Mercedes Has Growth Challenges
Mercedes-Benz is completing a decade-long rejuvenation with the new E-Class sedan this month, capping an unprecedented flurry of fresh models that have brought rapid expansion but will make future growth tougher to deliver. The overhaul of Mercedes’ bread-and-better business sedan marks the last major model to get a technology and design upgrade until the next-generation A-Class hatchback rolls out in 2018. By that time, Mercedes will...
As Good as Higher Priced Sedans
No one who has driven a BMW or Audi would mistake a Chevrolet or Buick for a BMW or Audi. For that matter, no one who has driven a 2016 Honda Accord or Civic sedan would confuse a Chevrolet or Buick with one of those cars. It is not that the foreign-based companies are inarguably superior manufacturers of cars and trucks. Their products are good, yes. But so are those made by their U.S.-based rivals. The difference is attitude. For...
Consumer Confidential: BMW’s Blinding Fear of Lawsuits
Dr. Ron Aryel, a pediatrician whose patients include many disabled kids, had a brainstorm after recently buying a new BMW 328i Sports Wagon. As part of his research for the purchase, he learned about BMW’s new gesture-control technology, which is being incorporated in the carmaker’s high-end 7 Series vehicles. It allows the driver to interact with the infotainment system by simply waving his or her hand. “That may be a stupid pet...
Wheels: Performance Hype Aside, Lexus IS 350 F-Sport Is a Good Luxury Value
Cornwall, N.Y. — There is a lot of hubris in global automotive marketing — lots of bragging about racetrack testing, about a car’s ability to hug curves and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in six seconds or less. The companies are so earnest and they spend so much money, talent and production time on these messages, you’d think that all of us drive on racetracks, or carefully monitor stopwatches as we move from “stop” to “go,” or...
