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Was amazed at the heated discourse here. Just wanted to weigh in.
While I like (love) cars for 90% of the marketplace the decision for a new vehicle is based on price, perceived value, and practicality.
I had owned four Caddies (three performance CTS and one SRX) as company vehicles and thought they were great, When I went to lease a new CTS I found they had substituted 4 for 6 and raised the 'comparable' price of the vehicle I had owned previously by 15,000. I felt Caddy had abandoned their existing market with this car (CTS) and the resulting sales crash seems to support this. I wound up leasing a Hyundai Genesis Ultimate which I have been super pleased with. The arrogant Caddy prez has succeeded in building one of the best performing vehicles that nobody wants to buy.
We just took delivery of a 2015 X1 and yes it is for my 58 year old wife (I don't know what it is but the subcompact SUV segment is the new hot spot for this demographic). The car gets limited driving and my wife wanted something small (No X3). We leased an ultimate for 100 mo less than a more basic equipped 2016 X1. She had owned a 330i and the BMW always impressed with the build quality and overall ownership/ lease experience.
Her previous cars were MB's and we got tired of the maintenance cost and some of the new 'goofy' features (steering wheel shift, touch pad over Command control).
Anyway looks like the X1 will serve our needs well.
From my perspective the significant point is that the auto marketplace is becoming more consolidated as regards quality and vehicle features- ie. there are many good cars built by many companies. Along these lines there is more diversification withing the companies-Lexus and Caddy entering performance market, BMW offering an extremely wide spectrum of vehicles even Hyundai dipping their toes in the luxury market. Bottom line I think that the days of focusing on one marque for a lifetime of car purchases will disappear but the
choice available in the market will expand which is probably a great thing for all of us. JMHO
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