Read this article and I thought I'd share. I stumbled onto the article when I was curious about the eventual (hopefully) arrival of mercedes bluetec or diesel (C-class or glk variety) to the US
Mercedes and BMW hit hardest by recession

 

yeah there's always been rumors that bmw and mercedes would form some kind of manufacturing partnership.

i read in terms of US sales bmw is about to overtake Lexus as the number one selling luxury brand in the US. Mainly because bmw is only down 35% verus the 50% for lexus.

 

This has been a long time coming.

It will be interesting to see how Daimler weathers this storm.

 

"For decades their objectives were clear. First, they were supposed to become the world leader in automotive engineering, then a trans-Atlantic powerhouse by merging with Chrysler. Both visions proved to be dismal failures."

Sure, the marriage to Chrysler was a disaster, but I don't think I'd call their attempt to "become the world leader in automotive engineering" a "dismal failure." They may not be number 1, but they certainly aren't outside the top 5 (or 10 )

Of course, they can't build a decent cupholder for the 220, so maybe I'm wrong here...

 

In a recession, luxury items always suffer.

 

I think most new Mercedes , BMW's or other luxury brands for that matter are purchased with borrowed money. Often by people who cannot really afford these cars. Just think of the many Mercedes owners who try to do as much of their own repairs as much as possible to save money. Since credit is harder to obtain nowadays, naturally the purchase of luxury items is going to take a bit hit. I read in other articles that Lexus and Acura have seen a much larger drop in sales than Mercedes and BMW.

 

This is flawed logic. No one who has money-has it because they give it away freely. And if you're going to the dealership to get work done you might as well give away large sums of money. People make fortunes with smart financial decisions and shopping around and getting equal quality for less money in repairs and maintenance is a smart financial decision, IMO.

 

The interesting thing is that MB Canada Inc continues to set monthly sales records. Their sales through August were up 17% over the same period last year. Audi Canada sold 90% more vehicles in August than in Aug 08.

My take on this is that a lot of retail investors still have money on the sidelines, some of which is making its way into new luxury cars.

 

Did anyone else notice that the article said on Page 1 that Dieter Z. will be replaced soon, and on Page 3 that no one wants to replace him and his contract will be extended?

Credibility of sources?

 

Exactly.

Sure, you may have $110 for air filters but why spend it when you can get air filters for around $40 a set (or less if your car 1 filter) and take approx 30 minutes or less to put them in?

Major things I get done at the dealer, but other light stuff, I do myself and others do for that very reason.

 

Canada's economy isnt in a bad recession like the US and other countries. Canada's banks were smart and didnt lend money to people who couldnt pay it back.

 

+1 That, seems to have been a brilliant idea. Who would have thought...

 

I'm not seeing a decline in Mercedes vehicles in my area.
Tons of new C Classes....and even the new E Classes...
lot of newer ML's, maybe not so many SL's....
CLK's up the ying yang!
Lots of CLS's and a few GL's and a smattering of GLK's.
but still many many Mercedes!

My little coupey nary gets a 2nd look in a world filled with AMG's.
Ha, well we're talkin' Silly Con valley and the coastal areas.
Lots of $$$ around here.

 

i would say the same thing around dc you don't really notice a difference in the amount of new cars on the road. but i grew up in #1 and still spend all my time in #2 of the richest counties in the usa. i guess that is the reason for that.

 

+1

 

MB, BMW, Audi, and Lexus a plenty here in SoCal.

i think that article is flawed. If you as some executive that needed a large amount of bonus just so you can drive a better car there's obviously something wrong with your financial intelligence.

also, there are a lot of people downsizing because the smaller cars today are made better than before, so the need to buy a "better" car became less needed. more and more people are also taking practicality into consideration when making purchases.

 

+1. Especially with the high price of gas these days. If oil ever goes back down to pre-Bush times, there would definitely be more luxury autos on the road.

 

could you rephrase, please?

seriously, I live in Loudoun County, and while we have been hammered by the foreclosure epidemic (bad loans by greedy people to stupid people - sound familiar?), there are still many new luxury autos out here. Not everyone is a financial moron.

Are there fewer than there would have been? Probably. Is the Titanic going down? Nope. Just listing a bit.

 

sorry about that i was really tired. i would not even say listing. i was on 7 today and their was a brand new Lamborghini getting off in Purcellville with me. i also see a Veryon about once a week in Leesburg. btw "i am amused" what part of Loudoun do you live eastern or western makes a big difference.

 

Listing sounds about right, with the crew bailing hard to right the ship. MB sales worldwide were off 17% through the first seven months, a big drop in an industry used to regarding a couple of percent growth as a poor year.

 

While that may apply to your area, the luxury auto issue goes way beyond just where you live. When looking at the "whole pie" so to speak, luxury autos are being sold on the cheap in many areas across the US and abroad, and most automakers (if not all) are feeling a pinch, some more than others.

 

oh i know that bigben320e but we were talking about this area not the rest of the usa. I was just saying that nova is a very shelter area. we have the foreclosures like every where else but we are not hurting nearly as bad as a lot of other locations. C230 Sport Coup made the same comment about where he lives to. you have to remember that the people with lots of money didn't loose everything overnight. ok well maybe some did but the smart ones are still financially sound and are still buying cars. the ones not buying cars are the people that are right on the line of being able to afford a mb or bmw or the smart ones not buying a new car every year to impress the neighbors. that is the observation for my area i don't know maybe Atlanta is different i have not spent much time down their as i use to. i feel bad for the people down their know that don't have flood insurance that is one thing i will always have on my house because i seem to have bad luck with plumbing and gutters.

 

i'm in eastern Loudoun, south of Ashburn. i'm about 5-6 miles down Loudoun County Pkwy from Redskins Park (can't stand the Skins - love to see them lose! )

Yes, the east has most of the families with money, by numbers of people, but there is oodles of cash out west in horse country.

you mean the world doesn't end at the Potomac River and Shenandoah Mountains? Get the heck outta here! That is just crazy talk.

Yes, we all know there is more to the world than our respective corners. Looking at the whole lux auto pie, it's not as bad as the non-lux auto pie. Not even close. MB has had losses before, Toyota hadn't had a loss in DECADES.

 

nice area i don't like the skins either but then i only like college football. i actually grew up in horse country and my mom is a horse vet. lol and yes their is oodles of cash out there. i don't see as many nice cars as i do nice suv's though. did you know that any suv can drive fast in any weather condition that seems to be what every one thinks around here. lol i love western loudoun county though it is so much better then mclean. i live their now and i miss the smaller town feel. in mclean every one is either way to rich to talk to anyone else or pretends they are rich and won't talk to any one else.

 

I can see that for certain "pocket areas".

Well, a lot of people lost money over the past 2-3 years. While some did not loose everything, you have such a wide range of occurrences that happened with people. I do have to disagree on the ones not buying cars part. There are plenty of people that will buy a car, and keep it for years, not because they cannot afford a new one, but why keep spending on cars? This varies upon the person and not money in some cases.

Atlanta is no different. There are rich and poor areas, and the same applies to those that made smart decisions are still holding. Those that were greedy, and failed to plan took major losses.

Yeah, I feel bad for the ones that got flooded out as well. Atlanta flooding on this level is a very rare occurrence, so hardly anyone has flood insurance. I don't live next to any bodies of water or a flood plain myself.

Plumbing and gutters?