[vasudeva]

First rule of comparison, do not compare apples to oranges. MB figures include Smart, but BMW figures given by me do not include Mini.

Of course, MB is doing well in Jan-Feb 2008 as quoted by you. The figure I quoted was for passenger cars. In passenger cars in Europe, BMW sold 53589, whereas MB sold 58991. Of course, in the US, MB trails Lexus by a significant amount. Shocker: It also trails BMW. Another shocker: It trails Lexus and BMW not only in cars but also in overall sales. Perhaps the US consumers are not aware of MB's virtues and perception is lagging reality.

In developing countries where people are enamored by the brand (as they should be), MB is a status symbol. MB also sells in all the 2-bit countries where BMW or Lexus are not present.

But look at the markets where it has competition, and then see where it stands. Trails in the US and losing share in Europe. These 2 markets account for around 50% of world car sales.

Perhaps things have improved in 2008. But that shall be known only in 2009-10 when these cars have put some mileage. As of now, pre-2007 MBs are mostly good to drive but mostly clunkers.