up-market 5-Series sedans
今朝はこのニュースで一挙に目が覚めました。ToyataやGMに続いて，BMWがエンジンのねじの不具合（fault）によるリコールを世界に拡大したそうです。我がF10dはどうなのでしょうか。
BMW Widens Recall to 489,000 Autos on Engine-Bolt Fault
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), the largest maker of luxury cars, is recalling 489,000 vehicles worldwide due to a possible engine-bolt defect, widening a repair program that was initiated in China.
No accidents or injuries have been reported related to the fault in some six-cylinder engines, Bernhard Santer, a spokesman for the Munich-based manufacturer, said today by phone. Vehicles affected include 156,000 cars in North America, as well as 232,098 autos in China that were announced for recall within the past month.
Recalls are increasing worldwide as regulators tighten scrutiny and carmakers seek to avoid harm to their reputations after questions about whether flaws are disclosed soon enough.
Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) issued its second-biggest recall announcement earlier this month. General Motors Co. (GM) said yesterday it anticipates taking a first-quarter charge of $1.3 billion primarily for the cost of recall-related repairs.
“What we’re seeing these days is a culture change in the automotive industry,” said Christoph Stuermer, lead analyst for PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Autofacts forecasting service. “The general quality of cars has improved significantly. But manufacturers are increasingly recalling vehicles as a precautionary measure.”
5-Series Sedan
BMW fell 0.3 percent to 90.21 euros in Frankfurt trading. The stock has gained 31 percent over the past 12 months, valuing the manufacturer at 57.9 billion euros ($80.4 billion).
Most of BMW’s lineup is available with six-cylinder engines, including cars such as the top-of-the-line 7-Series and up-market 5-Series sedans and the X3 and X5 sport-utility vehicles. Santer didn’t provide details on the models being called in for repairs.
In affected cars, a light may come on advising the driver to have the engine checked, Santer said. The vehicle can still be driven to the nearest repair garage with reduced engine power, he said.
GM is recalling 2.59 million vehicles to fix potentially faulty ignition switches following incidents that caused cars to lose power, including accidents linked to at least 13 deaths.
Detroit-based GM is being investigated by U.S. authorities over questions of why the notice took place years after the flaw was first detected.
The company has suspended two engineers from the team that worked on the components.
記事には注目するようなフレーズはさしてありませんが，up(-)market 5-Series sedansのup-marketをレビューしておきましょう。これは「高級品市場向けの, 高所得層向けの」という意味でしたね（cf. up(-)scale, down(-)market）。
日本では４００万円以上のクラスを「高級車」と一般には呼んでいますが，最近のクルマ雑誌ではsegmentという欧州の分類が用いられていて，up(-)marketはEかF segment以上のクルマを指すと思います。
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/セグメント_(自動車)
ただ日本市場のBMWは欧米と比べ，店頭価格に２００万円以上の差があるので，「高級車」といわれてもピンとはきません。１千万円以上の燃費も気にしないような人々が乗るのがup(-)marketのsegemnetでしょう。
今のところ連絡はありませんが，ともかく来週はドキドキ，ハラハラの１週間になりそう。（UG）
