The most interesting fight in the car business to us these days is the battle between the new Lexus IS-series and the BMW 3-series, etc.
The reason we are so interested is because there is SO much on the line here.
If Lexus can overturn the momentum that the 3-series has built all these years, the import car business may be forever changed.
You've seen all the ads, comparos, press releases and forum/blog comments covering this holy war.
But the Spies want to know 'Where's the beef?'
Is the new IS meting sales expectations and giving BMW fits like we predicted it would?
Even though the car has only been in dealers for about eight weeks, we can tell you that the new IS could potentially end up being the homerun of the century.
Dealers are reporting to us that they are FLYING off the shelves!
And, in our random sampling of BMW dealer salespeople and sales managers, the Spies are hearing that in almost EVERY 3-series deal they're negotiating, the customer is weighing the decision against the IS.
The bad news for BMW is that the new IS250/350 are starting to make real headway in the USA, against their most important product line.
So much so that BMW artificially amplified their lease residuals for November to fend off the attacks.
We'll keep you posted because Lexus may be winning today's battle, but we'll see in the end who will win the war.
Either way, this thing sure is exciting!