Today's WSJ - Europe's Luxury car makers' woes

[Voltigeur]

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By buying an M3 we are really contratrend here

I was suggesting this would happen in 2008 and some hated on me for it ... oh well

Originally Posted by WSJ

"It seems unlikely," Sanford Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said, adding that the vast majority of profits in recent years have come from high-powered cars bought in the U.S. and the U.K. as well as newly wealthy customers in oil-producing countries. "One could argue these consumers -- at least the Americans and Brits -- are going to have their spending power constrained for a long time," he said.
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BMW, the world's biggest maker of premium cars by sales, last month posted a 22% drop in global sales at its core brand to 60,248 vehicles. The world's second-best-selling luxury car maker, Mercedes-Benz, saw sales come in at 53,900 cars, down 35% from a year earlier. Audi saw a sales fall drop 29% in January to around 56,200 cars.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1234...ml?mod=testMod

[ptack]

It's not just the US and UK now - it's everyone.
I hope this doesn't lead to BMW cranking up the production line for 1s. I like being one of the few, the proud, the addicted.

[Voltigeur]

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Yes, this is the most dramatic and widespread global recession in memory. BMW was looking to China, Dubai etc to fill the gap but they are not immune.

BTW, global trade is 3x greater as a % of global GDP than it was in the 1970s: it is different this time (ie compared with mid-70s, 1981, 1990-91).