Category: BMW

BMW_3series_wallpaper_18_612x383The 2014 BMW 3-Series GT is the highest scoring Aspirational Luxury Car in AutoPacific’s 2014 Ideal Vehicle Award research. The planners at BMW have decided that a sub-niche strategy is good and have developed the "Gran Turismo" version of their venerable 3-Series. The designers and engineers have developed a product that provides owners with 3-Series goodness combined with wagon utility. The 2014 3-Series GT also won AutoPacific's 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Award. Winning both awards in one confirms that the 3-Series Gran Turismo is a very special car.

The 2014 BMW X5 is the highest scoring Premium Luxury Crossover SUV in AutoPacific’s 2014 Ideal Vehicle Award research. BMW designers, planners and engineers understood who the X5 target buyer is and developed a vehicle that meets their requirements.

The 2014 BMW X5 is the highest scoring Premium Luxury Crossover SUV in AutoPacific’s 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. The 2014 BMW X5 demonstrates its excellence by winning or tying in thirty-seven of fifty satisfaction attributes. The X5 also comes within one tenth of a rating point with seven other satisfaction attributes. For eighty-eight percent of the data, the X5 is at the top.

The 2014 BMW 3-Series GT is the highest scoring Aspirational Luxury Car in AutoPacific’s 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. The 2014 BMW 3-Series GT demonstrated its excellence in luxury by winning or tying in twenty-one of fifty attributes. The 3-Series GT also came within one tenth of a rating point with eleven other attributes. For over sixty percent of the satisfaction measurements, the 3-Series GT is at the top.

The AutoPacific 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards objectively measure owner satisfaction with 50 separate attributes ranging from interior comfort and convenience to fuel economy and performance. “Vehicles that score highest in the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards are delivering value and satisfaction across a wide range of attributes,” says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “The winners perform well in 50 separate categories that objectively measure the ownership experience.” An industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new vehicle, AutoPacific’s VSA are based on the results of responses from over 92,000 new vehicle owners.

The 2015 Lincoln MKC hit Lincoln dealerships in June 2014 and promises to be the 2nd volume entry for Ford's premium brand after the award-winning Lincoln MKZ. Lincoln is the top brand in AutoPacific's 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research and the MKZ and MKZ Hybrid are the winners of their product categories. The MKC is joining a booming market for smaller crossover SUVs and, based on our brief drive of the vehicle, should do very well in AutoPacific's 2015 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research..

Has the 2014 Auto Show Season been a bust so far? Well, with the exception of the all new Ford F-150, there has not been much to justify all the fabricated hoopla at either the North American International Auto Show in Detroit or the Chicago Auto Show. You can almost count the significant new news on one hand. In order of importance to the United States market and their manufacturers

In AutoPacific's annual survey of new car and light truck buyers, eleven of the top twenty vehicles whose drivers want simpler, easier to use technology are Fords or Lincolns. Six are from Toyota or Lexus. One is from Cadillac. One is from BMW. One is from Audi. If you have been paying attention to Ford's standings in Consumer Reports ratings and other customer satisfaction measurements, you undoubtedly have heard Ford's and Lincolns ratings have dropped precipitously since MyFord/LincolnTouch was introduced.

Mercedes-Benz has been in a slow launch mode for the new front wheel drive 2014 CLA sedan since the beginning of 2013. The car has just gone on sale and advertising is blanketing the airwaves. So, what's the story? The CLA is Mercedes' price leader in the USA. Mercedes proudly touts its $29,990 base price and admits its attempt to intercept drivers under 35 before they buy their first premium brand car from BMW or Audi. Most CLAs will be priced in the $35,000 range when you get the $2,300 premium package (garage door opener, premium sound w/iPod interface, heated front seats, dual zone climate control) and the $2,370 multimedia package (rear view camera and navigation system). For that mid-thirties price you get a fully featured front wheel drive 4-cylinder four door sedan and the Mercedes three-pointed star.

Cadillac's Hollywood-designed Elmiraj coupe was dramatically unveiled at Clint Eastwood's Tahama Golf Resort during the 2013 Pebble Beach automotive week. Cadillac and General Motors management is coy when asked if they will build the Cadillac Elmiraj concept coupe. To a person, journalists who were at the unveiling want to believe Cadillac can find the means to build this car.