I think that any barometer of brand equity will be measuring where the brands were a year ago, and not a very good projection of where they will be.
The german car makes are all high on the brand scale because of the great cars they produced 5 years ago and the fact that the average person doesn’t keep up with the industry like car fans do.
My opinion is that BMW is keeping their position. Bangle has managed to prod BMW into making interesting and successful cars. Mercedes is, as always, playing it safe. They were never innovaters. Sure they developed technologies and sometimes introduced them, but only because the auto industry is typical slow to develop safety equipment. I’ve seen a few brand strategists already bemoaning the new Jetta as too vanilla. With styling that is a cross of old Jetta meets Corolla, it has successfully taken the refined and successful styling of VW and tossed it in the dust-bin. Interior wise, it has evolved…just. VW has fixed some of the bits underneath the Jetta, but I have to wonder if the switch to a gas guzzling 5 cylinder was the right choice for the America market as hybrids seem to be taking off with the rising fuel costs.
Of course, once Americans adjust to paying $4 a gallon like Canadians have, they will gladly hop back into SUV’s, or big engined imports…so maybe VW will have the last laugh.
To conclude, cordy is right about Bryce’s comment, back it up man! But also, back it up with a view from the street, not the ivory design tower.