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Why Do Imports Drive The Worlds Largest Luxury Car Market?

Agent009 submitted on 09/20/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 8:58 AM
from: news.moneycentral.msn.com

[32] user comments | category: Spy Shots

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Why Do Imports Drive The Worlds Largest Luxury Car Market?

The US president still rides in a Cadillac. But more than three out of four Americans who buy a luxury car these days opt for a European or Japanese model.

Nowhere has the Detroit-based carmakers' loss of market share been more dramatic than in the luxury segment.

General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler sold fewer than half of all light vehicles in the US for the first time in July. But foreign brands captured 78.3 per cent of the luxury market. Their share rose further to 79.4 per cent in August, according to Autodata, a market research group.

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EnnNorak - 9/20/2007 1:28:29 PM

+1 Boost

The desire to drive big land yachts never quite went away as evidenced by all the Suburbans and Escalades still being sold. Strangely ebough, younger folk and retired people have a common interest in smaller imports. I drive a leased A6 Quattro and my wife wants a small SUV. Younger drivers are looking for smaller performance cars and older drivers want these vehicles to be able to park easily. Retired people with fixed incomes may opt for the smaller imports for fuel economy.

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jeffy210 - 9/20/2007 9:40:38 AM

+8 Boost

Besides for the real (perceived?) quality differences, lets also look at the number of domestic luxury brands as compared to foreign

Domestic: Cadillac, Lincoln
Foreign: BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Acura

and that's only sticking with the major names. If we're playing a numbers game, they're vastly outnumbered. Additionally, I do believe a lot has to do with quality and offerings. The number of models is also vastly different.

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Htay7500 - 9/20/2007 3:04:38 PM

0 Boost

and the type of cars they have.

freeagent - 9/20/2007 10:25:33 AM

+7 Boost

The reason for this free fall is simple. Cadillac and Lincoln failed to connect with the baby boom in the 70's and 80's through under investment, shabby quality and remarkably out of touch design. Caddy is at least trying in recent years, but Lincoln remains hopelessly lost. If it werent for limo fleet sales I can only imagine what the domestic "luxury" numbers would be.

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EnnNorak - 9/20/2007 1:48:17 PM

+3 Boost

Fully agree that Ford let Lincoln slide down the toilet. That is why I went for the Grand Marquis in the nineties -- it was essentially the same car but at a much lower price. Had Lincoln differentiated itself with a 300 plus h.p. DOHC engine and bi-Xenon headlights for example, Ford may have saved Lincoln from virtual extinction. GM 's Cadillac is making a wonderful satnd against imports with the new 2008 CTS which offers RWD and LSD in addition to a fuel-efficient DOHC V-6 engine with a proper 60-degree angle between cylinder banks. This gives you reasonable winter traction without having to lug around a cheap AWD system. Unfortunately, some of the domestic "cross-over" type vehicles like the 2008 Buick Enclave do not provide seat height adjustment for the front passenger which has taller customers banging their head on the roof when getting into the front passenger seat.

r15mohd - 9/20/2007 10:37:15 AM

+2 Boost

dont forget rental sales as well...thats one of the main reasons the Big 3 are surviving today

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Shredmo - 9/20/2007 10:52:29 AM

+1 Boost

Good point, but every country utilizes fleet vehicles. There are plenty of fleet vehicles in Europe and Asia and they certainly are not American ;) Also, fleet vehicles are not limited to rentals.

In America, you have fleet vehicles from many "forign" countries. Go try to rent a Nissan, a Toyota, a Honda, a Subaru, etc., in the US. It is easy.

EnnNorak - 9/20/2007 1:50:15 PM

+1 Boost

I thought Ford announced they were drastically reducing their rental fleet sales.

EnnNorak - 9/20/2007 1:52:00 PM

+5 Boost

Only those who are foolish enough to pay a lot extra for that "L" on the grille. Toyota Avalon is a far better value.

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Designer1 - 9/20/2007 12:38:23 PM

+3 Boost

I wonder if the "big" 3 ever care what the consumer says. In almost every post and the article as well lists clearly the problem, quality and design. Why is it so hard to achieve this?

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Threepoint1415926 - 9/20/2007 12:48:48 PM

-1 Boost

That is the question I've always wondered. It's not hard at all to see why the domestics fail in this segment. And if I can see why and everyone else can see why then surely the automakers can.

adamsaf723 - 9/20/2007 1:07:23 PM

+1 Boost

Design, elegance, ride, handling, technology, residual value, reliability, performance... basically everything.

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EnnNorak - 9/20/2007 1:55:38 PM

+2 Boost

Better residual value is a myth that some imports like to perpetuate. Cars that are expensive to maintain and repair do not have a good residual value. Most people do not understand the concept of life-cycle cost and ignore high maintenance and repair costs when buying a vehicle.

Jonathan - 9/21/2007 1:43:15 AM

+3 Boost

Don't confuse residual value with true cost to own. Many luxury vehicles have both high residual values but are expensive to run and keep running.

M35MT - 9/20/2007 1:14:36 PMView My AgentSpace

+4 Boost

It's almost as if they're lazy.

