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Sedans High End Luxury Cars
24700 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 12:24 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
Let's try to define this forum as being limited to luxury performance vehicles where the mainstream version in a typical configuration has an MSRP of at least $60k.
A luxury vehicle with a base price of $59k qualifies because it would typically be bought with some additional equipment, bringing the MSRP over $60k.
Vehicles like the E, 5, A6, M, or GS, even if available in certain versions over $60k, don't qualify because they are cars from companies that have higher end cars in their lineups.
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Replying to: houdini1 (Sep 02, 2006 12:23 pm) Well, someone on the HELM board brought it up, I believe, in reference to the relationship between Chrysler and Mercedes, and the rest of us made comments. And then the LS was brought up as it relates to Toyota. Certainly Mercedes and Lexus LS are both HELMs , so any discussion anyone wants to make about their respective platforms is a lot more on topic than many of the recent posts around here. And the references to other non-HELM manufacturers were merely for the sake of a comparative analogy with the HELMs. I see no reason to tell all those who shared opinions on the subject that they are pointless. TagMan
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Replying to: hpowders (Sep 02, 2006 11:13 am) Old habits are hard to break.  TagMan |
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Replying to: tagman (Sep 02, 2006 12:57 pm) 
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Replying to: syswei (Sep 02, 2006 10:10 am) With that being said, no one ever said that Audi didn't platform share. I merely stated that DCX is not the only maker to do this. And of course sparks fly when a Lexus fan see a post from a G'car fan that is not what they think it's supposed to be . Well sorry, because it is what it is. Audi share all of what, one platform with VW now. The Phaeton is loosely based on the A8, but all of it's bits are nothing from Audi. The A3 is based on the Golf(Rabbit), and will remain so even with the MLP platform on the horizon. |
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Replying to: houdini1 (Sep 02, 2006 1:14 pm) Good, because I think that (and Lexus/Toyota) are still the main focus as I see it. (You'll just have to grant me a pardon for my domestic references ) And, oh, BTW, no need to bash blkhemi. He has a big job to do holding down the Audi front . . . and he does a darned good job of it.  TagMan |
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Money creates complacency. Complacency creates rot. As money lines BMW coffers there are rumors that BMW may flush a large portion of that hard earned money down the toilet. According to F1 Racing magazine there are rumors that BMW is trying to persuade Schumacher to join their Sauber team with a 100 million dollar base salary and a compensation package that potentially can grow into a billion dollars . A billion dollars? It appears BMW a relatively small niche player in the auto industry would rather invest a disproportionally large share of their hard earned money in image (fluff) than in engineering (substance). IMO such buffoonery is an ominous signal for any company. |
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Replying to: dewey (Sep 02, 2006 1:21 pm) Maybe so, but before we jump to that conclusion, do we know what BMW's advertising (image fluff) budget is, and whether or not this falls within that parameter, or whether it is truly excessive buffoonery? To be fair, BMW does seems to spend a fair sum on engineering, and seems to get results, but I wouldn't mind knowing some hard numbers here, before we condemn them so harshly. On the surface, your reaction to it seems darned logical and realistic. TagMan
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Replying to: tagman (Sep 02, 2006 1:29 pm) link title The Annual Report is in Euro so you will have to convert the currency values. Currently one Euro is worth 1.28 US$. 2005 BMW R&D = 2.9 Billion Euros 2005 BMW Sales & Admin = 3.9 Billion Euros 2005 BMW Profit Before Tax = 3.2 Billion Euros Unfortunately advertizing is embedded in the Sales/Admin figure and is not disclosed seperately. Also Sale/Admin can include many costs that are not even directly related to marketing. Based on the figures above a potential billion dollars in Schumacher's pockets is quite significant indeed. Toyota can afford it but I think their executives are too shrewd to spend that kind of money on one individual. In fact I highly doubt that BMW is willing to spend a billion dollars in its upcoming steam engine technology. A technology that could radically improve BMW sales. (unfortunately BMW does not disclose how much they intend to spend on such a technology)
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As to who might buy Aston Martin, that's anyone's guess, though workers will hope that current management, private-equity investors or a rich entrepreneur in the mold of David Brown emerges. It was Brown who turned Aston Martin into a brand fit for James Bond to drive. Though ruling out a European or even Japanese car maker as a potential buyer would be foolhardy, it's unlikely that, in these difficult times for the auto industry, a volume car maker would pay a king's ransom for Aston Martin, even with the Lagonda and Tickford brands thrown in. Based on the above from Barrons, BMW is not expected to be the top contender for Aston Martin . |
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Replying to: dewey (Sep 02, 2006 1:57 pm) They certainly didn't become #1 by writing billion dollar checks. |
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