[lbo-talk] germany-builds-twice-as-many-cars-as-the-u-s-while-paying-its-auto-workers-twice-as-much/ ?

[W. Kiernan]

Also they don't charge twice as much for their cars in Europe.  MB and
BMW sell top-of-the-line models with only their biggest engines and
lots of high-end options at top dollar the USA, so we think of them as
being costly luxury cars, but in Europe you see MBs and BMWs as police
cars, company fleet cars and taxis.  For one example, if you buy a BMW
3-series in the USA the smallest engine you can get is a 230 HP 3.0 L
six; in Germany they sell a 3-series with a 1.8L four with about 145
HP.  Another example is the MB A-Class,a small hatchback that
resembles the Honda Fit/Jazz.  They don't even sell that model in this
country for fear of tarnishing their US reputation as exclusively a
"luxury car" manufacturer.

On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 11:43 AM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Dec 23, 2011, at 7:05 AM, Wojtek S wrote:
>
>> Doug: "And charging twice as much for their cars?"
>>
>> [WS:] What is wrong with that?
>
> Nothing necessarily, though in American society it's hard to live without one. But the article overlooked that crucial point.
>
> Doug
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