longer and working later. A new market has emerged—defined not by age alone, but by longevity, reinvention, and the realities of multigenerational living. Businesses that cling to youth-centric product and talent strategies alone risk missing out on one of the greatest growth opportunities of the 21st century: designing for the full life course. The Demographic Tipping Point The numbers are stark. Globally, according to the United Nations, one in six people is now over the age of 60, and this figure is expected to double by 2050. In the United States, adults aged 65 and older are expected to outnumber children under 18 by 2034. Fertility rates have fallen below replacement level in more than 100 countries. China, Japan, Italy, and South Korea are already experiencing population decline. As life expectancy has increased, so have the capabilities and aspirations of older adults. Today's 60- and 70-year-olds are starting businesses, caregiving for family members, and running marathons. They're not fringe cases—they're the future mainstream, and they're underrepresented in workforce planning, product design, and marketing. Yet many companies still treat aging as a risk to be managed, not a consumer and talent opportunity to be embraced. Internal KPIs prioritize short-term wins. Leadership pipelines overlook the potential of late-career professionals. Advertising often defaults to youthful imagery or treats older adults as burdens or punchlines. This mindset is not only outdated but also contrary to market forces. In the U.S., according to AARP, adults over 50 control nearly 70% of household wealth. Globally, they account for 42% of consumer spending. And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor force participation among people over 65 has nearly doubled since 2000, outpacing all other age groups. Some companies are waking up to this reality. Nike has made moves to attract older consumers, including the development of new product lines. Apple has quietly embedded inclusive features across its devices, like large-text interfaces, fall detection, and even hearing aid functionality, without singling out older users. Dove's ' Beauty n ever g ets o ld ' campaign features women over 60 and reframes aging as aspirational, challenging outdated beauty standards. The luxury fashion brand Jacquemus's recent advertising stars 67-year-old Jon Gries, demonstrating the cultural power and credibility that older celebrities bring to brands. Even Nestlé, better known for confections and baby food, announced that it plans to diversify its product offerings to include older adults. Yet these remain the exceptions, not the rule. Shifting from Generational Targeting to Life-Course Design What's needed now is a wholesale shift in how companies think about age, not as a demographic silo, but as a design and strategy imperative. That means moving beyond generational targeting (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z) to life-course design: a framework that reflects the dynamic, nonlinear paths people take through education, work, caregiving, health, and reinvention. Life-course design recognizes that a 67-year-old startup founder, a 55-year-old caregiver, and a 72-year-old retiree-turned-consultant all have different needs, behaviors, and aspirations, despite all being over 50. It also acknowledges that intergenerational collaboration—across teams, households, and marketplaces—is becoming the norm, not the exception. To stay competitive in a world shaped by longevity, population aging, and, in some cases, population decline, businesses should make two strategic product shifts and two workforce shifts: 1. From youth-centric to age-inclusive product design Older adults are often treated as edge cases in product development, if they're considered at all. But designing with age in mind doesn't mean designing only for older people. It means building for a range of abilities, life stages, and preferences from the start. Product design leaders should: Replace generational stereotypes with behavioral segmentation, building strategies around what motivates people to take action or make a purchase, or marketing around specific life events, like having a child. McKinsey & Company found that companies using behavioral and psychographic segmentation in their marketing campaigns saw returns up to three times higher than those relying solely on demographic or age-based segmentation. Use inclusive design principles that benefit everyone (e.g., clearer interfaces, easier grip, adjustable lighting). A study by Accenture found that companies that have led on key disability inclusion criteria saw 1.6 times more revenue, 2.6 times more net income, and twice the economic profit of other companies. Apple's default approach— embedding inclusive design across all devices —shows that age-inclusive innovation can be seamless and desirable for all users. Invite older adults into the research and design process early and often to test usability, relevance, and desirability. 