But that's not enough these days.
The depths of the recent recession, a backlash against conspicuous consumption and cutbacks in leasing offers have taken a bite out of the conventional wisdom that luxury brands are resistant to financial downturns.
The proof isn't just in the nearly 32 percent dip in luxury auto sales, which is worse than industry-wide declines. Luxury brands now are offering incentives that rival those on pickups and sport utility vehicles and using new marketing approaches that focus on fuel efficiency.
Take Porsche, whose models start at $46,000 and top $130,000. Its average incentives, which include cash-back rebates and other deals, were $4,412 through August, according to estimates from Autodata Corp. That's up 657 percent from the like period last year.
LOW INTEREST RATE
Bentley, meanwhile, is offering 0.9 percent financing on the Bentley Continental GT luxury coupe, which starts at $180,000, said Edmunds.com auto analyst Jessica Caldwell.
``I've seen low APRs before, but 0.9 percent for Bentley -- that's more like what Chevy offers,'' Caldwell said.
South Florida is one of the nation's largest luxury car markets and area dealers have felt the effects of the recession. They say many customers are sticking with their favorite brands, but sometimes steering clear of the most luxurious models, or scaling back to a smaller vehicle.
Luxury-car shoppers are asking questions they didn't ask in the past.
``They never asked what the gas mileage is,'' said Greg Barnes, president of the Silver Arrow Group, which owns Mercedes dealerships in Coral Gables and Cutler Bay. ``Now they are saying, `Maybe I don't need the fancy sport package, but what is the gas mileage?' ''
And in a reversal of Miami's normal culture of conspicuous consumption, Barnes said, many buyers have become sensitive to what their neighbors or employees might think about an excessive display of wealth.
In a recent ad, BMW, which usually shows its powerful, nimble cars in action, instead notes that its diesel sedan is the most fuel-efficient in its class.
For more than a year now, sales of nearly every luxury auto brand have been walloped just as badly -- and in many cases worse -- than the overall industry, causing automakers to scramble to boost incentives and shift marketing strategies.
Through August, sales declined 56.9 percent for Bentley, 47.3 percent for Cadillac, 30.1 percent for Lexus, 29.2 percent for Lincoln, 25.3 percent for Mercedes-Benz and 24 percent for Ferrari.
``We've seen everything from Ferrari to Cadillac all getting hurt,'' said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research.
For the first eight months of the year, the average incentive offered to consumers was $5,836 at Jaguar, $5,258 at Mercedes, $4,917 at BMW and $4,412 at Porsche, according to estimates from Autodata Corp. By contrast, domestic automakers, which often are criticized for their high, profit-sapping incentives, offered an average incentive of $3,415 during the same period.
While power and performance are the typical hallmarks of luxury vehicles, fuel efficiency is emerging as a new hook.
BMW, long known for its ``Ultimate Driving Machine'' slogan and powerful, nimble cars, began offering a $4,500 eco-credit in August toward the purchase of its diesel sedan and SUV.
In the advertisement, BMW brags about its fuel efficiency more than performance.
PORSCHE HYBRID
Meanwhile, Porsche plans to introduce a hybrid version of its Porsche Cayenne SUV next year.
``A customer doesn't want to be blamed for driving a Porsche,'' Michael Leiters, program manager for the hybrid Cayenne, said during an interview on Autoline Detroit. ``He wants to be proud to drive a Porsche.''
Despite the setback in luxury sales, dealers and other experts said consumers still will want to move into high-end brands as the economy begins to improve and they begin feeling less anxious.
Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation reported a 26 percent drop in luxury car sales for the first half of this year, but the company is expecting a rebound over the next 12 to 24 months, vice president Marc Cannon said Friday. ``Clearly the economy affects luxury,'' he said, ``but we expect it to come back gradually.''
Miami Herald reported Scott Andron contributed to this story.
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