The first Lincoln Navigator, the one that started it all. Started what, the alert reader might ask? The trend towards those really big suvs. Way back in 1998 Ford grafted a Lincoln front end onto an Expedition and then watched those really big suvs roll off the dealers' lots and head to the nearest gas station. Panicked Cadillac followed suite, by putting a Cadillac crest (and little else) on the front grille of a Yukon Denali.........
They too watched these behemoths sell like wildfire and we all know where the Escalade is today. The dream ride of urban soccer moms everywhere. And a few rappers.
Gas mileage misery likes company, so the biggest German gun didn't want to be left out of the "biggest gas guzzler" sweepstakes. Up popped the GL series from Mercedes in response to those folks for whom nothing less than a huge three pointed star would do........
A standout in a field of one, as far as those German luxo brands go. Even Infiniti and Lexus added bruisers that could suck their own gas tanks dry in mere kilometres.........
So, why has it taken so long for a couple of others to see the spray painting on the wall?
No matter, because Audi has just started selling the beautiful Q8.........
Sure, it's no Escalade or Navigator, but neither is anything else breathing this rarefied air, but it sure competes with the others big bucks to big bucks. Finally another choice for those soccer moms.
And now yet another German luxo barge is about ready to hit the driveways of urban mansions everywhere. Unveiled this week, the X8 from BMW is just the right kind of ride for those who believe nothing but a Bimmer will do and it will be a nice compliment to hubby's M5 sedan.
No one in the 'hood is going to miss that new upright twin kidney grille, that tries to out intimidate Cadillac. See that in the rearview and you'd be wise to move your pansy like Tesla Model X out of the way tout suite. This is serious stuff. And lest you think that your BMW should be going off road, well think again, as this barge, like all its competitors, ain't ever going to see anything worse than a very smooth dirt driveway leading to that 20 room cottage by the lake. This interior is headed to movie premieres, not an off road adventure.....
So, we go all the back twenty years to see who started this downfall of the big luxury sedan (or a very nicely equipped minivan). Blame Lincoln for having the foresight to realize, that people know no bounds when it comes to spending money on things, that are never going to be used for what you might think they should be used for.
Use these big brutes for what they were originally intended? Oh my, that is so yesterday.......
No comments:
Post a Comment