2. From age as decline to age as reinvention in marketing Too often, marketing frames aging as a loss of youth, beauty, or relevance. This narrative is not only inaccurate but also commercially self-defeating. Slogans like 'erase fine lines and wrinkles' and descriptors like 'age-defying' can make older adults feel as if there's no point for them to purchase products. For example, Dior's 'Capture Youth' campaign in 2017 featured 25-year-old Cara Delevingne promoting anti-aging products, drawing widespread criticism for reinforcing ageist ideals by using a model decades younger than the target audience. Instead, marketing leaders should: Showcase ambition, vitality, and reinvention at every age. Normalize longevity, not as an exception, but as the new standard. Feature age-diverse brand ambassadors across product lines. Aspirational marketing doesn't have to be young; it has to be honest, bold, and deeply human. An older demographic has different priorities and is often willing to pay more to protect their retirement, their health, and even their time. 3. From career ladders to career landscapes Traditional career models assume people peak in their 40s and retire by 65. But those assumptions no longer hold. Longer lives mean longer working years, but not necessarily in the same roles or with the same cadence. In 2017, CVS implemented a ' Talent Is Ageless ' program in which they actively recruited employees 50 years or older, who are often in their second or third career, while emphasizing the importance of hiring people who can relate to their customers. (They note that 90% of Americans 65+ take at least one prescription.) Similarly, Caterpillar created a Returning Professionals Development Program to support people restarting or shifting careers. Measures like these can strengthen an organization's talent pipeline and ensure a more representative workforce. Forward-looking talent leaders should: Redesign roles and workflows to accommodate physical, cognitive, and lifestyle changes. Introduce phased retirement, part-time leadership roles, and mid-career reskilling. Extend leadership development to late-career professionals who still have decades of contribution ahead. These models not only retain institutional knowledge but also foster loyalty in a workforce that increasingly values flexibility and purpose. 4. From age-segregated teams to intergenerational collaboration The future of work is multigenerational. Today's workplaces often span four generations, from young Gen Zs to older Boomers. Rather than treating age differences as a challenge, leading organizations understand that diverse perspectives can drive innovation and are leveraging them as an asset. General Electric's reverse mentorship program —in which younger employees helped seasoned executives strengthen their digital experience—was so successful it was ultimately incorporated into the broader company strategy. PwC and Moody's have developed cross-generational programs in which older and younger generations from diverse backgrounds are paired up to learn from each other. Popular culture is starting to reflect this reality, which is important if we want to change the prevailing narrative. Intergenerational friendships like the ones portrayed on hit TV shows like HBO's Hacks and ABC's Abbott Elementary are examples of the power and mutual benefit intergenerational relationships can have on people's lives and careers. The stories highlight the ways that young and old frequently benefit from working together while also rewriting outdated stereotypes that tend to portray older adults as crazy or outdated and younger adults as irresponsible or careless. Company leaders can learn from these plot lines and should: Structure teams with age diversity as an intentional design element. Establish mutual mentorship programs that value experience and innovation equally. Train managers to navigate generational expectations around communication, work-life balance, and performance. Research shows that age-diverse teams drive better financial performance and are more resilient, particularly in industries where institutional knowledge and adaptability are critical. A Strategic Checklist for Getting Started Companies ready to embrace age inclusion can begin by assessing their blind spots and opportunities. Here are five practical steps: Conduct a demographic risk audit. Evaluate whether your workforce, leadership, and customer strategies align with projected population trends, not past ones. Redesign talent models for longevity. Plan for longer tenures, encore careers, and succession pipelines that include employees in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s. Build inclusive products and services. Apply inclusive design from the outset, test products with users across the age spectrum, and make accessibility an innovation metric. Institutionalize intergenerational collaboration. Set age-diversity goals. Structure teams for a generational mix. Make mentorship programs reciprocal, not one-way. Tell better stories about age. Invest in advertising agencies and campaigns that elevate older consumers and professionals as creators, not caretakers of the past. . . . Demographic change isn't coming—it's here, and it's reshaping labor markets, consumer behavior, and economic growth. The question for business leaders is no longer whether to respond to these changes, but how fast and how comprehensively. Age inclusion isn't a corporate social responsibility initiative, but a strategy for resilience, relevance, and growth. Companies that design for the full life course will not only tap into the wealth and wisdom of older adults but also build stronger intergenerational systems that benefit everyone. As the adage goes, demographics is destiny. But it's also design, and the future belongs to those who build for it.
