Ford’s F-Series brings in huge profits. Shop for a luxury vehicle and your eyes may feast upon the Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan, BMW’s X5 xDrive35i crossover or the Lexus RCF sports car. Each high-end model sells for more than $50,000, a price point that demonstrates mass-produced luxury at its finest. The … Read more
Imagining Fiat Chrysler as part of the Volkswagen Collective. Speculation about a possible blockbuster Volkswagen Fiat Chrysler merger has come up again. Last summer, Volkswagen and Fiat flatly denied that they were discussing a merger, despite a high-level meeting between key executives. This week, former Hyundai CEO John Krafcik speculated … Read more
Mary Barra’s appointment as GM CEO surprised some industry analysts when Dan Akerson announced his retirement last month. But for close observers Barra was already one of a handful of possible Akerson replacements, with Dan hinting as much last summer. Barra’s ascendancy, as significant as it is, may be rivaled … Read more
When Hyundai made it known in 2008 that it had no plans to launch a separate luxury brand to market its top of the line vehicles, this writer and many others did not expect that its marketing strategy would succeed. Five years have passed and we’ve been proven wrong as … Read more