No, I would never go as far as making such a claim. Though I have to say that the CGT has made Bentley a part of the pop culture. The CL is better in almost all aspects but there will be those who don't appretiate fine craftmanship and will opt for the CGT instead, just for the badge.

With the Continental, I think the car itself has not devalued the Bentley brand because it is a superbly engineered car. However, I think some of the comments about the price point of the new Bentley have overemphasized the affordability of the Continental. Oops, my mistake. They call it accessibility instead of affordability.

Part of the appeal of the Continental is that it is more accessible to new buyers, younger buyers. I just think that this accessibility factor - hell, I'll call it affordable - has been over-emphasized by the marketing men. Affordable is a descriptor that ought to go with the people's car. Bentley is not a people's car so I hope the marketing staff ease off. This is merely my opinion, maybe an extreme one at that.

On the other hand, I think the mediocre A and B-Class Mercedes have devalued their brand. The B-Class is too affordable. It starts at $30,000 and the one my friend drives isn't particularly good. If Bentley goes down this road, then all bets about devaluation are off.

To be honest I think the continental is as low as Bentley can go, possiblely too low!

It's crazy the amount of GTs, Flying Spurs, and I have seen a few GTCs around. It's not special when I see one now, and I have to keep reminding myself how expensive they are. I think they have been priced too low, but I suppose it's a business and they want to make as much money as possible.

I just hope Rolls Royce don't price this new model too low!

HUH??

It is precisely the aspect of craftsmanship where the Bentley outdoes the Mercedes.

The Bentley, like the Mercedes, is predominately a machine-made product, but the Bentley does offer a level off hand-made refinement (its interior) that the Mercedes does not.

The CL is an extremely high quality car, but it does also feel very "production line" -- even the DESIGNO interior options do not overcome that fact.

The Bentley Continental's interior does feel quite special compared to most other luxury cars, although it does not quite capture the kind of bespoke atmosphere of older Rolls and Bentley cars.

Although the Mercedes in undoubtedly the better vehicle overall, it really depends on individual tastes and requirements. Some drivers might find the CL's technical "toys" a little bit unnecessary, the Bentley is hardly low tech anyway, and is also an extremely good car.

I think we need to respect the Bentley brand for more than just its exclusive image. Mercedes sells 100,000 S classes a year -- does it taint the image of Mercedes? ....of course not.

If Bentley are producing a high quality product that consumers want to buy, then I don't have any problem with them being more popular than older models.

My father sold his Arnage and now drives a Flying Spur. He certainly doesn't feel like he has gone down market with it. I think if long-term Bentley owners are happy to drive Continentals, then there is obviously no problem with it as far as brand image is concerned.

I didn't know your father had a Bentley Rob!

I get what you're saying but, people buy these cars because they are exclusive, when you're spending this kind of money I don't think you want to see another one. That's why I think it's good that Ferrari has limited the product to 5000!

To some extent I can't blame your father for switching to an FS. Although the Arnage is adorable it is technologically out dated. After all it has been on the market for 9 years. A successor can't be launched soon enough.