Top Gear
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Meet your heroes: the MkV Golf GTI is one of the great hot hatches
Retro Back in the day, the MkV GTI won TG's 2005 Car of the Year. After driving one for a week, it's not hard to understand why... Skip 16 photos in the image carousel and continue reading The origin story of the hot hatch is cloudy, but VW cut through the murk back in 1975. Has any car ever defined its class better than the MkI Golf GTI? Fifty years on, we're still copying the same template: front drive, useful cabin, lumpy engine, cool without trying too hard. Odd then, that VW lost its way after only a couple of goes. The MkIII was podgy, plain and underpowered. The MkIV was worse. But then, in 2005, came the MkV. It was TG's Car of the Year, it identified the essence of what made the MkI and MkII great, and nailed the modern interpretation. Advertisement - Page continues below Twenty years ago, I saw one at the VW factory in Wolfsburg. As a kid, I was captivated. It had just launched, and I could sense it was more special than other VWs. Photography: Jonny Fleetwood You might like The MkV GTI made such an impression on me that day that I bought one. Well, sort of. I asked my dad to buy me a 1:43 scale model in the Autostadt shop. To this day, that silver replica is one of my favourite possessions. It reminds me of my heritage and personal connection to VW. Visiting my great uncle, who lived in the city and worked for VW from 1960 to 1990, was always memorable. He initially worked in the painting booth, then on the production line inspecting the original Beetle and Golf. The stories he'd recount during our visits were funny, and had special resonance to me as a car mad kid. Advertisement - Page continues below But the MkV GTI memory has the most significance, it was the springboard for my interest in cars. So, when this opportunity came along, I couldn't resist... would the MkV Golf GTI live up to expectations years afterwards? It's analogue and engaging, you just get absorbed in it, driving without distraction Long story short: yes, it does. How it combines both essential elements, Golf hatchback with GTI hot hatch, is so brilliant. The 2.0-litre 197bhp turbocharged four cylinder is easy and uneventful under 3,000rpm, but above that, it's like you've flicked a switch from low to high speed on a food blender. The noise opens up, 0–62mph is chomped in 7.2secs and you suddenly realise there's way more depth to this GTI than you expected. It's rewarding and addictive in equal measure, especially when cornering. It's eager and willing, there's a bit of body roll, but it carries speed lightly and easily. The supple setup gives you the confidence to push harder, you can feel what's happening through the steering, which enables you to thread the MkV GTI through corners, positioning it exactly where you want. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. But I'd been won over before I even started driving. The MkV picked up those classic GTI touches that had been there at the start, but subsequently abandoned for no good reason: the tartan trim, the telephone dial alloys, the red strip around the grille and the golfball gearknob. It shouldn't feel so right sitting in the palm of my hand, but it does. And when you sling it around the gate... well, you never miss a shift. Above all it's analogue and engaging, you just get absorbed in it, driving without distraction. You can dial it up when the mood takes you, so it becomes the focused hot hatch that wants to play. Yet, when the fun stops, you can open the doors, throw kids and clobber in, and no one's any the wiser. I love the way it looks too. Discreet enough to blend in, distinct enough to stand out. Most hot hatches are conspicuous by design, but the MkV GTI has stayed true to its roots, never ostentatious, just a few hints here and there. I drove it for a week and felt very comfortable and at home in it. That time together made me realise it's all the car you really need. When I gawped at it in Wolfsburg all those years ago I knew it would be good, I just didn't realise how good it would be. Now I know.
