The Auto Writer, Part III
Infiniti Dealers Want Fresh Product!
It has taken Infiniti some time to get there, but the luxury Nissan division is selling more vehicles than ever before. Still, as far as U.S. dealers are concerned, the Infiniti line needs some new product to keep the momentum going. Dealers are complaining about bloated inventory, reduced profitability, as well as the lack of fresh products amongst their chief complaints about the brand. Gee, you would almost think that they are talking about Lincoln
The Audi Advantage is Ending
Audis free maintenance program, the Audi Advantage, is being discontinued by the German automaker effective with the release of 2007 model year vehicles.
Audi Advantage, the four-year/50,000-mile, maintenance program has been a hit for the automaker ever since introduced in the late 1980s in a bid to boost sales, according to a report in the Automotive News.
Audi is still likely to continue free maintenance for the first year of ownership but the company says they are discontinuing the program because of cost. BMW still offers a similar program for its owners.
Chinese Cars: Delayed!
I have been writing extensively about the coming invasion of Chinese built vehicles to the North American market. Two companies, Chery and Geely have been eyeing the market and plans to bring their cars over have been underway for some time.
Not so fast! According to an article appearing in a recent edition of USAToday, that may not happen that quickly. Apparently, there is a little bit of problem with emissions controls and crash safety, so much so that any cars that do show up here will likely be complete redesigns.
Engines seem to be a big problem: too polluting. For either automaker to buy engines from other manufacturers would be problematic as prices of the cars would then be pushed up to around $10,000, much closer to the price range of several other better built and better accepted models.
