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Will Detroit Ever Regain The Middle Market?
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Comments
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
it's just a different situation.
The 300 needs a refresh, or the introduction of the second generation of this RWD entry, to regain competitive status.
Fusion has been breaking sales records, so the older posts are moot.
There are not too many truly large or full sized cars for sale anymore, and the term 'mid size' doesnt work if there are no larger cars to compare. Should just say "large" for anything bigger than a compact.
Low price class (Chevy/Ford/Plymouth)
Lower Medium (Pontiac/Dodge/Edsel, some Mercurys, Buick Special)
Medium (DeSoto, Oldsmobile, upper-level Mercurys, mid-range Buicks)
Upper Medium (Chrysler, Buick Super/Roadmaster, the cheaper Lincolns in some years)
Luxury (Cadillac, Imperial, most Lincolns, Continentals when they tried to make them a separate division)
I think nowadays though, the market is re-aligning and simplifying to...
Mainstream (Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc)
Luxury (Lincoln, Cadillac, Acura, Lexus, Infiniti, Benz, BMW, Audi, etc)
Brands like Buick and Chrysler are starting to have problems fitting into this new mold. Chrysler really doesn't have what it takes right now to go head-to-head with the others in luxury cars. To do so, they'd have to get rid of minivans, the PT Cruiser, the Sebring, and the cheaper versions of the 300. Yet, those models I just mentioned are what keeps them down in the mainstream market, where they are often redundant because of Dodge.
Buick, at least, isn't reaching as far downscale as Chrysler. But, they can only go up so high in prestige, otherwise they'd encroach on Cadillac. So, my guess is that, if this mainstream/luxury polarization continues, Buick may cease to exist, while Chrysler ends up taking over for Dodge, relegating them to only trucks.