22.05.12
DETROIT, Michigan — US satisfaction cars manufacturers like Cadillac and Lincoln, respectively run by GM and Ford, are struggling to win back a dole out of the expanding luxury car market, largely controlled by Japanese and German automakers.
These brands, which once embodied the very cornerstone of luxury cars, saw quality decline in the years before the industry emergency, and drivers abandoned them in their droves.
Now they must recover their former glory by improving entr-level models, which was not their strong suit, but which represented the fastest-growing pleasure market last year.
"The appetite for smaller luxury cars is comparatively new in this country," David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Inspection, told AFP. "It was part of the industry for a while in the other countries."
On Sunday, the eve of the opening of the Detroit Auto Show, Cadillac unveiled its new sedan, ATS 2013.
The solid, which is similar to the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C Class and Audi A4, is "intended to question the world?s best premium cars," its creators told reporters.
Source: AFP