Sorry for this late reply, but:

- Jack Trout is not a marketing guru, he is basically THE marketing guru.
- His works are dominated by perception-positioning axe.
- Basically a company can be succesfull if it diferentiate itself from the rest and projects an image/identity into people's heads.
- This image must underlay the company's streanths and weaknesses.
- Ofcourse expansion is necesary but not at the expense of ones image. Take Caddys Cimaron example.
- It doesn't matter what and how X5 and 1er are, as long as people see them as true bimmers and buy them ofcourse.
- By bluring, destroying this image a company/brand basically commits suicide.
- So what really pisses him off is that MB has gone from "enginered like no other" to "everything to everyone" = nothing.
- yep, there are more problems, but to him good /very/ goodgreat products, good leadership and so on help, but first and foremost people's perception. Example the failure of the Phaeton and T-reg in USA.