pennetta

Toyota falls 18% and Lexus falls 23% this July over July 2007. If I was BMW I would leave things alone and wait for the economy to recover.

http://www.autospies.com/news/Apocalypse-N...-In-July-33161/

My535i

Very interesting discussion....I am coming over from VW/Audi and I can say that they are still sharing. In fact in 2000 I owned a 1.8T Passat and we puchased a 2001 A4 1.8T the following year for my wife the difference (besides the body) is just in overall looks/materials in the interior but the engines/transmissions/chassis are all shared. Currently I own a 2007 A4 2.0T FSI and my dad owns a 2008 Passat 2.0T FSI again tons of shared components. The Passat is slightly larger than the A4 same engine, based on the same chassis etc. but the A4 costs more because it is positioned higher.

Lancaster

Thanks for the update. They are both good cars. Presumably you do not get Skoda cars in the US? Skodas were once a complete joke over here but now they are built using VW components and are a great buy for people who do not care about the badge. VW seem to have really leveraged the benefits of scale and carefully positioned the brands they bought up over the years.

Just as an aside, do you know who owns VW?

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/03/porsche...ip-in-vw-to-51/

My535i

In the US we do not have Skoda but I was aware that they did share with them as well. Just that I don't follow Skoda since I do not have access to them anyway.

Regarding the Porsche side of things...I should have mentioned that currently my wife owns a 2006 VW Touareg which was designed together with Porsche as the Cayenne and the sharing between to those two is very obvious. I personally like both the Touareg and the Cayenne very much. In fact to me the way I see it they are different models of the same car. You have the highest model the Cayenne Turbo followed by the Touareg V12 TDI followed by the Cayenne S (V8) then the Touareg V8, Cayenne V6, Touareg V6. I know my logic is probably not shared by many... but to me they are based on the same chassis with a choice of VW badging/engines (and lower price) or the Porsche badging/engines (higher price more exclusive). I think their sharing allows them to offer such a vast choice of models they can fit just about what anyone is looking for.

I have been buying VW/Audi for the past 11 years. Switching freely bewteen the two brands based on my drivetrain/engine preferences in the body of my choosing. For example When I decided to get out of my 2002 Passat in 2007...I still wanted a 1.8T which was then the updated 2.0T FSI. I opted for the 07 A4 because I liked the overall styling of the A4 more than that particular Passat body style even though the A4 is smaller and costs more (for the same engine/drivetrain). To me they are one big brand. Heck even the financing for both brands is done under the umbrella of VW finance.

The sharing will continue between them...have you seen the upcoming Audi A7 and (4 door) Porsche Panamera?

I made the switch to BMW because I found out about the N54 engine and it's superior performance. I was choosing between the 335i sedan and the 535i because I wanted this motor. I ultimately decided I not only wanted the N54 but I also wanted more space so I went with the 535. Had there been a less expensive sister badge like WMB or something that offered the same engines/drivetrains/QUALITY in a slightly scaled back version who knows...I might just be a "B35" owner instead of a 535 owner right now

studavis

Spira.... Nice article, well written, and informative. I admire your ability to report the news, and that you resist the temptation to editorialize, which is what we are here to do. Again, nice article, and one of the main reasons I still read Roundel.