Bentley prepares to weather a tough 2009
Click above for high-res gallery of the Bentley Continental GT Speed
Ever since Bentley came out from under the shadow of Rolls-Royce after the Volkswagen takeover in the late 1990s, the marque has been on a roll. The venerable British brand started getting its first bespoke designs in over half a century, which paid off in a huge spike in sales. After topping 10,000 sales for the first time in 2007, Bentley is feeling the same force of gravity as everyone else (except Audi it seems) this year. So far sales have dropped by 30 percent in 2008 and the Crewe factory has already cut production by 15 percent. Further cuts are likely and Bentley is providing assistance to dealers who have too much inventory. With the situation on Wall Street unlikely to abate anytime soon, it appears that Bentley's 37 U.S. dealers will be feeling the pain for a while longer.
Gallery: Review: Bentley Continental GT Speed
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TJ 4:08PM (12/01/2008)
Let me get the headline correct:
Economy in Shambles: rich and wealthy hardest hit.
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houseOnwheelz 7:07PM (12/01/2008)
I thought it should have read "Keep the car, trade house for RV"
HotRodzNKustoms 4:14PM (12/01/2008)
The local Bentley dealer in Newport Beach must have a dozen new GTC's sitting on the lot and probably 2 dozen of each of the coupe and sedan version just rotting on the lot.
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Nick 4:18PM (12/01/2008)
Maybe because here in S Florida the CGT is too common. It's lost it's appeal.
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John 4:27PM (12/01/2008)
Before some of you haters start cheering that rich people can't afford their expensive cars anymore, consider this:
How many dealership employees, technicians, sales staff, and so on will be negatively affected with reduced hours or layoffs? Not the mega rich suffering but average people working for a living who are also suffering the consequences of a bad economey.
There are far too many people posting comments here that are actually glad the economey is in the tank. Wealthy or not, I think it's totally wrong to celebrate someone else's misery.
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happy_penguin 4:54PM (12/01/2008)
Yeah! save all your hate for the American automobile industry.
TJ 4:57PM (12/01/2008)
Nobody is celebrating anything here. Hop off the high horse and realize that people are allowed to make jokes, when applicable, regarding well-heeled consumers cutting back on luxury (read: superfluous) goods at the onset of a recession.
And you can save your bleeding heart for the five technicians at the local Prestige Import lot, IF they are that qualified, the local everyman's shop will hire them in an instant.
Judy Zik 7:41PM (12/01/2008)
Yes my heart is bleeding terribly for the people who have to put off the purchase of a new Bentley that costs more than most of us will pay for a house. I am sure their dealerships are absolute sweatshops too where the sales people have to fight to put 15 sales on the board and out the door a month to keep their jobs.
It must be difficult being a Bentley mechanic too. Working on all those beaten and battered vehicles covered in mud and road grime from all the abuse. I am sure the customers are all too cheap to come in for their scheduled service and fight over every bill and the mechanics hourly rate couldn't possibly be disgustingly high. Definitely feeling it.
happy_penguin 7:46PM (12/01/2008)
LOL@Judy :D :D
John 2:23PM (12/02/2008)
Judy: You are exactly the kind of idiot I am talking about....
Richard S. 6:36PM (12/01/2008)
The problem with Bentley is that they didn't copy Ferrari's modus operandi: keep supply always slightly less than demand. That way, it creates a halo of demand on your cars. Sure it would mean they would not have sold 10,000 cars in 2007 but it would mean that it is a little more exclusive.
Here in Miami, Bentley's are so obiquitous that no one turn their head anymore when they pass you.
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catchmyshadow 7:30PM (12/01/2008)
there is no problem for bentley, rich people are just a bit more careful at the moment. Porsche and VW have enough money to protect the brand, bentley is icing on the cake for them.
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spritz 11:52PM (12/01/2008)
Kind of counter to this post (and the economic situation), Bentley of Minneapolis has beat sales projections for some reason this year
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Archy 3:55PM (12/29/2008)
There were never that many rich people to buy Bentleys over the last ten years, the problem is they were being bought on finance by people with their eyes shut and their fingers in their ears in LaLa land.
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