The info is just in the stickied thread above Linked it for you : https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...6&postcount=10
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The GS, M, and A6 are not selling that well either although they do sell better then the RL. The RLs lack of sales has nothing to do with the quality and performance/value of the car as most reviewers agree it is an excelent car and just as good if not better then its competition but more to do with poor marketing, the last RL being lackluster and having little recognition, it having a very successful good looking high performance car below it that is much less expensive which offers alot of car for the money and it is a more recognized name which is the TL, and the RL not having a choice of drivetrains which made the base car at 50K where most of its competitions base cars could be had under 50K. Although it is a good looking car it does not stop traffic but neither does most of its competition but conservative looks will play a part. I personally like Acuras strategy of giving all the options standard in the RL and most of their cars for less then what the competition charges so you don't end up paying more when you option the car out, you just pay a higher base or starting price but get more car for the money.

The general public who buys 50K cars often does not know much about them other then the prestige and namebrand recognition that Mercedes and BMW have which is why they sell so well while costing much more then the better equipted and built competition and having horrible reliabiltiy records. If the public bought just based on the merit of the cars then the RL as well as the GS and M and A6 as well as others like the Supra, NSX, 300ZX, original Q45, etc would sell or would have sold in much higher numbers.

 

Thanks, Andrew. I've noticed a lot of new RL's in my area in just the last several months.....that may or may not jive with national or international figures. This is also an extremely high-income area and also not indicative of the nation as a whole....so I won't try and judge RL sales nationwide from just what I see here.

 

An excellent post, UDel. You've made some good points. The last-generation RL, unlike this one, was essentially a Japanese Buick (I know...I test-drove one), and turned off a lot of people looking for a more sporting ride.

You are also correct that a lot of Mercedes' continued sales today come from people living in the past (roughly 20 yeras ago) , when they made some of the best cars in the world.