Profile of S-Class Buyer

[JohnH4260]

Information on the average annual income of the 2007 S-Class buyer. Source: http://www.autobytel.com/content/sha...le_id_int/1075 "Mercedes says the typical buyer of the completely redesigned 2007 S-Class pulls down around $300,000 a year. With a base price of just over $86,000 and with loaded models selling for six figures, you would think sightings of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class would be about as rare as seeing Paris Hilton in the camping aisle at Wal-Mart..."

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[JohnH4260]

Additional information about American, European and Asian car buyers. Source: http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...A01-280996.htm


Domestic Car Buyer Profile 2005
Mean Age: 51
% with college degree: 45
Mean Income: $85,000

European Car Buyer Profile 2005
Mean Age: 48
% with college degree: 75
Mean Income: $158,000

Japanese Car Buyer Profile 2005
Mean Age: 49
% with college degree: 63
Mean Income: $97,000

Korean Car Buyer Profile2005
Mean Age: 49
% with college degree: 43
Mean Income: $63,000

[JohnH4260]

The Luxury Consumer. Who are they? Source: http://www.luxuryinstitute.com/about/consumer.html

Top 10% of wealthiest U.S. Households
Approximately 11 million households
Own 70% of all wealth in the U.S.
Average net worth of $3.1 million
Average annual income of $256,000
Earn 45% of the aggregate annual income in the U.S.
For most luxury goods and services firms, these are the 20% or less of clients who deliver 80% of the profits

[JohnH4260]

Who is the primary buyer of the 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550?
Source: http://www.autoweb.com/content/share...le_id_int/1075

Mercedes-Benz marketers don’t expect the demographics for the new S-Class to change, meaning that the average buyer is male, 55 years of age, and possesses a household income totaling around $300,000 a year.

[usctrojans1]

Interesting stuff.

[cjf_moraga]

What is it about this endless interest in the income of S-Class buyers? Two parallel threads now in 24 hours... OK you have/are considering a new S-Class ...you have to be on a good salary or have significant assets - we all got it...

Data like this tells you nothing.. the "average" figure has no bearing on the distribution of individual incomes... there will be a unrepresentative number of huge multi-million $$$ annual incomes and equally some who are a lot lower than $300K... these figures are as arbitrary and unrepresentative as is the stereotype that you are a 55 year old middle aged buyer... gasp!

Can we talk about the cars now?

Chris

[WSH]

Data is fairly meaningless....about as absurd as JD Powers data...

For obvious reasons, many affluent people don't waste their time filling out silly marketing surveys.....

Most marketers (and journalists) aren't smart enough to understand concepts like statistical significance, sampling bias, etc...they don't hand out certain jobs (or cars) to just anyone....

And many co. owners, etc often have (purposefully) low W-2 incomes...but substantial assets/gains in various more tax-efficient/tax-deferred forms...most truly affluent would struggle to define their annual income and/or net worth w/much precision anyway.....

[absent]

Originally Posted by WSH

And many co. owners, etc often have (purposefully) low W-2 incomes...but substantial assets/gains in various more tax-efficient/tax-deferred forms...most truly affluent would struggle to define their annual income and/or net worth w/much precision anyway.....

Funny,just had a conversation with my 10 y old son who asked about my income and I honestly could not give him an exact answer...

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by WSH

Data is fairly meaningless....about as absurd as JD Powers data...

For obvious reasons, many affluent people don't waste their time filling out silly marketing surveys.....

Not sure if the annual income figures come from marketing surveys as much as the actual credit applications (even if you're paying cash I suppose)

Originally Posted by WSH

Most marketers (and journalists) aren't smart enough to understand concepts like statistical significance, sampling bias, etc...they don't hand out certain jobs (or cars) to just anyone....

And many co. owners, etc often have (purposefully) low W-2 incomes...but substantial assets/gains in various more tax-efficient/tax-deferred forms...most truly affluent would struggle to define their annual income and/or net worth w/much precision anyway.....

