On the other end of the price spectrum lies the Audi A8 at $80,000 MSRP. Based upon the reports we've heard of the economy stalling, you'd think its sales would have dropped. Wrong! Sales actually increased 395% or almost 4 times the number sold last September. Now the smaller number of sales can inflate this percentage, but it's still significant.
Let's take a look at Hyundai. The Elantra saw sales increase 43% while the Sonata saw sales decrease 12%. BMW saw the newly redesigned 6 series increase sales 542% compared to last year! It starts at $85,000 MSRP. It appears you either need to go small or go large (really large) for price or don't bother.
So why the disparity between the economy cars, mid-size cars and luxury cars? Some would say that the economic troubles have hit the middle and lower class more severely and they are cutting costs from the mid-size sedans and going to the economy cars. In the mean-time, the upper class hasn't been affected and is continuing to spend large amounts on cars (typically their 3rd or 4th car).
It could also be that people are looking to save money on gas and the economy cars are typically more frugal with gas and now come with better options than before. With all the talk of the 99% recently and the protests of Wall Street, I thought this information was interesting. However, a deeper study would need to be conducted before jumping to any conclusions.
So what do you think is happening? Let us know your thoughts; I know you all have opinions!
Here is the link to the original article. http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2011/10/class-warfare-extends-to-car-buying.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cars%2Fkickingtires+%28Kicking+Tires%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