NZ Autocar
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
Volkswagen is getting set to launch its new ID 2 EV
New spy shots of the Volkswagen ID.2 EV indicate it will retain most cues of the original ID.2All concept. It is due for release in September and on sale next year. This new supermini, which may also be called ID Polo, is critical for the German brand's future success. Not only does it shrink its electric models, it also introduces new interior and exterior design, and battery innovations. These new prototypes share their external skin with the upcoming production car that goes on sale next year. But they include Polo parts to keep the public guessing. The bonnet now sits higher, and the end of the front lighting turns downwards to simplify manufacturing. Its body looks unchanged, except for conventional rear door handles rather than the concept's hidden units. The rear end will feature a light bar, square-shaped lighting graphics and a simple tailgate. Because it looks more conventional than ID models, with cues from Beetle, Golf and Polo, there's a chance it won't carry any ID badging. It is just over 4m long, just shorter than Polo and has a wheelbase of 2600mm, 50mm more than Polo. The new underpinnings are key, improving efficiency and lowering build price. VW wants to return to being Europe's biggest and most profitable mainstream manufacturer. Key to that is a starting price of 25,000 Euros or £20,000 in the UK. And underpinning that is a new MEB Entry platform, co-developed by VW and Cupra. It is a shortened version of the MEB platform. Spanish plants will build all MEB Entry models, along with the new Cupra Raval due out this year. The ID 2 will also be offering VW's first all-electric GTI. Expect go-kart style handling over outright performance. The regular newcomer, meantime, will front with the popular Renault 5, Fiat Grande Panda and Citroen e-C3. A new Peugeot E-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric are also due, both on a new platform. The interior and interface will be important for the electric ID Polo. Expect the production car to retain the concept's pair of screens on the dash, a 10.9-inch screen for the driver and a 12.9-inch infotainment screen. Various retro instrument displays will be offered, including one from Beetle. Arguably the most important change is the shift away from haptics to physical controls for key elements, like volume and cabin temperature. These will be mounted below the central display. It's the same for the steering wheel, using rotating thumbwheels and four buttons. A flattened wheel shape top and bottom is likely. The gear selector moves to a stalk mounted on the steering column while between the front seats, there's a dial controller for switching between the drive modes. The concept's boot capacity is 440L, 60 more than the ID.3 gets, rising to 1330L after rear seatback folding. The boot floor has an adjustable height and there's a novel 50L storage area beneath the second row. This lockable compartment is for charging cables, but could also be for laptops. The MEB Entry platform is related to that of VW ID.3 but it's designed to support smaller, cheaper vehicles. It switches layout from rear- to front-wheel drive and uses torsion beam rear suspension to boost practicality and reduce costs. The new ID 2 won't go on sale for two more years, but VW has already confirmed that its front-mounted motor produces 166kW, sufficient for 0-100km/h time of around seven seconds. Battery packs, likely LFP, will be 38 and 56kWh, for a WLTP range of around 450km for the larger option. DC charging at 125kW will mean a 10 to 80 per cent refill in roughly 20 minutes. Before the electric ID 2 launches, a compact electric SUV will debut. It is due a reveal at the Munich motor show this year, though ID 2 will be on sale before the SUV. A sub-20,000 Euro electric city car, probably to take Skoda badging, is also in the wings, though is not due until 2027. It may be produced in India. Above this is Skoda Epiq, due out this year.
Hindustan Times
06-06-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: It's got sporting spirit
A Volkswagen range without a Golf is like idli without sambar. It's been the staple model of the German automaker's line-up for 50 years and is possibly the brand's most iconic model since the Beetle. The Golf lives up to the Volkswagen name: People's Car. More than 35 million Golfs have been sold worldwide—except in India. Until now.
