Rolls Royce Corniche.....(drooling)
Anyway, this would be the car for the guy that thinks a bentley drop top is just to ordinary. I am so down with this car.
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fritz said:
Am I the only one who thinks that when VW and BMW split up the Rolls Royce and Bentley marques, Bentley turned right and has not looked back since then, whilst Rolls Royce turned left and immediately got lost?
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VKSF said:Quote:
fritz said:
Am I the only one who thinks that when VW and BMW split up the Rolls Royce and Bentley marques, Bentley turned right and has not looked back since then, whilst Rolls Royce turned left and immediately got lost?
RR seemingly went more for the rapper wannabe crowd than did Bentley....but my sense is both RR/B have underwhelming sales and are on a downward sales trajectory, despite the enormous wealth creation of past 7 yrs....
Prob a strategically weak game to market "fashion-centric" $150K+ cars, since most guys who can afford $150K+ cars aren't into either "fashion" or "advertising"...ironically, even most of the "suits" (and capitalist-owners) in the media/entertainment business tend to drive 2-3 yo, dusty blk/silver SL/S/CL's; live in modest houses in sleepy, low-profile Brentwood/Palisades; and wear cheap, off-the-rack suits from NeimanBH...but their lifestyles prob wouldn't be very appealing as part of a rap video/lifestyles of the supposedly rich and/or famous video....
Jul 8, 2006 11:21:29 PM
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VKSF said:Quote:
fritz said:
..but my sense is both RR/B have underwhelming sales and are on a downward sales trajectory, despite the enormous wealth creation of past 7 yrs....
Prob a strategically weak game to market "fashion-centric" $150K+ cars, since most guys who can afford $150K+ cars aren't into either "fashion" or "advertising"...ironically, even most of the "suits" (and capitalist-owners) in the media/entertainment business tend to drive 2-3 yo, dusty blk/silver SL/S/CL's; live in modest houses in sleepy, low-profile Brentwood/Palisades; and wear cheap, off-the-rack suits from NeimanBH...but their lifestyles prob wouldn't be very appealing as part of a rap video/lifestyles of the supposedly rich and/or famous video....
My comment doesn't cover the USA, but I had lunch with the CEO of Rolls Royce & Bentley's official importer on Friday, they imported and sold only 98 cars in 1998.
Last year they sold 496 - only because they couldn't meet the demand!
Since the Continental GT has been introduced a whole new crowd has shown interest in Bentley and sales have soured globally for that particular model.
Maybe its not had such a good impact in more important markets like the UK & USA.
Jul 8, 2006 11:34:47 PM
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Porky Tokyo said:
My comment doesn't cover the USA, but I had lunch with the CEO of Rolls Royce & Bentley's official importer on Friday, they imported and sold only 98 cars in 1998.
Last year they sold 496 - only because they couldn't meet the demand!
Since the Continental GT has been introduced a whole new crowd has shown interest in Bentley and sales have soured globally for that particular model.
Maybe its not had such a good impact in more important markets like the UK & USA.
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fritz said:Quote:
VKSF said:Quote:
fritz said:
Am I the only one who thinks that when VW and BMW split up the Rolls Royce and Bentley marques, Bentley turned right and has not looked back since then, whilst Rolls Royce turned left and immediately got lost?
RR seemingly went more for the rapper wannabe crowd than did Bentley....but my sense is both RR/B have underwhelming sales and are on a downward sales trajectory, despite the enormous wealth creation of past 7 yrs....
Prob a strategically weak game to market "fashion-centric" $150K+ cars, since most guys who can afford $150K+ cars aren't into either "fashion" or "advertising"...ironically, even most of the "suits" (and capitalist-owners) in the media/entertainment business tend to drive 2-3 yo, dusty blk/silver SL/S/CL's; live in modest houses in sleepy, low-profile Brentwood/Palisades; and wear cheap, off-the-rack suits from NeimanBH...but their lifestyles prob wouldn't be very appealing as part of a rap video/lifestyles of the supposedly rich and/or famous video....
So just how big is the combined rapper plus rapper wannabe market?
Seems to me the new generation of Bentleys have some intrinsic value if just measured purely as automobiles, whilst the current Rolls Royce and Maybach models are totally dependant on being perceived as being a hip fashion item to sell at all. Which would mean that if they are perceived to fall out of favor among the fickle butterflies who think of themselves as trend-setters, then ........................
PS: It is only remotely relatred to the above, but ..........
A few weeks ago I passed a Maybach limo on a few occasions which had street-parked overnight in a "non-affluent" area. Since it was in the area of the Daimler Chrysler factory, I guessed an employee had got to drive a company car home a few times, since nobody else around here seems to be buying the darn thing.
Anyway, long story short, I caught myself thinking on a couple of occasions on seeing the chrome radiator grill that I was approaching some new Kia or Hyundai model which I was not familiar with. Don't think that that was the kind of perception that DC was hoping for .
