Beyond technology? How Bentley is reacting to the 21st century.
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True up to a point, but (one of) the British disease(s) is that we are all too keen on selling our best assets to any shifty-looking foreigner waving a well-stuffed cheque book. The economists at HM Treasury claim it is inward investment which boosts the Holy Gross Domestic Product, and so is Very Good Indeed. I'm not an economist but I beg to differ on that.
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Yes, the obnoxiousness of the design and the ''in your face'' ugliness is important for the sort of people who buy these things. ''Look at me, I have so much money that I can afford pointless shit like this.''
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Big difference between being successful and being a show-off arrogant prick when there is so much poverty around.
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Tempus --)-------
Ars Tribunus Militum
Yes, but I think it’s far easier to find places where you can experience acceleration, than where you can travel at 3 digit velocities for any length of time. Which makes acceleration the more accessible of the two experiences. I can feel that kick in the backside, every time I merge into traffic or accelerate from a stop. The same isn’t true for speeds above 100 mph unless you live in a few limited places or can afford to pay for track time.
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Tempus --)-------
Ars Tribunus Militum
No they buy it to be seen driving a Ferrari, or just having it parked in their driveway
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This is going to sound cynical as fuck, but being among the puling masses who's dirt poor, living from "paycheck to paycheck" and barely making it, the issue of Bentley is an IDGAF moment for me, personally.
Show me an everyman car that's affordable and reliable, minus all the fucking tracking and bullshit like that, and you'd sell a hell of a lot of them. Possibly even to me, but that's mostly a pipe dream at my income level.
AFAIC The fate of a car company that only the 1% can afford is strictly a 1%'ers problem. I don't see it folding causing a ripple through any economy or impacting the 99% at all. It could disappear from the world right now, and not impact the lives of pretty much everyone.
I'll save my tears for those who can't put healthy food on the table, or a roof over their heads, thanks.
Show me an everyman car that's affordable and reliable, minus all the fucking tracking and bullshit like that, and you'd sell a hell of a lot of them. Possibly even to me, but that's mostly a pipe dream at my income level.
AFAIC The fate of a car company that only the 1% can afford is strictly a 1%'ers problem. I don't see it folding causing a ripple through any economy or impacting the 99% at all. It could disappear from the world right now, and not impact the lives of pretty much everyone.
I'll save my tears for those who can't put healthy food on the table, or a roof over their heads, thanks.
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Very good point actually. And there's history to the brand, not just in an abstract "good ol' days" kind of way, but in the effect it has had on the region it produces cars in. And afaik, Bentley's aren't that much worse for the environment than most cars; it's not like yachts or something completely absurd and wasteful.
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Brit motorcycle companies in the 1960s: "Those little Japanese motorcycles are never going to be competition to us."
Brit motorcycle companies in the 1970s: Bankruptcy
Maybe they should've paid attention when they had a few years cushion to make changes.
Brit motorcycle companies in the 1970s: Bankruptcy
Maybe they should've paid attention when they had a few years cushion to make changes.
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Enough of these gadget heavy starships. W.O, would have sneered at them, and so do I. Give me a crashbox with straight cut gears, no synchromesh. REAL drivers doubleclutch their downshifts and have teamsters' muscle to horse the steering. A Blower Bentley for me! As Ettore said, 'Msieu Bentley fields the fastest truck in Europe' as a feeble comeback when I beat him.
<twirls handlebar mustache>. Are you a man, a driver....or some feeble mouse?
I grew up with Bugattis....but always wanted a swing at a Blower.....
Video of a guy driving it at LeMans....guy's really struggling
There's an old video of a full race Bugatti being driven and commented on by the GP driver John Watson, who says:
I can understand why the owners of these cars enjoy them so much...You know the more I've been driving it, the more I'm beginning to enjoy it and it actually feels like a car..... rather more than maybe the current Grand Prix cars do because they are very much more refined.
<twirls handlebar mustache>. Are you a man, a driver....or some feeble mouse?
I grew up with Bugattis....but always wanted a swing at a Blower.....
Video of a guy driving it at LeMans....guy's really struggling
There's an old video of a full race Bugatti being driven and commented on by the GP driver John Watson, who says:
I can understand why the owners of these cars enjoy them so much...You know the more I've been driving it, the more I'm beginning to enjoy it and it actually feels like a car..... rather more than maybe the current Grand Prix cars do because they are very much more refined.
