Who competes against whom? In the ever crowded performance sedan market, everyone tries to find a target to shoot at. To the marketing execs this may be a science, but to the enthusiast and the consumer it can be unclear at best.
A case in point is recent rambling from an Australian BMW exec stating that only Mercedes and Lexus are the key competitors and that Audi was a “non-issue”. Boastful words no doubt.
BMW exec says Audi is no threat
But on the other hand scouring the Lexus forums, (bet you didn't think I trolled there did you) I ran across a posting that Lexus sources are targeting the new IS-F against the Audi RS4 not the BMW M3. So, on the surface Lexus may have ruled out BMW as their main rival in this segment and chosen to focus on Audi.
IS-F is to compete against RS4 not the M3
So the big question is who are the players and why?
Is BMW too focused on Mercedes and Lexus to realize there is a true threat in Audi?
Is Lexus targeting the RS4 because they know something that BMW doesn’t?
Just who is Mercedes targeting?
Where is Infiniti in all of this?