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Luxury car sales languished in January as the financial crisis deprived investment bankers and other highfliers of their fat bonuses
For the past several years January has been Christmas for many luxury car dealers. That's when investment bankers, flush, with their hefty bonuses, used to begin prowling through their local Mercedes and Maserati dealerships.
But not this year. Sales of all cars and trucks have been falling off a cliff since the stock and credit markets began their collapse last fall and accelerated in January. And while luxury cars typically hold up better in a recession than Fords (F), Chevys, and Toyotas (TM), the pain is being felt in every category this time.
Luxury brand vehicles were off 36% in 2008, compared with the year before. If there is any good news for executives in charge of sales for Mercedes-Benz (DAI), Cadillac, and Lexus, it's that luxury brands overall took a bigger share of the overall market in January, 6.7%, than a year earlier, when it was 6.2%.
Full Article: BusinessWeek - Bankers Slow Down on Buying Fast Cars
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