Word: bmw
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...will be officially unveiled at the Geneva motor show next month. The brainchild of VW CEO Ferdinand Piëch, the Phaeton represents the company's latest attempt to move the brand up-market away from commodity car-making and into the profit zone long dominated by Mercedes and BMW. But it's a huge gamble for a company whose very name means People's Car. "The question is, will a customer want to pay that amount of money for a Volkswagen when you can have cars that already have a brand image such as BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and Lexus...
...German engineering, including an optional 12-cylinder engine and a special pneumatic suspension system to guarantee a smooth ride. The price tag is breathtaking too: between $46,000 and $92,000, depending on extras. But this car is not the latest Mercedes or even a top-of-the-line BMW. It's a Volkswagen...
...like Lamborghini and Bugatti to give the company, which also includes Audi, some additional cachet. Under Piëch, Volkswagen commands 51% of the car market in China and 25% of sales in Brazil. Perhaps most important is what Piëch hasn't done: made expensive mistakes, as BMW did in buying British car-maker Rover and as Mercedes committed by acquiring U.S. giant Chrysler...
...slated to move up to the company's supervisory board this April. He will be succeeded as CEO by Bernd Pischetsrieder, who joined VW in 2000 after being forced out of rival BMW in the wake of the company's calamitous investment in Rover. With his insider knowledge of BMW's successful effort to create a high-end image, Pischetsrieder is expected to concentrate on brand building at VW, while trying to get the company's costs down. Some shareholders hope that he will also show more attention to the stock price than Piëch did. His comments...
...General Motors touts the CTS as a BMW fighter, and for once, they may be able to sustain the claim. Its 3.2 liter V6 engine is tied to one of the smoothest, tightest automatic 5 speed transmissions around (secret: it's the same transmission offered on the Bimmer 5-series) and the suspension is tuned like a cherished Stradivarius. This baby hums. Best of all: the CTS starts at a mere $29,990 - nicely competitive with its top competitors, the Lexus ES300, the Audi A4 and the BMW 3-series. And the only reason a cop would saunter over...