Auto News 5

To the surprise of absolutely no one, auto sales in March were dismal, again. Any month that sees the stock market fall back onto its face, job losses surge (especially among white-collar workers), and renewed talk of bankruptcy for GM and Chrysler isn't going to be a month when droves of consumers suddenly decide to rush down to their local dealerships with fistfuls of cash in hand. Industry-wide, sales were down by 37% compared to a year ago, but what few people remember is that March 2008 sales weren't so great either, off by 12% from the prior year. What's striking about this March is that there's been very little change in the mix of which models are relatively strong and which are practically sale-proof, as we'll see when we compare the March '09 sales figures and those for the first three months of the year.

In the past, the traditional German rivals in the mid-size sedan segment - the Audi A6, the BMW 5-series, and the Mercedes-Benz E-class - played specific roles and carved out their own places in the market. BMW positioned the 5-series as the dedicated driver's car, Audi was first to offer four-wheel drive and direct-injection engines, and Mercedes emphasized comfort and prestige.