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Acura year-to-date sales of 67,516 have risen 8.9% versus a year ago. Acura passenger car sales reached a new April record of 14,029 vehicles, up 15.8% for the month, and up 13.6% for the year.
TSX marked its fifth consecutive record month with sales of 3,329 units, up 35.4% for the month and up 34.7% for year to date. TL sales reached 7,206, up 3.4%.
April sales of the RL rose 153.2% (versus April 04) to 1,304 vehicles, while year-to-date sales of 5,463 are up 183.9%.
MDX sales lifted Acura light truck sales to a new April record of 5,073 units, a rise of 2.4% versus year-ago results.
Nonetheless, RL sales will likely fall short of the 20,000 target, even with sales likely picking up during the warmer summer months. It will be interesting to see if Acura rolls out an incentivized lease offer. You almost figure they have to.
As an aside, American Honda sales (without Acura) are also up 13.9% over year-ago, and up 3.2% year-to-date.
Many of these luxury "cute utes" and crossovers are mechanically related to more plebian versions (ex: RDX vs. CRV, RX vs. Highlander....), so you wonder if all of these marquees can sustain sales of luxury versions. But the R&D costs are minimal, so the downsides are probably not that great.
The Infiniti CX35 is not supposed to bow until MY2008. That sounds like it will be 2 years behind the RDX?
The RL has been caught out by its fellow Japanese competition and its 300hp V6 and awd isn't going to help it much.
M
"So between the S, the 7, the LS and the A8, where do the gang's best feelings reside? "
Answer: A8 but shaken (leased), not stirred (bought).
5: The big seller is the 525i, accounting for 42% of 5 series sales. The new 3.0 215 hp engine is sufficient for most people. A well equipped 525i comes well under $50k, and with BMW's low lease rates, it's easy to see why this is popular. With the AWD versions just now being sold, I wouldn't be that surprised to see sales even increase.
E: I suspect that the CLS and the GS is taking a bite out of its sales.
STS: There are still quite a few people who want a big, roomy sedan in this segment that says "American luxury", and only the STS offers that. This is still the US, and still a lot of loyal Cadillac buyers out there.
GS: For people who want luxury over sport, along with some prestige and reliability, this is the only choice. Plus the unparalleled dealer network.
M: Doing pretty well in uncharted territory for Infiniti. The Infiniti name is its biggest drawback in this status conscious segment. Plus, it may be too sporty for a lot of the 40 and 50 year olds, who are the target buyers in this segment.
RL: A very nice car, and at $45,000 street price, a good value. Its rather pedestrian look may turn off buyers who are looking for something that says "luxury". Just having one loaded V6 AWD variant is its biggest drawback in terms of sales.
Mercedes' actual entry in the compact luxury ute segment has been announced for prodution by 2008. The B-Class is like a crossover/hatch thing anyway.
M
M
Both M and G had solid increases, so their conquests had to come from outside.
5 = 4,571 (increase)
E = 3,731 (increase)
STS = 3,541 (decrease)
GS = 3,198 (decrease)
M = 2,288 (increase)
A6 = 1,635 (decrease)
RL = 1,304 (decrease)
March 2005 Sales
5 = 3,949
E = 3,608
GS = 3,209
STS = 2,954
M = 2,253
A6 = 1,681
RL = 1,376
hey, i resemble that remark!!!! seriously i'm one of the guys in that age range who likes the feel and compromises that a real sports sedan brings. i drive an m5 currently but my wife and i went to see the new m's after they came out and was very impressed on all fronts. if i were in the market for a new car for myself the m45 sport would be at the top of my list. i've owned a bmw 5 series since 97 but just can't see the price premium any more...not with all the useful technology now being deployed by the japanese manufacturers...that being said, there's nothing to compare to the m5, but for me the new one will just be priced out of my range.
I should add that Audi's overall YTD sales are down one half of one percent.
The A6 sales are up, big time (year over year).
Apr '04 - '05..........+38.7% (1,179 / 1,635 units)
YTD '04 / YTD '05..+44.8% (3,998 / 5,789 units)
I don't think I can post the URL, use dogpile or google.
BTW, I saw a polished black 2005 A6 sedan today pass by today. Gorgeous.
Are these sales figures available on some web site or do you have to subscribe to some service?
I run hot and cold on it -- it looks striking at first, then it looks just a teeny weeny bit like a Pontiac Grand Am circa 1997 (plastic plastic everywhere and not a drop to drink?)
GS300 2,657
GS430 541
regards,
kyfdx
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But honestly, I'm a long time CR reader and when I buy a new car I buy what feels right. Not what CR, C&D, Motor Trend liked or disliked.