Good points.

[trumpet1]

Originally Posted by WSH

And many co. owners, etc often have (purposefully) low W-2 incomes...but substantial assets/gains in various more tax-efficient/tax-deferred forms...most truly affluent would struggle to define their annual income and/or net worth w/much precision anyway.....

I'm glad you wrote this because it describes me to a tee. I honestly can never answer that question because I honestly don't know what my salary is. LOL

Not that I don't care, it's just I haven't examined it that close.

[NZ_Benz]

Originally Posted by WSH

Most marketers (and journalists) aren't smart enough to understand concepts like statistical significance, sampling bias, etc...they don't hand out certain jobs (or cars) to just anyone....

I'm doing marketing at university; a reasonable part of the degree is devoted to statistical methods. I don't know what your universities are up to then.

[absent]

Originally Posted by NZ_Benz

I'm doing marketing at university; a reasonable part of the degree is devoted to statistical methods. I don't know what your universities are up to then.

Our universities are taken over by ageing hippies from the 60s and generally are up to nothing really good or useful,definitely not worth the high tuitions they command (so called Ivy League or rather "poison ivy").

[srice]

Originally Posted by cjf_moraga

What is it about this endless interest in the income of S-Class buyers? Two parallel threads now in 24 hours... OK you have/are considering a new S-Class ...you have to be on a good salary or have significant assets - we all got it...

Data like this tells you nothing.. the "average" figure has no bearing on the distribution of individual incomes... there will be a unrepresentative number of huge multi-million $$$ annual incomes and equally some who are a lot lower than $300K... these figures are as arbitrary and unrepresentative as is the stereotype that you are a 55 year old middle aged buyer... gasp!

Can we talk about the cars now?

Chris

AMEN!!!!!

[WSH]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

Not sure if the annual income figures come from marketing surveys as much as the actual credit applications (even if you're paying cash I suppose)

Good points.

Lots of centimillionaires/billionaires $0-down lease their cars (for most guys, it's the most capital-/tax-efficient approach)....always amusing when MB Credit (or any leasing arm of a car mfr) asks for an annual income....guys just claim some annual income that sounds respectable; one's credit history is readily available, so precise determination of actual (or tax-reported) annual income is fairly useless anyway....

Is interesting that creditworthy guys can drive off in a new $200K MB w/a $0-down lease, with a few $K drive-off (often can put that amt on one's credit card as well)....but guys often buy $100K+ Pateks w/a credit card....and don't need to even fill out a silly credit app each time, unlike a repeat MB buyer....gotta love our efficient/Darwinian capital/credit mkts....as our current mortgage/real estate mess illustrates, not all financiers or consumers are equally smart....

[WSH]

Originally Posted by NZ_Benz

I'm doing marketing at university; a reasonable part of the degree is devoted to statistical methods. I don't know what your universities are up to then.

Problem is most people may take classes in stats, etc (and even receive good grades)...but many fail to apply even basic logic/knowledge when faced w/many scenarios in real world....

Have always argued some guys are "smart" (perhaps high IQ; earn high grades at Stanford engineering/Wharton finance, etc but often have lackluster career success) but some are "shrewd", i.e., not necessarily incredibly smart; perhaps didn't attend most prestigious schools/get good grades, but able to quickly/accurately analyze and bet on real-world situations w/incomplete info: skills needed in many competitive careers/businesses....IMO, the most impressive guys in competitive, dynamic industries are those who are both smart and shrewd, as verified by their career progression/accomplishments (and net worth vs age)....

[tanktube67]

Originally Posted by cjf_moraga

What is it about this endless interest in the income of S-Class buyers? Two parallel threads now in 24 hours... OK you have/are considering a new S-Class ...you have to be on a good salary or have significant assets - we all got it...

