Lately there is a myriad of thoughts floating around on luxury, especially the near luxury segment, and the various positions and efforts from the manufacturers that are participants in the luxury market.
This morning we have The Colonel, who has been involved with luxury vehicles for a few decades, lets see what he has to say....
Q- Colonel Good Morning! What is going on in the luxury market?
A- Its morphing and getting diluted for the sake of volume.
Q- Luxury does not imply volume....or does it?
A- You can push the boundaries up to a point, and then you cross the line sort of thing, some manufacturers getting close to crossing the line.
Q- Care to mention names.
A- We all know who they are, its the same ones that for the past few decades have constantly pushed the boundaries, and continue to push the boundaries.
Q- They also had good levels of success by pushing the boundaries through the years...which has always encouraged them to continue.
A- Yes...I agree several efforts generated exceptional results, the inevitable misses were simply part of the process.
Q- Can you provide an example?
A- Here is a thought...for the past 60 years a Corvette has specific features that make it a Corvette, while reinforcing the brand...small block Chevy, fiberglass body, terrible interior, composite leaf springs, manual transmission with a clutch pedal. Look at AMG cars, its a blower, then its naturaly aspirated, then its twin turbos, its an automatic, then its paddle shifts, then its something else. At some point it begs the question, what does AMG stand for?
Q- That has nothing to do with luxury cars...or near luxury cars.
A- Yes it does...how far can you carry the brand before its gets overly diluted? When the entry level vehicles have become "pedestrian", why should someone pay a premium for the top of the line cars.
Q- Pedestrian...you mean they are all over the place.
A- Precisely...and as you know they all go by the same brand name, its not Ford/Lincoln or Chevrolet/Cadillac.
Q- Similar to what happens to a Corvette when it becomes a turbocharged 4 cylinder with front wheel drive, and is still called a Corvette.
A- Precisely...its called a Corvette, but is it still a Corvette.
Q- There is also talk of providing superlative service to these entry level luxury customers.
A- Do you guys really want to go there, superlative luxury service requires a superlative luxury customer.
Q- They are all looking at upscale hotels to see how they do it.
A- Think of this, if you are a luxury manufacturer, dealing with luxury customers, your customers frequent these luxury hotels...need I say much more. If you are a luxury manufacturer, dealing with entry level luxury customers that do not frequent luxury hotels...its a different story.
Q- We notice these entry level luxury cars are plentiful.
A- You are being polite, thoughtful, and subtle....I agree they are all over the place, the exclusivity factor is dramatically diluted.
Q- Will this dilution enhance the brand value of other less established makes?
A- Good point, the lines are blurred, and there is the risk of blurred brands which will advantage other brands.
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Have you noticed the conversation often drifting towards a self driving, or driverless vehicle.