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Our 2011 Jeep Liberty is almost a luddite - no screen at all. And thats just fine. I'm not anti electronic, b ut I don't want my car to be as complicated as an airliner.
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I mean, that's at least part of Morgan's sales pitch.Enough of these gadget heavy starships. W.O, would have sneered at them, and so do I. Give me a crashbox with straight cut gears, no synchromesh. REAL drivers doubleclutch their downshifts and have teamsters' muscle to horse the steering. A Blower Bentley for me! As Ettore said, 'Msieu Bentley fields the fastest truck in Europe' as a feeble comeback when I beat him.
<twirls handlebar mustache>. Are you a man, a driver....or some feeble mouse?
I grew up with Bugattis....but always wanted a swing at a Blower.....
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The depressing part of that is that when it comes to luxury cars that’s actually really cheap. Imagine driving around millions, even tens of millions or more, the lifetime earnings of many people, and not feeling ashamed of yourself
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Imagine needing to validate yourself by thinking others should be ashamed for having more money than you do.
Do you feel ashamed for having a house and a car and food to eat, versus the many who don’t?
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Yes, you do. The point is part of what they are selling is the history, the prestige, the heritage. That’s how they make those profits. If all that mattered was the object, (almost) everyone would be buying a Tesla.
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GMs are quite popular in China. The Nautilus sold in North America is actually made in China.
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GM's were quite popular in China. Their sales there have declined year on year since a peak in 2017 and the rate of decline is accelerating.
They're now less than half what they used to be and the market has grown considerably. They're down around 3-4% of the market now and nobody sees that reversing as Chinese brands dominate the market.
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Are you serious? Mechanical timepieces are majorly in vogue. GQ does recurring columns about them and interviews, the secondary market is on fire, and Acquired did four hours on Rolex. We might just inhabit different interest spheres, but from where I sit it’s on fire. I have multiple nice watches (not crazy nice but classy) and get lots of comments on them (and I’m in my 30’s FWIW).
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"Not to be arrogant, but let me wax arrogantly poetic for a minute"
I love it. Just say it: the brand is a status symbol. And the thing is, I think they're kidding themselves. Their market is going to grow ever smaller, IMO, because the young adults, teens, and kids growing up now who are Bentley's potential customers probably don't know they exist. And by the time their old and well-heeled enough to care, there will be many more and more interesting options to choose from. The brand can't be a status symbol if you don't stand out from the crowd, and the crowd's improving and growing year by year.
They don't seem to be completely sitting on their laurels like Tesla has been, and they don't have the baggage of a Nazi owner, so maybe they have a chance. But they could easily miss it.
Also, the immature kid in me totally wants a Hongqui now, just so I can say "Yeah I drive a Honkey".
I love it. Just say it: the brand is a status symbol. And the thing is, I think they're kidding themselves. Their market is going to grow ever smaller, IMO, because the young adults, teens, and kids growing up now who are Bentley's potential customers probably don't know they exist. And by the time their old and well-heeled enough to care, there will be many more and more interesting options to choose from. The brand can't be a status symbol if you don't stand out from the crowd, and the crowd's improving and growing year by year.
They don't seem to be completely sitting on their laurels like Tesla has been, and they don't have the baggage of a Nazi owner, so maybe they have a chance. But they could easily miss it.
Also, the immature kid in me totally wants a Hongqui now, just so I can say "Yeah I drive a Honkey".
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History. Prestige. Huh.
How many people that buy a Bentley, or a Rolls, are aware of the history of the company? The engineers that designed and built a Bentley were the same people that designed the Merlin double overhead cam four valve pentroof head 60 degree V12. For the Spitfire. In the fucking 1930's.
I am aware of what they've done. But EIGHT HUNDRED FUCKING THOUSAND DOLLARS? For a CAR? So, I could buy a Camry with 50,000 miles for $16,000. It's a nice vanilla car with a good stereo. The Camry drives well. But so does the Bentley. The Bentley has more power, but the Camry is lighter. Depending on who is driving, the Camry might be faster.
