BMW CS is no more

I’ve written in the past about the luxury sector’s headlong surge in to the four-door coupe market. Started by Mercedes with the CLS (arguably the best looking Mercedes in the range), it now encompasses (at the top end) Porsche and Aston Martin, with the Panamera and Rapide, due to launch next year.

BMW was due to join the club with the CS, a four door coupe based on the next generation 7-Series platform. But they have announced this week that they have dumped the project because they can’t see it making money. The credit crunch bites!

BMW’s design has been somewhat predictable in recent years. Predictably ugly, some would say. And very thematic. But the CS was a real departure. A good looking BMW. So is that the end for the CS? Well, probably not. BMW are joining the headlong rush by car makers around the world to cut anything that’s not a sure-fire winner. Car sales are in free-fall and drastic action needs to be taken. But this current climate won’t last, and where will the car makers be if they have nothing new to offer once things improve? So the CS will stay on the back-burner for now, but it will be back.

Interestingly, through all the doom and gloom, there appears to be one bright spot – VW. Encompassing everything from Bentley & Porsche, to Lamborghini and Seat, the group has not down-graded its sales predictions for the coming year. They do have problems however (Bentley is really suffering), but Audi is still flying. And, despite the fact that we are seeing some really cheap Porsche and Bentley deals around, things will stabilise. Interest rates are plummeting, and the huge injections of cash from Central Banks around the world will ease the inter-bank lending, which will lead to more credit being available. And, despite all the doom and gloom in the press, the vast majority of people aren’t really suffering. They’re just being cautious. Human nature. But it will change. At the very top end it is still very lively, mainly because that market tends not to be reliant on credit for purchases. But as soon as credit starts to move more freely which, as the world economy is built on credit it will have to, we will see a rapid return to a more normal market place.

But, if you do have liquidity, now is the right time to buy. There are some astonishing bargains around!

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