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BMW reclaims US luxury sales crown from Mercedes

The numbers, they are in: BMW has reclaimed the luxury-sales crown from Mercedes by a margin of 9,347 cars. Mercedes donned the king's headgear in 2013 after a strong final quarter of 2013 when the new CLA and S-Class poured out of dealerships. This year, led by the 3 Series/4 Series and X5, BMW sold 339,738 units – a 9.8-percent increase year-on-year. Mercedes, led by the C-Class and M-Class, saw its sales go up by 5.7 percent to 330,391 units. We'll have to wait a bit to see if there's another registrations-vs-sales challenge as in 2012, when BMW was anointed US luxury ruler. Behind them, a dark horse named Lexus nudged closer to the leading Teutons, selling 311,389 cars. The Japanese luxury automaker also had the biggest gain among the top three, its sales rising by 13.7 percent compared to 2013. Audi had the biggest sales of anyone among the top five, though, with a 15.2-percent gain to 182,011, which moved it a spot ahead of Cadillac; the Wreath-and-Crest brand dropped 6.5 percent to 170,750. Acura (167,843), Infiniti (117,300), and Lincoln (94,474) took the final positions. Speaking of Lincoln, sales at the once-mighty luxury marque stand as the mightiest jump of any on this list, up 15.6 percent. That's the power of Matthew McConaughey... and better cars and a new crossover, sure. So now that we're back to Round One of 2015, in case no one else has said it yet: "Ok, fight!"

Acura launches ad spots for Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Acura and Jerry Seinfeld are expanding their partnership as season three of the comedian's web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, prepares to debut. Seinfeld has paired with director Barry Sonnenfeld to create a series of ads for the luxury brand showcasing the new Acura RLX and MDX.
There are eight spots, written by Seinfeld and directed by Sonnenfeld, that seemingly mock advertisements of the 1960s, with a deep-voiced, smooth-talking host highlighting the cars in question. It's all very folksy, Leave it to Beaver style humor. We'd be lying, though, if we said we weren't reminded a bit too forcefully of Dodge's successful range of Will Ferrell ads when watching the eight Acura spots.
"My idea for Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee was to show this certain aspect of the stand-up comedy world in a way that comedy fans would enjoy experiencing as if they were there," said Seinfeld. "There is absolutely no doubt that without Acura's support I would not have been able to continue beyond the initial experiment. And now Acura has enabled me to extend the concept by creating ads that fit the comedy tone of the show."

Acura sold all 300 of the NSX Type S, reportedly in 24 hours

If you were hoping to nab one of the last Acura NSX supercars, Acura has confirmed to Autoblog that it has already sold out the entire allocation of 300 NSX Type S models that were slated for America. However, you might still have a remote chance. "We have seen tremendous interest in the 2022 NSX Type S following its debut at Monterey Car Week. At this time, confirmed orders have far surpassed the 300-unit allocation for the U.S. market, and new orders received are being added to a waitlist," an Acura spokesperson told us. That might be an understatement, as Motor1 is reporting a Black-Friday-esque rush that cleared the shelves in 24 hours and a waiting list of more than 100. While Acura has never planned to assign the NSX to the role of moneymaker — there are RDX and MDX crossovers for that — sales of the hybrid supercar have been shockingly low. Year-to-date sales figures for July 2021 (the last metric prior to Acura's August announcement that the NSX would be canceled) crawled along at just 67 examples sold, not too far off from last year's 70. The year-to-date number for August leaped up to 98, a significant jump from last year's 73. A personal anecdote may explain why the sellout occurred so quickly. My brother, owner of a 1993 NSX, went to a Los Angeles-area Acura dealer to inquire about the 2022 Type S. The salesperson told him that the dealer was only getting one and that it had already been spoken for — by the dealership's owner. With 273 Acura stores in the U.S. and only 300 cars, if other owners are similarly minded it may be almost impossible for the average buyer to get a Type S without paying a premium over the $171,495 price tag. Hopefully, though, buyers won't have to pay more than the $1 million bid that someone made for the first NSX Type S. The Type S has 600 horsepower and 492 pound-feet of torque, a 27 pony and 16 pound-feet bonus over the standard NSX, in addition to a 58-pound weight reduction and GT3 race car-derived tuning. While that alone could compel some buyers to spring for the Type S, we're willing to bet that it's the limited production and end-of-run factors that are contributing to demand. If you miss out, though, you can always wait for the third generation. Related video: