ydooby

^A very interesting read. Thanks!Wow.. Did he really say that publicly?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

GS69, great article, thanks for finding/sharing.

some comments...

- acura only has 5 models?
- cadillac not having a compact luxury crossover is a big problem

Quote:

"It's still not as cool to drive a Cadillac as it is to drive a BMW. They've got to work harder to cut through," Wallace said. "It's got to be a cool car with great marketing, great styling and a great lease offer.

- yup

the big problem i have with the article though is it's conflating two things... comparing brands with hugely different product ranges and offerings and volume.

bmw, mercedes and now audi have in recent years decided to 'blitz' the u.s. market with different models. there's a dizzying array of models but with strong marketing, consistent branding, managed incentives and other programs, the increasing volume has followed. lexus is a bit slower to the game but their product line is growing and several older models will be replaced in the next couple of years, with hopefully a couple more. lexus takes a long view and is making steady progress although (not that it matters) i don't personally care for a lot of the design decisions of late. the other brands have ups and downs too. bmw seemed to get lost for a while, but is coming on very strong although their
'x' even numbers baffle me (hideous).

with the product onslaught of those 4 brands everyone else pretty much doesn't stand a chance.

acura has a handful of 'nice' vehicles, but they really don't scream luxury (never have) and they're just coming out of the mess they created over the past decade to emerge stronger, but still a player that in no way competes with the top 4 and i don't see it EVER happening. which is why i always laughed at comparisons of acura with lexus, or putting down acura to make lexus look good... silliness.

the only real contender is cadillac, but they've got a long way to go too, but they appear to be on the right track with consistent branding, expanding product line, and a guy who knows the business running it now. gm has a VAST engineering bench too to draw from, so if they keep expanding and executing right, they will creep up on the top 4.

infiniti has a chance, but is in the throes of a giant rebranding. they have a decent product line in my view, but have had execution problems for sure.

spwolf

he does? Out of all brands mentioned, Caddy sticks me as biggest loser... big lineup, lots of new models and failing sales.

They cant PR their way out of it, numbers are horrible... huge inventories, huge amount of dealers, big incentives and low sales. No wonder GM is not making a lot of money. Acura is doing same numbers and investing a lot less money into product, while probably being a lot more profitable.


Article was great though, with exception of number of models. Lexus does not have 19 models IMHO. ES350 and ES300h are not different models. Using their numbers, you would think MB and Lexus had same lineup - they dont... or that BMW has wider lineup than MB, it does not.

MB easily has the best lineup of them all...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

he just got there he needs 5 years to see if he can turn it around. if they cut him loose after a year it will be their loss.

spwolf

Why would it be their loss? He did nothing to Infinity except for change of names, which actually went bad for them (sales dropping). So far only thing he did for Caddy is change names again :-).

I dont see why exactly is this guy well thought off... He run Audi USA? One of the bIggest luxury manufacturer in the world that was 6th in USA under his rein? :-)

UDel

Cadillacs problems are due to a tarnished name/reputation they are just starting to overcome and most importantly pricing. Their models are priced way too high. That decision was foolish, thinking just because they built 2 or 3 more engaging models that they are suddenly on par with BMW and Mercedes and can price their cars in their ranges. They have potential with some new models but still have a long way to go before getting rid of their old image and before people forget the crap they sold in the 80's and 90's so pricing cars along the lines of BMW's and Mercedes leads to poor sales. No matter what the incentive, people see those high prices and are immediately turned off.

RXSF

not sure how they count lexus as having 19 models, same as Mercedes, when MB seems to have a much broader lineup...

I am guessing this is how they came to 19 with Lexus, but it requires breaking down each model with its different engine choices
IS250C
IS350C
IS250
IS350
ISF
Ct200h
NX300h
NX200t
RX350
RCF
RX350
RX450h
GX460
LX570
GS350
GS450h
LS460
LS460L
LS600HL

Mercedes: I count 44 models, and that is being conservative in keeping the E class coupe and cab together. Also, does not count the upcoming C plug, S plug, S600 Maybach. I think this is a comprehensive list but I got tired of typing....
B Electric
CLA250
CLA45
GLA250
GLA45
GLK250
GLK350
C300
C400
C250 Coupe
C350 Coupe
C63
E250
E400h
E350
E400
E350 Coupe/Cab
E400 Coupe/Cab
E350 Wagon
E63 Wagon
E63
CLS400
CLS550
CLS63
S550
S600
S63
S65
SLK250
SLK350
SLK55
SL400
SL550
SL63
SL65
ML250
ML350
ML400
ML63
GL450
GL550
G550
G63
AMG GT

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

again, NO ONE can turn around a brand in a short period of time (<2 years i'd say).

again, that makes no sense if you look at where audi was years ago - they've been on a tear improving quickly. i don't believe he ran audi u.s., but was their design chief?

TangoRed

Forgot GL63

ydooby

Agreed. No matter how I count them there's no way Lexus has close to as many models as Mercedes in their lineup.

Mr. Burns

It's funny how Audi is consistently grouped with BMW and Mercedes in the US as the "German 3" when in reality Audi is struggling as much as any of the other Tier 2 brands these days.

Audi's sales for January and February 2015:




In February Audi did 11,455 units. Cadillac outsold Audi in February with 11,739 units. MB did 23k, BMW 25k, and Lexus 22k. Audi did less than half the volume of the top three brands, and they have more models than Lexus or Cadillac. And yet Audi is placed on the same tier as the top 3.



This is ludicrous.

The actual breakdown is more like this:

Tier 1
MB
BMW
Lexus

Tier 2
Audi
Cadillac

Infiniti

Tier 3
Acura
Lincoln
Buick

Furthermore look at the yr/yr percentages, almost every Audi model is negative, and this has been a trend for close to 6 months now. The only reason Audi is bragging record yr/yr sales these days is because the Q3 and A3 are holding the ship above water. Those models weren't available last year which skews the yr/yr percentages. Once April hits (first full month of A3/Q3 sales last year), the yr/yr picture at Audi will be completely different, and I predict they will be either flat or post losses for the remainder of 2015.

Models like the next A4 and Q5 which are desperately needed to stem the tide of losses will not be here in time to save 2015 for Audi. By the time they arrive it may be too late.

TangoRed

Yeah Audi gets a pass because of its global presence.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

so 'luxury' is determined by sales volume, not by product. ok, got it.

i see buick outsold audi so i guess buick is more luxurious.

UDel

The problem is luxury brand perception is different to different people and there is no real set standard.

I don't consider Lexus on par or even close to BMW or Mercedes, I consider Audi to be above Lexus in many aspects. The big German 3 to me are at the top/Tier 1 and mostly compete with each other in my opinion with Audi at the bottom. The Japanese 3 Acura, Infiniti, Lexus I consider more Tier 2 and compete with each other in most cases with Lexus on top. I don't consider Buick to be a luxury brand, Cadillac yes, Buick no.

spwolf

no, Audi design chief went to KIA... this guy run Audi USA, he is a manager. He literally did nothing of note.