Not to mention, refinement. The Japanese have excelled here immensley with the introduction of their luxury brands 20 years ago, Lexus was the leader, Infiniti has come very far since they started. And in the 90's BMW and Audi had incredible interior refinement (basically how well the pieces fit together)

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S4cabriofoxone - 9/20/2007 6:50:34 PMView My AgentSpace

-1 Boost

Audi still does... but BMW? At least on some of their cars, notably the updated 5, 6 and X5.

chuck717 - 9/20/2007 3:10:15 PM

+2 Boost

The Big Three still have a ways to go. My cousin bought a Buick Enclave ( luxury crossover) and with 5 of us in the car it bottom out on a dip that was when we all look at each other same old ameican problems. I own and driven in many import makes. they are just more solid a feel top to bottom.
Drive a Benz or Bimmer,Lexus or Infiniti then drive a Lincoln or Caddy 300m, you know right away you want back in the imports as soon as stop driving the American cars.

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S4cabriofoxone - 9/20/2007 6:51:21 PMView My AgentSpace

-1 Boost

Caddy 300m? Why don't you read up a bit on model names?

Caddyman07 - 9/20/2007 7:02:13 PM

+1 Boost

Have you driven a Cadillac lately? I believe a brief test drive might change your mind about them. (DO NOT TEST DRIVE A DTS! You wont enjoy this vehicle unless you are a passenger) Sorry, I dont know what to say about Lincoln... ***HEY CADILLAC!!! IF YOUR READING THIS: WHERE IS MY CADILLAC 7SERIES, CADILLAC A8, CADILLAC S-CLASS, OR CADILLAC LS???***

cdoke - 9/20/2007 7:20:41 PMView My AgentSpace

+2 Boost

Oh if it is one car that I wish was built it is the Cadillac Sixteen. The interior was so simple in its execution yet exceptionally elegant and truly beautiful with ecquisite materials. I love that car with its silk carpets and crystal Cadillac emblem.

Of course, the production reality had they built it would have seen the end of some of those things that I liked, but I truly would have liked to have seen what they came up with.

Bmw8ter - 9/21/2007 8:21:38 AM

0 Boost

I think the Caddillac STS is a brilliant car. The power is instantaneous when you press the pedal. Electronic everything; all windows are automatic up/down.

Caddyman07....you're not kidding about the DTS, however, it is a FWD, so you can't expect much. As far as the CTS goes; I can't help but think the car is a total joke. They don't offer half of what the STS does on the 2007 model. Maybe this newer model will. The CTS-V is the only appreciable CTS model.

CBR2200 - 9/20/2007 5:30:10 PM

+2 Boost

When I was growing up Cadillacs and Lincolns were stupidly huge, slow, unreliable, and not well built. Whatever strides they've made recently cannot change my emotional aversion to them. I would love to love American luxury steel but I just can't. Sorry. :(

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cdoke - 9/20/2007 6:05:30 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

I think what has happened here is that around latter part of the nineties, the foreign luxury counterparts really surpassed if a highly obvious manner. Lincoln was the best selling luxury brand in the United States as recent as 1998.

Now, If you recall the interiors S-Class and 7 Series from the middle of the nineties- they were horrible hard-plastic pieces of crap- just about like everything else. The nineties had to have been the worst time in car interior quality. In the latter parts of the decade the Germans began to Anglicize their interiors to some extent and significantly increased their materials integrity and quality.

Lincoln and Cadillac were simply surpassed. Apparently as well, they didn't do anything about it for some time- my friend had a Lincoln Town car Cartier L- and it was still hard plastic. I remember that I was appalled at the fact that all of the so called wood in the car was actually thin plastic.

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cdoke - 9/20/2007 6:11:07 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

That first sentence is less of a sentence and more of a exercise in inane babble. The foreign manufacturers surpassed the domestics in a highly obvious manner.

S4cabriofoxone - 9/20/2007 6:53:43 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

Oh, Lincoln still does this. I had a Town Car rental car, unfortunately. What a boat! The interior was terrible. The "wood" was paper-thin. I could have probably peeled it off of the dashboard. It had the same switchgear as the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Grand Marquis.

maviquez - 9/20/2007 7:20:44 PM

0 Boost

It’s easy to understand that there are some levels of perceived luxury in the car industry.

1. 1st level: Cadillac, Lincoln.
2. Higher lever: Acura, Lexus, …
3. Ever Higher level: Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes
4. Top level: Aston, Bentley, Maybach, Rolls

It should not be so hard to understand that those at level 1 or 2 can technological of perform as good as those of the level 3, but there is more. Something the engineers in Japan simply can not capture on their computer screens. “Panache” that sophisticated aura that surrounds a Mercedes or a BMW owner, that unique embodiment of substance and forms that brings style and prestige to some brands. Those things that capture hearts, those things that encourage someone to choose a Mercedes or a BMW because he knows the kind of message about himself he wants to send to the world.
Those things related to sense of style and prestige that are clearly attached to some brands. Taste can not be bought (by any money) or programmed (by any computer). Those are the reasons Europeans sell more luxury cars.

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S4cabriofoxone - 9/23/2007 2:52:30 AMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

Excellence is not measured in quantity, Caltrans, but quality. Jaguar has some superb products in its high-end line.

germeezy2 - 9/21/2007 7:19:29 PM

0 Boost

I can't believe the level of ignorance on this web site. Obviously an automaker that has no cars close to $60k, no V8, and no RWD cars can't be compared to one that does. To put Acura over Cadillac is crazy. Cadillac sells more cars and more expensive cars. Also Cadillac cars cost more than Acura, and Infiniti cars and close to BMW and Mercedes.

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Boxx - 9/23/2007 3:54:41 AM

+2 Boost

It's a big laugh that caddilac & lincoln is called as a "luxury".
They lost every single market in the world only except US.

The reason is simple. :
1. American cars are so retarded and unrefined.
2. They don't care about quality. I doubt they understand what the quality product is.

To call them a "luxury" is an insult to the word, or a self-mastervation.

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