U.S. Luxury Brands Falling Behind

This shouldn't surprise anyone who keeps an eye on the auto industry.

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MW and Mercedes-Benz are the top-selling luxury brands in the U.S., and Audi is gaining fast.

Despite a turbulent 2011 and 2012, Japanese luxury brands are in second in the luxury arms race, while the two American luxury brands--Cadillac and Lincoln--are struggling to keep up.

This shouldn't surprise anyone who keeps an eye on the auto industry. Cadillac lost its way in '80s and '90s, and despite releasing a bunch of strong new products over the past half-decade or so, the damage from the previous era has yet to fully be undone. A Cadillac spokesman also told the Detroit News that the brand's sales also suffered due to the discontinuation of the STS and DTS models, which will be replaced by the XTS.

Lincoln, meanwhile, has floundered in the past few years, to the point that Ford has begun a makeover of the brand. That initiative just began, however, so it will take time before it either succeeds or fails. 

Meanwhile, the German automakers are filling just about every possible product segment, and the Japanese makes are turning out several major new or improved models.

The competition among luxury makes is heating up. Maybe this recession is finally a thing of the past?