Word: bmw
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...each calendar year, Ian Robertson puts his small arsenal of expensive fountain pens into overdrive. That's when Rolls-Royce motor cars sends an annual yearbook to customers who have purchased a Rolls since Jan. 1, 2003, when production began under the ownership of German automaker BMW. As head of Rolls-Royce, Robertson personally signs each of the book's accompanying cover letters. The bespoke touch is appreciated by the company's superrich clientele - which numbered 2,800 when Robertson performed the task last year. "With that many customers," he says, "I could just about...
...much - largely because of the newly introduced, extended-wheelbase Phantom that has a base price of $403,000, or $63,000 more than the standard version. Garel Rhys, emeritus professor of automotive economics at Cardiff Business School, applauds the company's performance since its acquisition by BMW: "You couldn't expect much better." And the company's future looks shinier than a well-buffed fender. In July, it rolled out the Drophead Coupe, a two-door convertible Phantom with a starting price of $407,000. Overall, Robertson predicts, the company should enjoy double-digit sales growth this year...
...constant battle to win licenses - for example, he needed a special license to sell soap on Sundays - a small conglomerate bloomed. By the mid-1970s, Maponya's businesses included a chain of general stores, a butcher shop, a restaurant, a Coca-Cola plant, filling stations and a GM and BMW car dealership. "Richard Maponya is the real deal," says Michael Spicer, ceo of South Africa's Business Leadership forum, which advises government and big business on policy. "He cut his teeth at a time when it was exceptionally difficult for black Africans...
...Delivering the Goods Among all the economic and logistic factors behind BMW's success, you forgot the main reason the German automaker is doing so well: it is making great cars [Aug. 6]. The 3-series is widely acclaimed as the best medium-size luxury sedan and has been for several years. You can do all the corporate restructuring you want, but that doesn't mean your car will be better than the competition. It might mean that you can sell it for cheaper, but especially in the luxury segment, that's not what customers are looking for. Roberto Incarbone...
Debra DeLee, 52, who is divorced and the director of a nonprofit group in Washington, is so taken with her life--a gorgeous Capitol Hill town house, trips all over the world and a silver blue BMW roadster--that she's reluctant to change it even for the man of her dreams, Arnie Miller, 59, an executive recruiter who lives in Boston. "We talk about getting married, but this is so good right now," says DeLee, who ran the Democratic Convention in 1996. "Two minutes before he leaves, I think it's so hard to see him pick...