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Honda China struggling with high-end Accord because Chinese covet German cars, too

It's not particularly unusual to see cheap cars in China, or those with designs stolen from foreign competitors, but increasingly the best-selling vehicles there would be very recognizable to just about any auto enthusiast. There appears to be one fact of life whether looking at car buyers in Sacramento, Stuttgart or Shanghai: People who can afford to buy premium cars often look first at the Germans.
Honda recently thought that it could challenge this perceived wisdom by including a premium Accord in the ninth-generation sedan's Chinese launch last year. The market-exclusive version was priced against the Audi A4. The venture failed, miserably.
According to Automotive News China, sales for the new Accord in China are down 37 percent through May of this year. Honda's overall sales are actually up by about 11 percent there on the strength of smaller, less profitable models. However, the company is still off its forecast 19-percent rise.

VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.

A dealer made a 'Urus' out of an Audi Q7 to get people excited for Lambo's SUV

Fake news seems to be catching on. In an attempt to drum up some interest in the upcoming Lamborghini Urus (the Italian SUV that hasn't been unveiled yet) the Lamborghini dealer in Nurnberg, Germany, created a Lambo-badged promotional vehicle. It seems it has fooled at least a few folks, with several outlets reporting on it as if it's a Lamborghini prototype. Of course, it's not. What you're looking at is an Audi Q7 with a camouflage wrap that includes a Lamborghini-script logo across the back and a promotional message on the side, which reads: "Der Urus kommt / Lamborghini Nurnberg." Thanks to one semester of German, we can tell you that first part means "The Urus is coming." Note, that's "is coming," not "is here." There's also something that kind of resembles a scoop on the front fender. It's also fake. It's not uncommon for automakers to put a cryptic message on the side of a test car, often with swirly camo, but this takes the idea a step further since it's not the actual car underneath. That said, the production Urus, whenever it arrives, is expected to share the Audi Q7's MLB 2 platform. So it sort of works. Kind of. Related Video: Image Credit: CarPix Audi Lamborghini Crossover SUV Luxury Performance confirmed