Data like this tells you nothing.. the "average" figure has no bearing on the distribution of individual incomes... there will be a unrepresentative number of huge multi-million $$$ annual incomes and equally some who are a lot lower than $300K... these figures are as arbitrary and unrepresentative as is the stereotype that you are a 55 year old middle aged buyer... gasp!

Can we talk about the cars now?

Chris

^+1

I think is your human to know who's more powerfull

[JohnH4260]

Forbes did a comparison in 2007 of the demographic information of luxury car buyers. The brands with the highest household income (HHI) are shown below. The average HHI of a ForbesAutos user is $187,215. The average buyer age is 41; 81% are male and 19% female.

Top 10 Luxury Vehicles and Average Household Income:

Cars
Porsche $187,705
Mercedes-Benz $162,824
Jaguar $150,587
BMW $148,992
Lexus $141,355
Audi $153,746
Saab $134,315
Infiniti $128,753
Volvo $133,545
Acura $118,830
Average HHI: $146,065

[usctrojans1]

Originally Posted by JohnH4260

Forbes did a comparison in 2007 of the demographic information of luxury car buyers. The brands with the highest household income (HHI) are shown below. The average HHI of a ForbesAutos user is $187,215. The average buyer age is 41; 81% are male and 19% female.

Top 10 Luxury Vehicles and Average Household Income:

Cars
Porsche $187,705
Mercedes-Benz $162,824
Jaguar $150,587
BMW $148,992
Lexus $141,355
Audi $153,746
Saab $134,315
Infiniti $128,753
Volvo $133,545
Acura $118,830
Average HHI: $146,065

What is the difference between ForbesAutos users HHI of $187,215 and the average HHI of 146,065?

[JohnH4260]

Originally Posted by usctrojans1

What is the difference between ForbesAutos users HHI of $187,215 and the average HHI of 146,065?

The ForbesAutos User refers to those who use the www.ForbesAutos.com website, while the average HHI of $146,065 refers to the average income of those who purchased the 10 vehicles on the list shown above.

[JohnH4260]

Top 10 Most Popular Luxury Vehicles in the 4th Quarter of 2007.

1. 2009 BMW M3 Coupe: New to the list
2. Mercedes-Benz S-Class: 3rd Quarter - No.1
3. 2009 Jaguar XF: New to the list
4. BMW 3 Series Sedan: 3rd Quarter - No.2
5. Porsche Cayman: New to the list
6. 2009 Audi A4: New to the list
7. BMW 7 Series Sedan: 3rd Quarter - No.3
8. BMW 3 Series Coupe: 3rd Quarter - No.7
9. Mercedes-Benz C-Class: New to the list
10. BMW X5: 3rd Quarter - No.8

[JohnH4260]

Based on DuPont Automotive rankings of the most popular automobile colors in North America, here’s what color reveals about a car owners’ personality.

Silver: Elegant, loves futuristic looks, cool
White: Fastidious
Vibrant Red: Sexy, speedy, high-energy and dynamic
Light to Mid-Blue: Cool, calm, faithful, quiet
Dark Blue: Credible, confident, dependable
Taupe/Light Brown: Timeless, basic and simple tastes
Black: Empowered, not easily manipulated, loves elegance, appreciates classics
Neutral Gray: Sober, corporate, practical, pragmatic
Dark Green: Traditional, trustworthy, well-balanced
Bright Yellow-Green: Trendy, whimsical, lively
Yellow Gold: Intelligent, warm, loves comfort and will pay for it
Sunshine Yellow: Sunny disposition, joyful and young at heart
Deep Brown: Down-to-earth, no-nonsense
Orange: Fun loving, talkative, fickle and trendy
Deep Purple: Creative, individualistic, original

[JohnH4260]

Mercedes-Benz sales figures for first 3 quarters of 2007.

[JohnH4260]

Luxury car sales based on price (first 3 Quarters 2007).

[tanktube67]

Good info John

[JohnH4260]

U.S. Market Premium Car Sales From 2002 to 2006