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US Has New Luxury Car Champ

BMW edges out Mercedes-Benz for crown

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 5, 2012 5:56 PM CST

(Newser) – The Beamers win: BMW has earned the honor of being the top-selling luxury brand of car in the US for 2011, reports the Wall Street Journal. It takes the title from Toyota's Lexus, which had dominated for a decade but never quite recovered from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This year it came down to BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and the crown was so coveted that neither side wanted to report first, notes Bloomberg. Finally, Mercedes announced sales this morning of 245,192. BMW followed a few hours later and beat the total by about 2,700 vehicles.

The BMW logo.
The BMW logo.   (AP Photo/dapd, Joerg Koch, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
Sayyiduna
Jan 8, 2012 3:07 AM CST
My first car was a BMW and I loved it. Recently though, I've really gotten disillusioned with the brand. The exterior of the new 2011/2012 models have been fairly bland and the interior has been totally unimpressive. I test drove a few when I was in the market for a new car and I was just floored by how completely and utterly boring they are now. This was a shock considering I used to love driving my old beamer, with its excellent turn radius, respectable performance, and comfortable interior. I think the brand lost a major "something" becoming the market-dominant brand. The car that left a huge impression on me was the new Jaguar XF. It's not quite in the same range as BMW being that it's in the "superlux" class, but in my opinion, the new line of Jags beat out BMW and Mercedes far and away on everything from style to performance and the sense of satisfaction driving one. I tend to be a bit obsessive, so the little details are what makes a car for me. Small touches like making the start button on the XF pulsate red or the way after you press the button that the shift knob slides into position under your hand is just.. amazing. Anyway, before I prattle on too far, if someone here is in the market for a new BMW, I'd definitely recommend checking out Jaguar instead. Also, it seems like every other car is a BMW now and everyone has/has had one so they're definitely oversaturating the market a bit, the "brand" doesn't really mean what it used to, then again neither does Mercedes. I'd spring for a Jaguar or even an entry-level Lotus (like the Evora) before paying the same for cars that have become quite mediocre.
YetAnotherCollegeKid
Jan 6, 2012 9:00 AM CST
I have a BMW 328i that's several years old. It is my first car, and I love it. A certain brand loyalty means this report makes me happy. When I eventually switch to a newer BMW, it's good to know there will be plenty on the used-car market.
toeser
Jan 5, 2012 9:34 PM CST
Apparently, people who buy luxury cars do not read Consumer Reports.  Several of the German brands have fallen to the bottom of the list for reliability.  I will take a Lexus that does not break down over another luxury car that does any day.

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