Category: BMW

The results of AutoPacific's 22nd annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSAs) identify the most satisfying vehicles in the market. An industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new vehicle, VSAs are based on survey responses from over 58,000 owners of new 2017 and 2018 cars and light trucks.

Mazda is developing its vehicles to compete against luxury brands. This Mazda Premium strategy will ultimately improve Mazda's image with dealers and consumers. Well done, Mazda Premium products should achieve higher profits per vehicle.

The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering did not disappoint for 2016. Held at The Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel,California, the event drew 5,000 attendees. Cars and motorsports are supposed to be the highlight of the event, but food, drink and people are even more interesting. The attendees were enthusiasts, collectors, owners and motorsports personalities.

The Genesis G90 is the flagship of the new Genesis lineup.  It will be on the market in September, 2016.  Genesis is positioning the G90 against the top-of-the line Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus sedans.  The question is can it compete?

Size is Competitive with Lexus, Mercedes, BMW  From a size perspective, the Genesis G90 is within inches of its competitors.  It is a bit bigger than the Lexus LS460.  It is about the same size as the Lexus LS460L, however.  That is the extended length LS.  It is a couple of inches shy in wheelbase and overall length to the BMW 7-Series.  It is a couple of inches shorter than the Mercedes S-Class.  Its interior volume is a bit bigger than the S-Class.  Let’s call it a toss up when looking [...]

The new Genesis brand of luxury vehicles has been launched with Hyundaispeed!  Bbalee!  Bbalee!  Quick, quick in Korean.

Finally, Hyundai Launches a Luxury Brand  After years of deliberation, argument, and negotiation, Hyundai has launched the new Genesis brand.  Hyundai officially announced the new Genesis brand in November 2015.  Erwin Raphael was appointed head of Genesis in March 2016.  The new Genesis brand goes public in September, 2016.  That is quick – bbalee, bbalee!

In reality, the new Genesis brand is not a big deal.  The brand will have only six vehicles by 2021.  This does not approach the dozens of models offered by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.

But wait.  That is wrong, Genesis is a BIG DEAL!  Genesis is the only luxury car brand launched after 1990 that has a deep pockets major manufacturer behind it.  Tesla, launched in 2004, is questionably viable in the long term.

Hyundai has decided after years of consideration that [...]

Infiniti QX30 Launched  One of the fastest growing product segments is the Luxury Small Crossover SUV (XSUV) category.  Infiniti has been a bit late to the party as there are already 33 small XSUVs on the market.  Eight of those are luxury brand XSUVs:  the Acura RDX has been out since 2013 in its second incarnation, Audi Q3 out since 2014, BMW X1 out since 2014, Land Rover Discovery Sport out since 2016, Lexus NX200t out since 2015, Lincoln MKC out since 2015, Mercedes GLA since 2015, Range Rover Evoque out since 2012.  Launch of the Infiniti QX30, while a bit late, pretty much has every brand in the fray.

Infiniti enters the fray with the Infiniti QX30, making it the 34th member in the small XSUV market and 9th luxury brand XSUV.  Remember, QX is the Infiniti nomenclature for SUVs whether they are body-on-frame SUVs (QX80) or crossover SUVs (QX70, QX60, QX50).  Infiniti cars [...]

This article was first published on Forbes.com on June 9, 2016

Tesla Tops Auto Brand Satisfaction for Second Year in a Row  Tesla owners are the most satisfied overall among all car and light truck owners according to the results of AutoPacific‘s 2016 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research.  The annual study includes over 65,000 respondents for 2016 and covers 273 vehicles sold in the United States.

Tesla owners are almost unanimous in agreeing the Tesla is fun to drive, powerful, eco-friendly, upscale, safe, distinctive and expensive.  These are not people who are really looking for the greenest car around, they want a car that makes a statement and can tear away from almost every other car when the light turns green.  The fact that Tesla has been the top-ranking brand in AutoPacific’s research two years in a row [...]

Check most of the boxes needed to win in the highly competitive compact car segment and the 2017 Hyundai Elantra does not miss many chances to excel. Following the mantra of "democratization of technology" Elantra has most of the high tech infotainment and technology features available. When you pop for them all, the retail price is $26,750. This is a lot for a compact car of a decade ago, but not bad for the fully loaded Limited model of the all new Elantra. For those not wanting or needing the full equipment load, the starting price is around $17,000.

AutoPacific today announced its 19th annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSAs), identifying the most satisfying vehicles on the market. An industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new vehicle, VSAs are based on survey responses from over 66,000 owners of new 2015 model year cars and light trucks.

The Lincoln Continental was for years the flagship of the Lincoln brand. In the early 1980s, however, the name "Continental" was relegated to smaller, mid-sized Lincolns leaving the flagship to carry Town Car or Mark nomenclature. While Lincoln Motor Company is positioning the upcoming 2017 Continental against middle market competitors like the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, Jaguar XF and Mercedes E-Class, it will become the brand's flagship (if you don't count the Navigator). Is Continental good enough to turn heads and get Americans and Chinese buying Lincolns again, check back in 2017.