But I always fully vet my Whirlpool appliances there first!
Maybe I'll start paying attention to frequency of repair reports now that I've gone from German to Japanese. :confuse:
The Lexus breakdown was interesting, too, I wonder how many were AWD.
I keep reading about virtually any of the brands that are now offering AWD, that the market for AWD sedans -- 300C, Ford Five Hundred, M35(X) and BMW X's, etc -- is greater than "expected."
My BMW dealer claims the 5x's (not a typo) are expected to sharply increase the popularity of the 5's (more than they are now? I wonder).
My wife's BMW sales rep said she has "many" 5X's already on order "sight unseen" by their perspective owners.
"This is just the vehicle we've been waiting for."
Time will tell, eh?
Didn't seem to help Acura as much as I would've expected, tho -- but as a previous poster said, the RL had a long way to go to "come back" -- so, relatively speaking, it's all good (for Acura).
I think that sales rep is correct.... AWD is going to make BMW sales take off.. and, just in time, too... with the GS and M models coming out with it...
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I e-mailed CR requesting an explanation to support the unreliable label with empirical data and they wrote me that compared to an "average" 2004 hypothetical model, the 2004 5 series comes out worse than the model, hence it cannot be recommended.
:confuse:
Here's CR's words on it: "Sometimes a vehicle (especially a 2004 model) will have seemingly high Ratings, such as full red or half-red, in the 14 trouble spots, but gets a below-average (X) reliability verdict. That’s because at least some of the trouble-spot Ratings didn’t compare well with the average ratings for that model year, as shown in the average vehicle chart. For instance, the 2004 Saab 9-3 was rated full-red in nine categories half-red in four categories, and white in one category. By comparing that with the Ratings for the average 2004 model, you can see that the 9-3's Ratings are worse than the average in five areas, one of which--transmission--is weighted more heavily. The result is a below-average (X) reliability verdict."
According to CR's average 2004 vehicle chart, vehicles must get full red (meaning less than 2.0% of owners reported problems in this area) in every catergory and half red in the body integrity catergory (2 - 5% owners reported problems) in order to make the "average" reliability cut. The 2004 5 series got a white circle in "Power equipment" meaning 5-9% of owners reported problems in that area, which killed any chance it would've had for a recommended tag.
Claims the only thing more dangerous on the (wet, slick, whatever) highway than a BMW is being on foot on the highway.
Several of my friends abandoned their BMW's for FWD, SUV or "pickuptruck" cars because they "were useless" in the moderate winters that we have here in SW Ohio.
The BMW sales rep seemed genuinely pleased to have the X3, X5, 3x and now 5x to sell -- she says the 5x (with its expected $2K upcharge for AWD, plus its new 255HP 3.0L engine) will "hurt" Audi's sales (presumably of the new A6 and of the new A4 with both new 3 and 5 coming to market with AWD, 2 engine choices and stick shift availability).
I imagine she is right.
She pokes "a bit" at me for getting the M35X (but truth be told my BMW sales rep drives a G35X herself -- until, as she says, the lease runs out later this year -- she's been with BMW for about 1+ years).
OTOH, if your source is something like that, I'd be surprised that you took it at face value. If the figures are for real, they exist on another source somewhere.
Although usually updated here AFTER other sites, this site is, as they say, "the horse's mouth."
http://www.audiusa.com/about_pressreleases
And of course it can be found here:
http://media.audiusa.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=9578
Several other automotive web pages carry this data and also cite these same URL's.
Audi Sales Numbers
LIY
It gets me what I would want most -- V8, AWD, Sport, nice looks.
My choices were more, pedestrian, if a $50K+ car can ever be thought to be thus -- the A6 3.2 vs the M35X -- plus money was an object. I went with the Infiniti M35X -- if your pocketbook permits the purchase of an A6 4.2 -- don't even worry about the reliability. My recent Audis have been easy to live with.
A coworker had a 5 series that he got rid of after the first winter here in DC. He only had one way out of his development and it was up a slight hill. If we got even 1/2" of snow, he couldn't drive it. He says he'll never buy another RWD car until he retires to Phoenix.
That said, the BMWs of the '90s (and '80s and '70s) gave them their well-deserved reputation.. My first BMW driving experience was my girlfriend's '79 320i.. A very nice car, but you might as well leave it in the garage if it snowed...
The current RWD BMWs with traction control and winter tires make for good transportation, even in snowy, hilly areas.... The biggest problem is with ground clearance in heavy snow..
regards,
kyfdx
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Winter tires plus traction control would do fine here in Cincinnati, most of the time.
