BMW leaves Mercedes in the dust

Even though Mercedes-Benz posted record sales in September, it fell behind its biggest rival. BMW announced Friday that September sales were up 11.4 percent overall, with sales of its core BMW brand up 13.5 percent.
DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes Car Group was only able to score a gain of 4.9 percent in September, partly because of a 20 percent drop in sales at Smart.

Year-to-date, Mercedes unit sales have grown less than 1 percent, while BMW sales show a gain of 11.4 percent, largely driven by the popular new 1-Series (pictured).