HOW Did Bentley Win Over The New Wannabes And Has Now Gone Back To Being An Old Man Car SO FAST?

I think a motor trend head 2 head review of the S Cabriolet and Continental summer it up best, the Continental was based on the “supposed” best car in the world at the time a Volkswagen Phaeton, while the S is based on the best car in the world now, the S class

The Bentley much like the Rolls SUV have less presence than their sedan counterparts and are already out performed in the most competitive sector of The auto industry period, you can’t put those sad examples out in a world full of Navigators, Escalades, G Wagons/GLS, Land Rovers, and Cayennes, the bentayga and rolls were hugely disappointing to me

Elephant in the room ----- Bentayga.

The Bentley SUV is a DUD. It is hugely based on the corporate platform shared with Touareg/Q7/Cayenne. AND it also looks A LOT like those other SUVs as well. DESIGN FAIL. It's nothing special to the ultra-luxury market.

M-B & BMW are basically laughing at VW for such a bad decision. VW basically pulled a GM-Cadillac/Ford-Lincoln/Toyota-Lexus move that just poorly handled. I'm assuming Bentley corporate arrogance got in the way of making the rational decisions.

Maybe I have a lot to say b/c I personally like Bentley over Rolls. But I'd definitely purchase the Cullinan if I could.

Wanabees, different from old men with money, travel in packs chasing the latest "it" thing that's hot to try to prove to others they have arrived or are hip, now and one with the times. Old men with money are more comfortable with themselves, their choices and remain loyal to brands that reflect their life style. The Wanabees have moved from full size Hummers, to Cadillac Escalades, to Bentleys, and now to whatever is hot like the Tesla or new Navigator. Wanabees make purchases based on the now factor while old men with money make purchases based on what went before but has been refreshed whether it be cars, fashion, jewelry, etc.

Apparently their customers are into Porsches and Teslas now.

https://www.motor1.com/news/298471/bentley-porsche-tesla-sales/

The fact is all luxury brands are losing business to Tesla. And if you buy a 911 vs a Continental, I don't think you were ever serious about the Bentley. You are not their customer. I think the new Continental is a knock out and a fabulous car inside and out. The Flying Spur is better now and the Mulsanne is exactly what it is supposed to be and looks the part. Rule Britannia!

The Mulsanne screams Oldsmobile. The Bentiguan is for elderly people. The Continental looks fat and dated.

The Continental went 5 years too long with the same styling and then doing a new one that looks just like the old one makes the datedness of the styling even more passe.

People with money are not brand loyal. They are trend loyal. if having a Tesla makes them trendy, they will drive a Tesla. I think they will shift to the Taycan.

Bentley needs to very quickly replace the Bentiguan witha 3 row, upright, patrician SUV and ditch the stupid name.

@MD- The Bentayga may attract lots of haters, but I have seen three tooling around in my area in the last month or so. Crazy money, but somebody is buying them. The new Continental is leaned out and tight replacing the old beluga styled model (thankfully). The Mulsanne isn't for everyone just like the Phantom isn't. It appeals to the right crowd for this sale, the 1% of 1%.

The Bentiguan simply hasn't been the sales success they were hoping for,

The W12 Bentayga is regularily offered with like gigantic cash on the hood - $20K, $30K, $40K. Not helping matters is that Bentley just rolled out the new V8 Bentayga (same engine as the Lambo Urus in a detuned form and as Panamera/Cayenne) for about $60-70K less than the W12 - starting at about $180,000.

Bentley's biggest sin has been their slavish devotion to their stupid, 20 year old W12 engine - which sounds like a Buick V6 when rev'd - and the cost/overhead it adds to the Bentley lineup. If they were smart, like Mercedes, they would launch the volume models at a decent price point with the cheaper (but still fantastic) powertrain and then differentiate the W12 on the top end for those who want it.

The vast majority of Luxury buyers don't really care about a V12/W12 - they just want the wood, leather, colors, and chrome.

you need to learn how to spell you dumbass

@MD I think they are looking for sales and not just the SUV. In 2007 before the crash they were doing 4000 units a year in the USA. Last year they did 2,480. I don't think a smaller SUV fits the brand. But a Mulsanne level SUV for $500k could find some buyers perhaps.

Also wannabees who bought Betleys went into shock after learning that standard maintenance costs $3,000 annually..."I'll never do that again, I could buy a used Rolex or Prada handbag for that kind of money and it will last for years!"

A fine car simply should not cost a fortune to maintain. If it is high quality, it should NOT need $3K of servicing a year.

I have a late-model Bentley CGT cabriolet I bought for 1/2 price when it was 3 years old with 4,000 miles on it. I was shocked the first time I took it in for service and it cost $3,000 (with no problems). Its a nice vehicle though - I just don't know why anyone would need to have a new one and I REALLY do not understand why anyone would want a Bentayga. The Bentayga, in the flesh, looks like a fancy Q7. The "fanciness" that Bentley ladled onto it is almost comical. The Bentayga is a buffoon's car.

As it is a VW, I am waiting to find screws and plastic bits that have fallen off and are rolling around in the passenger foot well. Didn't see any yet.

It starts with Management and Bentley has some of the worst management in the Ultra Luxury sector... It is where old VW executives go to die or flashy and extremely tacky management go to prove there man bits are bigger than they are. Think Mark Del Rosso with his guido clothing and wife half his age, to him anything shiny is worth owning. Egomaniac managers that have no exposure to the people that buy Bentleys, but think they have all the answers bring you products like the Bentayga, the Q7 that knows someone, and that is being kind. The Continental product line is so old and tired that it is impossible to resurrect the product with a style makeover... (next generation) Bentley used to be the ballsy but stylish rich man's product, now it is a product has-been... the "all new" products are nothing to write home about, so more years of decline, Bentayga is such a colossal fail that Bentley the brand is unlikely to be anything that the "It" crowd will want a for the foreseeable, future...Bentley, had so much promise, rugged super luxury, not rebadged and thinly tarted up VW based product... If R-R get aggressive in their styling, they can be the new Bentley in the crowd, but with BMW managing the product, it is unlikely Rolls-Royce & Bentley will really be much more than an afterthought to people that really have money and want something that is a reflection of good taste not just a lump of chromed up BMW & VW products.