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Did BMW really win the luxury car sales race?

As anyone who follows our monthly By The Numbers series already knows, the luxury car sales race in the United States was close all of last year as BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz seesawed up and down for sales supremacy. At the end of the year, it was BMW on top of the standings with 346,023 total sales. Or was it? According to data released by Polk, comparing the actual number of vehicles registered between the three top luxury players in the US paints a slightly different picture. Polk's data suggests that only 335,259 BMWs were registered in 2015, compared to 340,392 Lexus models. Why the disparity? It's all a matter of timing. Actual end consumers buy new cars, in almost all cases, from a franchised dealer. BMW delivered 346,023 vehicles in 2015, but only 335,259 of them were registered by their new owners. Presumably, those 11,000 BMWs did (or will) end up registered in the driveways of consumers, but they hadn't before January 1, 2016. Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken wrote in an email to Automotive News, "Luxury sales leadership as measured by vehicle registrations is important to Lexus as it represents actual consumers engaging directly with our dealers." Of course, it goes without saying that we'll be paying keen attention to the 2016 luxury car sales race as it unfolds. If it's anything like it was in 2015, it'll come down to the wire, and even then may not be entirely clear. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty BMW Lexus Mercedes-Benz Car Buying Car Dealers Luxury luxury cars

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

Lexus unveils first EV, the UX 300e

UPDATE: A Lexus spokesperson has provided Autoblog with the following statement concerning U.S. sales of the UX 300e: "The UX 300e has been designed specifically for the Chinese and European markets. The U.S. will not offer the UX 300e, however, we have committed to developing a dedicated BEV that is purpose-built to offer the benefits and features that U.S. luxury buyers demand." The original article continues below. Lexus has unveiled its first fully electric vehicle and — surprise — itÂ’s a crossover. The Lexus UX 300e is seeing its public debut in China, at the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition. Lexus tipped the world off to its next step in the luxury automakerÂ’s “Lexus Electrified” campaign with a trademark filing. Now it has followed through, in what appears to be a trend, as more and more automakers enter the EV arena with formats that are hot as all heck right now: crossovers. We only have a few specifications so far, but theyÂ’re interesting. The Lexus UX 300e has a 54.3-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that provides an estimated 248 miles of driving range based on the very generous and arguably outdated NEDC driving cycle — this would indubitably be rated much lower if tested by the EPA. The electric motor, located up front, is capable of a peak 201 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. It has a DC fast charging capability of 50 kW, which lags behind a lot of what weÂ’re seeing nowadays (for instance, the Kia Niro EV is capable of 100 kW, and the Audi E-Tron can do 150 kW). LexusÂ’ press release doesnÂ’t specify the charging standard, but that 50-kW capacity corresponds with the current maximum speed of the CHAdeMo charging standard. The UX 300e promises a comfortable but exciting drive experience with a dual focus on NVH and driving dynamics. Drivers can control the experience with a number of driving modes, as well as paddle “shifters” that adjust the level of regen feel form the electric motor/generator. As for the sonic experience, Lexus says it has an “Active Sound Control (ASC)” feature that “transmits natural ambient sounds to allow for a greater understanding of driving conditions, and provides a natural feeling for the cabin's occupants.” We have no word on whether the UX EV will make its way to the U.S. Lexus says it will go on sale in China and Europe next year, with a Japan introduction in 2021. Again, this is just a first step, and weÂ’ll be curious to see what plans Lexus has for EVs here in the States.