Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Sedans Luxury Performance Sedans
10006 messages, Last post on Nov 26, 2009 at 6:59 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
|
|
|---|---|
|
Interesting feature story quoted from Business Week: "The flexibility of BMW's factories allows for a dizzying choice of variations on basic models. At Leipzig, for instance, parts ranging from dashboards and seats to axles and and front ends snake onto overhead conveyor belts to be lowered into the assembly line in precise sequence according to customers' orders. BMW buyers can select everything from engine type to the color of the gear-shift box to a seemingly limitless number of interior trims--and then change their mind and order a completely different configuration as little as five days before production begins…There are so many choices that line workers assemble exactly the same car only about once every nine months…That kind of individualization would swamp most automakers with budget-busting complexity. But BMW has emerged as a sort of anti-Toyota. One excels in mastering complexity and tailoring cars to customers' tastes. That's what differentiates BMW from Lexus and the rest of the premium pack. 'BMW drivers never change to other brands,' says Yoichi Tomihara, president of Deutschland, who concedes that Toyota lags behind BMW in the sort of customization that creates emotional appeal." Nonetheless, new (as of Sept 1) CEO of BMW, Norbert Reithofer believes "the pack will be coming at him from the east." One BMW staffer who has worked with the new chief says he "never spoke about Mercedes. He was always looking over his shoulder at Toyota." Business Week concludes: "Over the next decade, BMW expects Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus and Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti brands to set up plants in Europe and then hire German engineers to work on building cars with BMW-like handling. Within five years, predicts Reithofer, it could be 'Lexus that we will be most busy competing with'." |
|
|
Replying to: lexusguy (Oct 13, 2006 12:44 pm) M
|
|
|
Replying to: domenickamarc (Oct 15, 2006 6:31 pm) M
|
|
|
Replying to: lexusguy (Oct 13, 2006 10:13 pm) I agree. I guess having 2 lists of cars, one that they can recommend and one for cars that they like a lot but can't would defeat CR's purpose huh? M |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: merc1 (Oct 15, 2006 9:05 pm) Merc, I have no idea how BMW and Mercedes compare, along the specific dimension Business Week emphasized, which was ordering a vehicle with a customized set of individual options. I also wasn't quoting Business Week in order to praise BMW as the brand offering the most flexibility, only to add to the forum discussion an interesting contrast of brands offered by the CEOs of the two companies being contrasted. Unfortunately for Mercedes right now, when I read about its CEO being interviewed, he is always forced to defend the brand against the assault that CR and JDP have mounted against it.
|
|
|
Replying to: domenickamarc (Oct 15, 2006 9:40 pm) M |
|
|
Replying to: merc1 (Oct 15, 2006 9:04 pm)
|
|
|
Replying to: lexusguy (Oct 15, 2006 10:18 pm) M
|
|
|
Replying to: merc1 (Oct 15, 2006 10:26 pm) Good question. The Passat has for a long time either been their top rated family sedan, or 2nd place behind the Accord, but its sales are only a tiny fraction of what Camry and Accord ring in. It also often misses the "recommended" mark. I wonder if the two are related. |
|
|
Replying to: domenickamarc (Oct 15, 2006 6:31 pm) Being tall, and having a long torso, I just don't have many cars I can sit in comfortably that have the seemingly mandatory sunroof. To get some of the basic nice things, almost none of the LPS cars can be had without one, which severely limits my choices. Building a car with just the desired specs would open up the possiblities greatly. The US dealers like the instant sale and don't want the trouble of opening up the issues of so many options...well, they lost my business. |
|
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2007 Lexus GS 430
2011 Acura RL
2011 BMW 5 Series
2010 Volvo S80
2010 Audi A6
2010 Infiniti M35
2010 Infiniti M45
2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2010 Cadillac STS
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