Jul 9, 2006 4:04:58 AM
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Porky Tokyo said:Quote:
VKSF said:Quote:
fritz said:
..but my sense is both RR/B have underwhelming sales and are on a downward sales trajectory, despite the enormous wealth creation of past 7 yrs....
Prob a strategically weak game to market "fashion-centric" $150K+ cars, since most guys who can afford $150K+ cars aren't into either "fashion" or "advertising"...ironically, even most of the "suits" (and capitalist-owners) in the media/entertainment business tend to drive 2-3 yo, dusty blk/silver SL/S/CL's; live in modest houses in sleepy, low-profile Brentwood/Palisades; and wear cheap, off-the-rack suits from NeimanBH...but their lifestyles prob wouldn't be very appealing as part of a rap video/lifestyles of the supposedly rich and/or famous video....
My comment doesn't cover the USA, but I had lunch with the CEO of Rolls Royce & Bentley's official importer on Friday, they imported and sold only 98 cars in 1998.
Last year they sold 496 - only because they couldn't meet the demand!
Since the Continental GT has been introduced a whole new crowd has shown interest in Bentley and sales have soured globally for that particular model.
Maybe its not had such a good impact in more important markets like the UK & USA.
Analyzing high-end car sales and marketing strategies isn't easy....most high-end custs have zero interest in participating in silly surveys/focus groups...and most marketing guys at mfrs are clueless re: why affluent guys buy certain cars/what price is their psychologic upper lim, etc...
Need to look at a few parameters of any mfr's sales data....sales vols and growth/decline over last 3 yrs; avg selling price of car; in which mkts cars are ultimately being bought; demographics of typical buyer (age, industry, net worth, etc); characteristics/no. of repeat buyers, etc etc....
Suspect little reliable hard data exists, as most high-end buyers don't have conventional paychks and have no need/desire to disclose precise financial data....and mfrs tend to sugar-coat/camouflage sales data for various obvious reasons....
Would guess that US buys 60%+ of world's $150K+ cars; 75% of those US sales occur in SF/NYC/LA mkts; and prob 60%+ of the serial/repeat buyers for these cars live in SF/NYC regions....and, anecdotally, know more guys who routinely get a new CL/SL and F every 12-18 mos than any other car combo out there....MB/F seem to have a duopoly on high-end US custs that every other mfr seeks to grab a piece of....
Just know too many wannabe higher-end mfrs that bungle the simple, real-world stuff....like P's CGT, perhaps a brilliant car from an engineering/track-driving standpoint (though the real-world-incompatible ground clearance begs the question whether CGT is "cheating" to try to compare vs other street cars...or should it be compared to FXX ), but a marketing disaster....w/ground clearance that is worse than any F, incl Enzo, for real-world SF/Greenwich, where guys want to be able to occasionally drive their sportscars to office and not have to rem which gas station/office garage driveway the damn car can successfully navigate.....
Jul 9, 2006 4:29:33 PM
Jul 9, 2006 4:51:35 PM
Jul 9, 2006 5:11:55 PM
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shin said:
The triangular A-pillars are needed if the single suicide doors are used.
IMHO, Bentley Cont GTs and Flying Spurs are just VW Phaetons with 'B' badging, whereas a Rolls Royce is still bespoke and has much more class.
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The Groom said:Quote:
shin said:
The triangular A-pillars are needed if the single suicide doors are used.
IMHO, Bentley Cont GTs and Flying Spurs are just VW Phaetons with 'B' badging, whereas a Rolls Royce is still bespoke and has much more class.
Agreed as well. However, I'd still get a Flying Spur over an Arnage for that very reason (regardless of price). Robots do a much better work than mere mortals as far as build reliability, safety and handling are concerned. To me, the Continental GT/GTC/FS offer the right compromise between industrial precision and hand-built soul.
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The Groom said:Quote:
Mike S said:
Tell me what is wrong with this handbuilt quality?
I agree it's gorgeous, but the driving dynamics aren't that great, are they? Would you trust a British worker with your life?
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The Groom said:Quote:
Mike S said:
Tell me what is wrong with this handbuilt quality?
I agree it's gorgeous, but the driving dynamics aren't that great, are they? Would you trust a British worker with your life?
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Mithras said:
I just came back from London and was frankly amazed with the number of Bentley GT's running around. I would see at least a dozen a day. I was staying in South Kensington, so if there's anywhere you would see a lot of nice cars running around it's there, but still!! A lot of people in England tend to think of the GT as a "chav" car owned by footballers and wannabies. Having driven in a GT and a Contential T there is no comparison, the Contential is a bespoke car, the GT is just a nice mass produced auto. The RR is still over the same caliber (if not higher) than it always has been.