RON430

I am really tempted to say that BMW wrote that article in the WSJ. That is not at all unusual to supply copy to the journal and because you are a preferred outfit, it gets a mild rewrite and away it goes. And while I looked very favorably on Saab in the past (before they were owned by GM) I really don't understand that comment that some percentage of people look at bimmers and buy Saabs. That probably sounds a bit two faced of me but it has been a long time since I thought a Saab was a viable alternative to a bimmer. Any bimmer. Strange. Guess we will have a chance to see if these new ads, whenever they show up, make us want to rush out and go bavarian.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

Lexus Acura Infiniti are still consistantly providing equal/better vehicle specs with much better reliability, build quality, lower price than some euro companies the value is still there, euro is already more expensive and the price can only go up from there, car prices never go down. SUVs and crossovers arent the money makers, its always and will always be the sedans in the long run. Yes BMW/MB are dominant, id hope they are since theyve existed for many decades before some japanese companies.

Heritage and Name is the only thing they have now (pretty much everything else japanese can match/beat), however japanese have proven you dont need heritage to make a great car, and that can be very bad for euro. Their marketshare is already starting to get eroded. J Luxury sales keep increasing, and each J Luxury sale is one less sale for Euro.

Japanese bring balance and choice back into the luxury market which was previously monopolized by euro that was the only thing you could buy back then and was characterized by high price means high maintainence, but now some companies have proven that high price doesnt mean high maintainence. Once people start seeing this, unless Euro can start matching that, its bad news for Euro

RON430

I would have to agree with bit here. I am not at all interested in the new GS but the LS is on my list to look at when it comes out. If the rumors printed on the LS pricing are correct, the difference in price between it and the 7 will be very little, if any. There might be some differences in standard equipment and bimmer, like all the euro luxury brands, can get insane with options but I generally shop more towards base models and leave the ball bearing ash trays and atomic powered nav systems to others. The LS had a significant price advantage over the 7 in the past with greater reliability. Of course it couldn't come close to the bimmer driving experience. I doubt the new LS has made any ground on the driving dynamics on the 7. It may have some nicer features and should be more reliable but the price advantage is on the order of a couple of percent here or there. Bimmer reliability is not up to Lexus standards but the incorporation of more and more electronics presents the potential to trip anybody up.

MikeFD3S

These types of marketing campaigns are risky. With decades of branding, I don't think they will alienate their core customers, but such esoteric advertising often misses the intended target. Remember Infiniti's first ads?

I've seen this ad on the 405 North:

"2 heads are better than 14. [BMW Logo]"

I can't tell if they intentionally made an obscure reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or if they are just attacking the corporate structure of their competitors. The bottom line is that it illicited a "so what" response from me. I'm sure i'm not the only on who felt that.

The recent radio ads that promote that "all ideas are considered at BMW" didn't create any emotional response for me either.

As much as I enjoy great design and architecture, I feel that only the core enthusiast base would take any pride in the architectural marvel of the BMW design facility. Show Charles and Ray Eames parking a vintage BMW convertible at their house and juxtapose it with the modern equivalents of each...then yes, they may attract that very niche market. Then again, the rest of the world will not recognize these people/works if the ads are presented to the mainstream market.

The only reason I remember the ads is because my profession is in marketing/advertising and I'm constantly analyzing ads for inspiration.