We construct an integrated spectrum of the intermediate age , solar metallicity Galactic cluster M67 , from individual spectroscopic observations of bona fide cluster members .
The spectrum so obtained is used as a template to test our stellar population synthesis ( SPS ) models , in an age and metallicity regime where such models remain largely untested .
As a result , we demonstrate that our models predict a spectroscopic age of 3.5 \pm 0.5 Gyr for M67 , which is the same age we obtain from fitting isochrones to the color-magnitude diagram of the cluster .
Full consistency is reached when using either H \beta , H \gamma or H \delta as the age indicator .
We also check if the models , when applied to the cluster integrated spectrum , predict elemental abundances in agreement with the known detailed abundance pattern of the cluster .
The models also pass the latter test , by predicting the abundances of iron , magnesium , carbon and nitrogen in agreement with detailed abundance analyses of cluster stars to within 0.1 dex .
Encouraged by the high degree of consistency of our models , we apply them to the study of the integrated spectrum of the central 3 ” of the compact elliptical galaxy M32 .
The resulting luminosity-weighted age of the galaxy ranges between 2 and 3.5 Gyr , depending on the age indicator adopted .
According to our models , the center of M32 seems to have a super-solar iron abundance , ranging between [ Fe/H ] \sim + 0.1 
and +0.3 , depending on the spectral index adopted .
The light element magnesium seems to be underabundant in the center of M32 relative to iron by about \sim 0.1–0.2 dex , whereas the data are consistent with nearly solar carbon and nitrogen abundances relative to iron .
We find that single age , single metallicity stellar population models with a solar-scaled abundance pattern can not fit all the Balmer and metal lines in the integrated spectrum of M32 .
In particular , there is a systematic trend in the sense that bluer absorption lines indicate a younger age and a higher metallicity .
This slight inconsistency can be due either to ( unaccounted for ) abundance ratio effects on blue iron and Balmer line indices , or to a spread of the ages of the stellar populations in M32 .
Current stellar population models can not break this degeneracy at the level of accuracy required to address this problem .