Los Angeles Times
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
What does smelting have to do with Ted Bundy? A lot, argues ‘Murderland' author
The first film I saw in a theater was 'The Love Bug,' Disney's 1969 comedy about a sentient Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie and the motley team who race him to many a checkered flag. Although my memory is hazy, I recall my toddler's delight: a car could think, move and communicate like a real person, even chauffeuring the romantic leads to their honeymoon. Nice Herbie! Or not so nice. A decade later, Stanley Kubrick opened his virtuosic 'The Shining' with fluid tracking shots of the same model of automobile headed toward the Overlook Hotel and a rendezvous with horror. Something had clicked. Caroline Fraser's scorching, seductive 'Murderland' chronicles the serial-killer epidemic that swept the U.S. in the 1970s and '80s, focusing on her native Seattle and neighboring Tacoma, where Ted Bundy was raised. He drove a Beetle, hunting for prey. She underscores the striking associations between VWs and high-yield predators, as if the cars were accomplices, malevolent Herbies dispensing victims efficiently. (Bundy's vehicle is now displayed in a Tennessee museum.) The book's a meld of true crime, memoir and social commentary, but with a mission: to shock readers into a deeper understanding of the American Nightmare, ecological devastation entwined with senseless sadism. 'Murderland' is not for the faint of heart, yet we can't look away: Fraser's writing is that vivid and dynamic. She structures her narrative chronologically, conveyed in present tense, newsreel-style, evoking the Pacific Northwest's woodsy tang and bland suburbia. Fraser came of age on Mercer Island, adjacent to Lake Washington's eastern shore, across a heavily-trafficked pontoon bridge notorious for fatal crashes. Like the Beetle, the dangerous bridge threads throughout 'Murderland,' braiding the author's personal story with those of her cast. A 'Star Trek' geek stuck in a rigid Christian Science family, she loathed her father and longed to escape. In Tacoma, 35 miles to the south, Ted Bundy grew up near the American Smelting and Refining Co., which disgorged obscene levels of lead and arsenic into the air while netting millions for the Guggenheim dynasty before its 1986 closure. Bundy is the book's charismatic centerpiece, a handsome, well-dressed sociopath in shiny patent-leather shoes, flitting from college to college, job to job, corpse to corpse. During the 1970s, he abducted dozens of young women, raping and strangling them on sprees across the country, often engaging in postmortem sex before disposing their bodies. He escaped custody twice in Colorado — once from a courthouse and another time from a jail — before he was finally locked up for good after his brutal attacks on Chi Omega sorority sisters at Florida State University. Fraser depicts his bloody brotherhood with similar flair. Israel Keyes claimed Bundy as a hero. Gary Ridgway, the prolific 'Green River Killer,' inhaled the same Puget Sound toxins. Randy Woodfield trawled I-5 in his 1974 Champagne Edition Beetle. As she observes of Richard Ramirez, Los Angeles' 'Night Stalker': 'He's six foot one, wears black, and never smiles. He has a dead stare, like a shark. He doesn't bathe. He has bad teeth. He's about to go beserk.' But the archvillain is ASARCO, the mining corporation that dodged regulations, putting profitability over people. Fraser reveals an uncanny pattern of polluting smelters and the men brought up in their shadows, prone to mood swings and erratic tantrums. The science seems speculative until the book's conclusion, where she highlights recent data, explicitly mapping links. Her previous work, 'Prairie Fires,' a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, won the Pulitzer Prize and other accolades. The pivot here is dramatic, a bit of formal experimentation as Fraser shatters the fourth wall, luring us from our comfort zone. While rooted in the New Journalism of Joan Didion and John McPhee, 'Murderland' deploys a mocking tone to draw us in, scattering deadpan jokes among chapters: 'In 1974 there are at least a half a dozen serial killers operating in Washington. Nobody can see the forest for the trees.' Fraser delivers a brimstone sermon worthy of a Baptist preacher at a tent revival, raging at plutocrats who ravage those with less (or nothing at all). Her fury blazes beyond balance sheets and into curated spaces of elites. She singles out Roger W. Straus Jr., tony Manhattan publisher, patron of the arts and grandson of Daniel Guggenheim, whose Tacoma smelter may have scrambled Bundy's brain. She mentions Straus' penchant for ascots and cashmere jackets. She laments the lack of accountability. 'Roger W. Straus Jr. completes the process of whitewashing the family name,' she writes. 'Whatever the Sackler family is trying to do by collecting art and endowing museums, lifting their skirts away from the hundreds of thousands addicted and killed by prescription opioids manufactured and sold by their company — Purdue Pharma — the Guggenheims have already stealthily and handily accomplished.' Has Fraser met a sacred cow she wouldn't skewer? Those beautiful Cézannes and Picassos in the Guggenheim Museum can't paper over the atrocities; the gilded myths of American optimism, our upward mobility and welcoming shores won't mask the demons. 'The furniture of the past is permanent,' she notes. 'The cuckoo clock, the Dutch door, the daylight basement — humble horsemen of the domestic Apocalypse. The VWs, parked in the driveway.' 'Murderland' is a superb and disturbing vivisection of our darkest urges, this summer's premier nonfiction read. Cain is a book critic and the author of a memoir, 'This Boy's Faith: Notes from a Southern Baptist Upbringing.' He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
