Chart Of The Day: Luxury Brands

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Our six month sales by brand chart is a bit crowded, so we’ve broken out luxury brands for today’s COTD. Bloomberg assembled a grip of analysts who all say that Mercedes is going to sock it to Lexus this year… and this chart certainly proves that the opportunity is there. But then, the opportunity is there for BMW too, if Lexus so much as stops for a breath. One thing is for certain though: Ford may be ruling the mass market, Lincoln is the last stop before Volvo-ville as you work your way down the luxury volume ranking. That’s not great, but given a choice between a respectable luxury brand and a $2.6b first-half profit, I know what nine out of ten auto executives recommend.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • BMWfan BMWfan on Jul 24, 2010

    "More examples of TTAC’s anti-Asian bias" Actually drifter, I have found this website to be exceptionally anti biased. They tell the truth regardless of color, creed religion or ethnicity, and that's just the way I like it.

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    • Dr Strangelove Dr Strangelove on Jul 24, 2010

      "With the exception of discontinued GM brands, no large brand has lost more market-share between 2000-2010 than VW. Good luck finding one article about this on TTAC." If I'm not mistaken, that loss occurred mostly in the first half of the decade. Ancient history. VW has received its share of criticism here.

  • Wagen Wagen on Jul 24, 2010

    +1 more open jaw that is shocked that Acura is selling its polarizingly-styled embellished Honda products in such volumes. Adding a guillotine grill, aluminized plastic trim bits, a few dozen extra buttons, and extra leather to an Accord does not a luxury car make. Acura and Lincoln, plus MINI, should be separated into another sub-luxury class, perhaps "premium" in rental car class jargon.

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    • Wagen Wagen on Jul 26, 2010

      Uninformed? Perhaps. I'll let each reader of TTAC decide for him/herself if the TL is an upmarket Accord derivative. I didn't design the J35 engine, but know from research that the 3.5l engine used in the TSX and base TL is a variant of the engine used in the Accord, Ridgeline, and Pilot. Same displacement, cylinder dimensions, valvetrain, with a slightly higher compression ratio to squeeze a little additional output to justify an Acura badge and markup instead of that squared-in H logo. Both are built at the same Marysville, OH plant. In my opinion, they both have the same attempt to imitate the Hofmeister Kink in the rear door (though way more poorly executed in the TL where the trim extends onto the C-pillar rather than on the door). The (IMHO) awkward drivers-side fuel filler door placement cuts across the bodyside character line in both. Perhaps they don't share the same body panels but, to me, there are clear details that illustrate they share some common lineage. Again, it's up to each reader to form his/her own opinion of how closely the TL and Accord are related.

  • Jaje Jaje on Jul 24, 2010

    Colors and position of the lines in the graph are backwards again. Red should be for 2010 sales and on top as that is the point you making. It looks like BMW is kicking ass if you do a brief look of this table. Did anyone pay attention in their stats class to learn the importance of color / position in graphs?

    • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Jul 24, 2010

      Do you honestly think any of these gentlemen took stats or graphic design?

  • Invisible Invisible on Jul 26, 2010

    So, has anyone explained why TTAC listed Mercedes on top? Do the Mercedes #'s include all those Sprinter Vans?

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