AWD with All Seasons will do well virtually all of the time.
I'm often wrong (but never uncertain), but I do believe AWD will in part prosper for the same reason auto trans is the chosen transmission.
Arguing the relative merits of RWD, FWD and AWD can be done and there certainly are circumstances where 2 driven wheels are mostly fine.
However, 4 driven wheels is, I think, destined to become (if it has not already) one of the fastest growth "engines" for cars of all classes.
There is a forum "AWD the next big thing" or something like that -- Dr. Piech some 25 years ago said AWD for safety, traction and performance. It seems there is sufficient evidence (when BMW and Mercedes BOTH are growing the AWD offering) that this was an accurate prediction.
Just tweaking you a little... My other car is AWD, as were the three before this one.... But, there is a grain of truth there...
regards,
kyfdx
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I believe that there will continue to be a market for "pure" RWD cars for quite some time, but I think AWD will replace FWD on a large scale. Cars like the Nissan Maxima, Acura TL, and the increasingly large number of other models putting 260hp or more to the front wheels NEED AWD.
M
I would definitely (and have in the past) considered a German weekend car though, but until recently, there wasnt much to look at from them. I wasnt interested in the Z3, SLK320, or TT. I thought the CLK430 was too plain, and while the CLK500 is definitely better, its styling still pales in comparison to the XKR, and I'm not a fan of COMAND. I'd definitely trade for an SL500 in a minute, but obviously there's a tremendous difference in depreciation between the Jag and Mercedes, which makes late model used XKs actually affordable.
It turned out that we liked the Outback better than the Audi! The Audi had a little less wind noise and some fancier trim. In every other respect: ride, handling, comfort, steering, build quality, fuel economy, etc. the Outback is as good or better than the Audi -- even though the Audi had cost 50% more!
Now, I am shopping the new crop of $40K-plus cars. I am only looking at 6 cyl AWD.
I started out wanting an Acura RL. It looks like a larger Honda, but it has the only Sat Nav I would actually pay money for, cushy seats, cushy ride, great stereo etc. It still drives more like a front wheel drive car, but I could live with this. However: the transmission lags on downshifts, followed by a surge forward when it finally shifts. Not cool. And, although the car is generally quiet, it turned out to be incredibly noisy when it encountered sharp road noises: coarse surfaces and when going over expansion joints etc.
The GS 300 is quieter and smoother -- but not as quiet as I expected. (Probably the run-flat tires on the AWD model). It also removes most of the feeling from driving. I will have to drive it again to see if it grows on me.
The M35x was the surprise. It is nearly as quiet as the Lexus, but it has an athletic balance and eagerness which neither of the others (or the Audi A6) have. I hate the Nav system and would certainly buy the car without it.
But, here is the rub: a base M35X is 60% more expensive than the comparably-equipped Outback Limited. It has less wind noise, somewhat more room in the rear seat, has rosewood trim and is available with options like a high end stereo, sat nav. and sat radio not available on Subarus. But, it is not built a bit better, it does not ride as well, the simpler Subaru has better ergonomics and will probably be more reliable. Of course, the lower M35 handles better -- but the difference is less than I expected.
My Subaru GT Limited is far more of a sports car than the M35. The closest M would be the M45 Sport. But this is not available in AWD, does not ride as well as the Subaru, is no quieter than the Subaru, and is simply not as much fun to drive. Oh, it also costs more than $20,000 more.
It used to be that you would move from a mid-range car to an upscale car and think: "Wow! This really is a different class of car!" But the mid-range cars have gotten so good that the differences in how the car rides and drives are now are much more subtle. I may still buy the M -- or the GS -- or the RL. But I am really having to think about it.
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I might be a little honda partial, even though I don't own one, but when I saw the RL & M on the floor of the NY auto show last year, I knew already that RL was going to have a miss even though to my eyes the RL & the M look remarkably similar except for the ugly details, which I think are ugly on both cars....
As a current BMW owner, I'm amazed how well BMW is doing on the 5, for better or worse... the name sells, even though I can personally vouch that "ownership experience is closer and closer to hell".
And yet, everytime I sit behind the wheel of the bmw, I have this instant smile on my face, that as yet, no other car/make puts on my face...
my confused 2 cents...
ksso
My BMW experience (3-series) has been good, so far .... 29K miles... It puts a smile on my face, when my wife lets me drive it...
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As somebody who moved from Phoenix to the northeast in the last year odd, i'll say, all it takes to drive a rear wheel drive in the snow is a good set of snow tires.
if you can spend 50K on a car, i think you can afford to spend a thousand bux on a good set of winter tires... no?
ksso