Almost everyone else would buy a Tesla? That's fucking bold. I can buy a nice car for $40,0000. Or I can buy a Tesla for $70,000 and up. What do I get for the extra money? Poor build quality. The suspension needs work. A Tesla is really expensive junk.
No one that is considering buying a Bentley would EVER consider buying a Tesla. Unless it was for the maid.
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First, everyone is shoving screens all-the-frick-everywhere in cars. I recently drove a Spectre and the screen was omnipresent with that gorgeous clock pushed to the side.
I think Bentley did an admirable job of melding the two worlds with the rotating bit. Here’s your fidgety screen—here’s your foppish clock—here’s some pretty wood.
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BobbyBobberson
Ars Scholae Palatinae
A car that can go 200mph feels better at 80 than cars that can only go 120.
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Bentley owner here. While I do love my Bentayga, I long for a pure EV Bentley. Electrification perfectly suits the brand, oozing power, smoothness, and reliability.
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For me the real lede was buried at the very end of the article. The transition to EVs is driven by policy, not by consumer demand. And so, now that we have a bunch of right wing maniac conservatives in charge, automakers' 5-year-targets become 25-year-targets.
Not that I'm a car owner anyway, but it makes me incredibly sad to read that.
Not that I'm a car owner anyway, but it makes me incredibly sad to read that.
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God. The rear end on that Bentley is horrifically ugly. I wouldn't fuck that car.
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The “affordable” segment might go away, but there will always be a market for rich people to spend ridiculous amounts of money on a car with perceived values.
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I dunno the plethora of dials on old school Boeing 707’s seem complicated, considering they need a flight engineer in addition to the 2 pilots.
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You rather those tens of millions not be spent and get hoarded instead doing no good to anyone?
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Did you drive the new hybrid? The absolute instantaneous kick in the seat of the electric paired with the hear-I-come V8 is pretty cool. It was almost enough to snag me, but I wanted the last of the 12 cylinders.
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Clearly, the Bentley spokesperson have never heard of the Chinese car brand Hongqi. They are the exclusive manufacturer of the President's vehicles. In fact, President Xi just gave one to President Modi as a gift.
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I don't think those British automakers had a choice ... it was either "go bankrupt and fade into the history books" or "sell at a discount to foreign investors". It was a matter of pure survival.
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Why anyone would want ICE in any car, especially this one is beyond stupid.
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Western Europe and East Asia? That’s an awful big limit…
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Speaking of Triumph, I just saw a Triumph TR-7 on the road. I spoke to the driver, who said he bought it 25 years ago from the original owner. It's one of the great "wedge shaped" cars of the era, and he said people think it is a new-model car he just bought!
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None of the "luxury segment" (gag) has anything to do with technology. Its sole, very lucrative product is status, sustained entirely by hype. The Bentley, the Berkin, the Rolex… How long a list would you like? The value of an any grotesquely overpriced product lies entirely in its price tag. That's its sole relevance. There is no there there.
A Bentley is built of propaganda, not steel. The car itself couldn't be less relevant to the product. In contrast to the way the American auto industry failed to survive the Japanese, if Bentley wants to survive the Chinese, it should eliminate its vehicles entirely and convince its victims to spend half a million dollars on a hat sporting its hood ornament. There's really no need to produce a car or anything else. Tangibility is a liability.
Under capitalism, the ideal product is one that doesn't exist beyond people's willingness to pay for it. The perfect product isn't a thing, it's a feeling, preferably one with no basis in reality. God, for example, is among the greatest marketing successes in human history. Money (his direct descendent) even more so.
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The sole point of the $250,000 car is its price tag. The car and its purported function couldn't be less relevant. This is capitalism. Not only is there no there there, there mustn't be. Actual products are a liability which defeats the entire purpose of marketing: to sell as little as possible for the highest imaginable price. Value doesn't exist except as price. Actual, tangible existence is a marketing liability.
The perfect product is one with no real world existence whatsoever. Consider money. Or God. Now that's a product.
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I don't know if you are aware of this, but there was also a TR-8. The same car as the TR-7, but with a Buick designed aluminum V8. Yea. Even in the late '70s Triumph cars were so low production they could be considered rare. Today, I have seen only one Triumph car in decades, a TR-6. There's a guy in the same town as me that owns it. I haven't had an opportunity to talk to him about the car yet, but I will. It's a small town.
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