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Automotive News & Views Sales Flops of 2005
729 messages, Last post on May 08, 2006 at 7:51 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: nippononly (Nov 20, 2005 12:50 am) OTOH the Buick Lacrosse is pretty rare even though it's been out for a year. The Infiniti M35/45 doesn't seen to be any more prevalent than the Acura RL so sales of them have to be disappointing. |
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| I see the new M quite a bit in my area, much more than the strangely dull looking JDM style old M, and probably 5 or 10 times more often than a new RL. Around here, the G is very trendy, so I think this might be an offshoot. | |
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The RL is on track track to sell about 18K units this year. They forecast 20K, IIRC. So they're off by about 10%. The Ridgeline is off by 6%. Have to agree with you on the Saabs, though. Andys120, I haven't seen recent sales figures, but the M35/45 was selling as well as the Lexus GS and others in the class. I dunno what Infiniti projected, but I gotta figure it's doing well enough. |
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more LaCrosses finally. Their popularity may be a regional thing, and I'm guessing a lot of them do still go into rental fleets, but I've heard that nationwide, the LaCrosse is selling about as well as the Century/Regal used to. I haven't seen the Grand Vitara yet, except for that commercial where the dude skydives out of his house. I almost hate to admit it, but I think it's actually pretty attractive! I think it's one of the better looking SUVs out there nowadays. There's just something nice and clean about its styling. Still, style will only get you so far, and according to the buff rags, there are much better buys out there. I don't see Acura RLs very often, but then they're styling just blends in. They're easy to miss. As for Infinitis, I don't think I see ANY kind of Infiniti on a regular basis, except for this green I30 that one of the secretaries at work drives. |
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Yes, the new Jeep is the Commander. And I think it will be a huge hit, especially with the Jeep faithful such as my dad, who thinks it is the most gorgeous SUV on the market.
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Replying to: jrosasmc (Nov 20, 2005 5:25 pm) All reviewers have commented that the third seat is a joke for anyone larger than a small child. So unless you really like the squared off styling or have small children that can fit in the rearmost seats, there's really no point in buying one in place of the Grand Cherokee. |
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of the Commander is that they can advertise that third row seating. But it's basically the same as advertising a Mustang, Camaro, etc as a 4-seat sports car. Yeah, so it has a back seat. Doesn't mean you want to put anybody in it! FWIW though, I'm guessing that very few SUVs have a useable 3rd row seat. Even in my Mom & stepdad's Expedition, or even some Suburbans I've been in, it's not a very hospitable place to be. How safe is the 3rd-row seat on your typical SUV, anyway? Most SUVs that I've seen that get rear-ended basically cease to exist behind the rear axle. I imagine it would be almost as bad as the 3rd row seat you used to get in station wagons back in the day. |
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Geeze, they're as common as dirt around here, and no, they aren't all rentals. Seems my girlfriend started a trend. As soon as she got her car, LaCrosses have been popping up like mushrooms all over the neighborhood. Shame about the Q45. I bet it's every bit as good a car as the Lexus LS430. Well, if you don't want to run into your car on every block, get a Q45! Ooo! Ooo! I DID see a Tribeca today! |
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....with the higher end Japanese sedans now is twofold: when they first debuted (particularly in the case of the Acura Legend and Lexus LS400), they were new and different to the market, and because of the inflated deutschmark at the time, the Japanese cars were great values compared to the Germans. For about $24k new in '86, the Legend had a V6 and a lot more room for at least a couple thousand dollars less than a 190E 2.3; the '90 LS400 was about $36k at a time when a 6-cylinder Mercedes 300E was about $45k. Now, they don't compare nearly as favorably. Second, particulary in the case of Acura and Infiniti, their lower end cars are so nice, why pay an extra $10-20k for an RL or Q? Diminishing returns, big time, especially if you factor in resale on Infiniti Ms and Qs. While something like the current Lexus LS is a very 'nice' car, they sure haven't changed much in fifteen years in terms of basic shape, power or size, and now their neck-and-neck in price with a Mercedes E430, if not more costly. Their kind of Japanese Cadillacs now, most drivers I see are seniors.
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Replying to: ghulet (Nov 20, 2005 9:43 pm) That is true. However, unlike the Mercedes, they come with outstanding customer service and great reliability. I have been to both the Mercedes and the Lexus events this past year at Arlington Park and I hear two constant themes 1) They don't make Mercedes like they used to. 2) You get so much more from Lexus with fewer problems (and I heard that at the Mercedes event). One of the local businessmen always reminds me that he paid "$20k for a used Lexus with 80k miles and he's driven it for ten years and it doesn't look or ride any different than the day he bought it." |
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