Bloomberg tries to nail business angle, misses reality

Doron Levin over at Bloomberg.com counts down the ten most important new vehicles for automakers' bottom lines in 2005. Some he hits on well, Ford Fusion, Hummer H3, Saturn Sky and BMW 3 Series, but others make us wonder what spy photos (or official ones by now) he's looking at. He starts off with the Honda Ridgeline. Maybe it is important to the company's bottom line but does anyone believe it will succeed when the Nissan Titan hasn't? He then mentions the Lexus RX400H as a big deal for Toyota. I don't think so. It'll sell great and exceed demand. The real worry for Toyota is the new Avalon that might draw people away from the Ford Five Hundred but that's about it. And the big gaff that spurred me to post was the mention of "fresh, imaginative designs from competition from the likes of Lexus, Mercedes and even Cadillac," to counter Lincoln's attempt at a renaissance with the Zephyr. Um… Lexus and Mercedes are fresh and imaginative? And you throw in Cadillac? Other way around my friend (new SLK and Lexus SC the lone exceptions).