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Future Vehicles Good, Bad or Ugly - Current and Future styling trends of BMW
728 messages, Last post on May 30, 2007 at 9:05 PM
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In an idle moment, I was reading through some old auto magazines and came across an interview with Henrik Fisker, the designer of the universally admired and drop-dead-gorgeous Aston Martin DB9. Here are a couple of quotations: "I think the back-to-basics approach may be a function of us almost exhausting how much new technology we can pack into a car and still make it practical and usable for most consumers." "I've gotten a lot of inspiration by looking back at what made the human fall in love with cars. Buying a car is such an irrational and emotional behavior, that I have to figure out what it is that they love. Really, who needs a car that costs more than say $15,000? I'm trying to capture the sense of the emotion and love affair that people have with cars." These are two statements that seem to encapsulate much of what has been expressed here and elsewhere regarding the E60 design. BMW's current direction appears to be very much at odds with Fisker's thinking. The latest sales figures for the E60 show a steady decline which, I believe, will continue now that the early adapters have already bought. Meanwhile, there's an 18 month waiting list for the DB9 (I know that it's a limited production vehicle but it also costs $160K+ so it's all relative). The market is speaking, I wonder if anyone at BMW is listening.
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Replying to: karmikan (Aug 11, 2004 7:38 am) 3 Series July 04 YTD 04 July03 YTD03 8,823 63,777 9,952 68,924 Now, I know people will say that is because of the impending 3 redesign, but we can't prove that. X5 sales were also down. To me, the sales decline has less to do with the Bangle designs and much more to do with the overall economy and oil shortage fears. I know that there are some here who think the economy is doing better. I work in finance and I disagree. Most portfolios are flat at best and most major market indicators are down. Unemployment is still high. Gas prices are high. None of that adds up to great sales.
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Replying to: rich545 (Aug 11, 2004 8:04 am) The only thing I disagree with is the cutoff $15,000. It should be $10,000. A lot of expensive restaurants are also feeling the pinch. However people are crammed like sardines into the $6 buffet all you can eat place. |
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I don't work in the financial sector so I'll defer to higher authority on the "real" state of the economy. But here are few snippets gathered from various sources: "In the United States, demand for Mercedes-Benz brand cars rose by 1.5 percent to 17,500 vehicles in June. Year to date - Record sales of the C Class sedan (28,600 cars, up 16 percent), the E Class (27,200 cars, up five percent) and the SL Class (7,000 cars, up 22 percent) all contributed substantially to the good development on the North American market." "Audi is looking to sell over 238,000 cars in Germany this year and to increase its sales in the USA to 200,000 vehicles in the medium term. Sales in the USA this year though will certainly be above the previous year's level of 86,000 vehicles." "April - Lexus passenger cars posted strong sales of 11,573, an increase of 13.1 percent. The ES 330 luxury sedan led sales with 6,460 units, an increase of 21.9 percent. The LS 430 flagship luxury sedan posted sales of 2,706 units, up 63.8 percent, while sales of the SC 430 hardtop convertible increased 4.5 percent." "Nissan Motor Co.'s U.S. arm recorded its best month ever, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s American division had its best-ever July, the two automakers said Tuesday." Maybe the buyers of these particular brands are able to afford a new car by eating at the $6 all you can eat buffets. We can speculate that potential BMW buyers haven't discovered this technique. Once they do, sales should soar.
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Nissan/Toyota also make cars far less expensive then BMW/Mercedes/Audi. For one 330i one can buy 3 Corollas. Maybe price has something to do with it, but then you'd be driving 3 Corollas. Apples to oranges. Last year BMW had it's best year ever. So what is really being said? |
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Replying to: karmikan (Aug 11, 2004 11:40 am) http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2004/08/05/207584.html http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2004/08/03/207236.html So while MB sold more of some models, overall sales are down. And while Audi might be "looking" to sell more cars in the US (and that's different from any other foreign car company how?) they haven't so far this year. Don't know what explains the Lexus sales increases though haven't Japanese car sales traditionally outpaced German car sales in the US? Nissan isn't relevent due to the difference in car prices. I'd really love to hear some solid financial reasons behind the thinking that the economy is so much better than it was last year. And "I know some people that made a killing on the stock market this year" isn't what I'm talking about. Wow, just think, if I'd have known about that strategy of eating at $6 buffets before I bought my 545 I could have really afforded it SOOOO much more easily! Couldn't you have posted that before the release of the E60? I'm sure BMW would have loved the financial lift it would have provided to potential buyers! |
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imho id say yeah it has things to do w/ the econ, its not getting better at all, and the gas price? whew... its not just the beemers, its all luxury brand markets, theyre falling apart thanks to the economy. beemer sales just hurt a little more because of the designs, or is it the i-drive? im not sure |
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| I heard on news radio this am that car sales are up due to manufacturers incentives. In other words, people are not buying without incentives and the incentives are expected to continue into the future. | |
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I'm not getting this at all guys. MBUSA (not globally as in your link rich545) had their best July ever. http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2040804.003/mercedes- /1.html Toyota reported its best July sales ever, up 18% from a year ago. "The industry is reaping the benefits of the highest consumer confidence ratings in two years," says Jim Press, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales USA. "Fuel prices are holding steady, the job market continues to improve, and the 2005 models are hitting showroom floors. These three factors bode well for a strong third quarter." Nissan USA recorded their best month ever in July. Yet your posts continue to attribute BMW's rapidly declining sales (and disastrous July) to the economy. In my original post I was trying to say that BMW used to adhere to the same values expressed by Henrick Fisker. As a result, BMWs were universally respected as true driver's cars with an understated, timeless elegance. For whatever reason, BMW has felt the need to deviate from the values that made them so admired. As expressed on this board and elsewhere, BMW's new design and technological philosophies have alienated many existing and prospective BMW owners. BMW was once the media darling and their cars perennially topped comparison tests. Now BMW appears well down the list in most comparisons and I've read driving impressions containing descriptions such as "isolated" and "uninvolving". There's no need to expand on the current BMW designs which have been so universally criticized that they're a bit of a cliche. IMO these are the underlying reasons for BMW's declining sales. Interesting to note that BMW's CPO sales (read E39) are up dramatically. Let's see - sales of high-end brands such as MB, Lexus and Infinity are soaring in the US. Sales of mid-market brands such as Toyota and Nissan have hit record levels. Attributing BMW's poor sales figures to economic factors just doesn't cut it.
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Actually premium brands suffer in a downturn. Toyoota pumps out a lot of inexpensive vehicles, while BMW, MB, Audi pump out 0. According to the economic forecasts I've read, we're heading into a period of a spiralling downturn in consumer confidence. People will still buy cars, and I for one would rather buy one with an incentive than without. BMW is looking to get into a more well-rounded game, to succeed will take some time. I like the new cars head and shoulders above the older models. You can say all you want the economy is not the issue, but it's much easier to sell a $15K car than a $60K car. |
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