Liechtenstein Top Ten Sales By Brand : 1985-94

The Opel Vectra replaced the Ascona in 1988

For these ten years, VW and Opel maintained one and two positions throughout. The Japanese offensive on the Top 10 seemed to have peaked, while premium marques were doing better.

Each column after the brand counts the years from 1985 to 1994 with sales listed for the Top 10 of that year. So in 1985 VW sold 293 cars and Fiat made 10th spot with 75 sales.

	Rk	Brand	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94
	1	VW	293	350	340	292	325	292	227	312	280	304
	2	Opel	198	207	226	201	198	217	190	198	233	209
	3	Renault	130	119	132	105	103	104		115	137	141
	4	Toyota	110	133	136	175	161	170	155	131	114	121
	5	Ford	104	125	132	114	130	132	124	116	105	116
	6	Audi	147	102	132	106	115	87	110	127	94	102
	7	Mercedes	103	111	93	90	142	100	83	74	73	82
	8	BMW	76		130	148	116	142	98	127	93	80
	9	Mazda		90				96	80			71
	10	Nissan			93		69		78	68	72	55
		Subaru	91	101	119	121	93	77	81	82	72
		Fiat	75	77		93

Data source: Statistical Office of Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein Top Ten Sales By Brand : 1975-84

They say small things amuse small minds. Then my mind must be minuscule as the Liechtenstein car market is about as small as they come. Between the dates here under consideration, no brand could crack the 300 sales level and total sales were always under 1,900.

The loyalty of Liechtensteiners to VW cannot be questioned, as they have remained the top selling make through to 2015. Opel was second for much of this time shown below. Japanese car importers were doing increasingly well, with Subaru a surprisingly popular choice.

Audi is listed here but at that time, it was a mixture of makes that eventually became one under the Audi logo. It included DKW, Auto Union and NSU as well.

Each column after the brand counts the years from 1975 to 1984 with sales listed for the Top 10 of that year. So in 1975 VW sold 151 cars and Alfa Romeo made 10th spot with 45 sales.

	Rk	Brand	75	76	77	78	79	80	81	82	83	84
	1	VW	151	225	269	288	245	283	265	275	216	280
	2	Opel	73	110	136	172	164	154	128	212	158	219
	3	BMW	89	80	88	120	116	164	115	138	116	132
	4	Ford	69	116	168	175	141	148	179	120	135	105
	5	Toyota	47	61	80	116	84	99	87	99	96	94
	6	Renault	69	78	108	160	122	133	118	133	78	83
	7	Subaru							107	95	72	80
	8	Fiat	58	44	71	88	66		96	92	72	77
	9	Audi	55	73	105	88	106	74			98	72
	10	Mercedes	49	45	50	62		67				72
		Nissan		46				108	122	101	100
		Mazda					74		93	81
		Mitsubishi						68
		Citroën			48	67	65
		Alfa Romeo	45

Data source: Statistical Office of Liechtenstein.

The Self Drive Car

It seems inevitable that cars will eventually drive by themselves and all occupants will be passengers. Of course, for now they say a driver will need to be on hand to intervene on occasions, but that is only because the automatic system won't cope with every scenario. One day it may get close enough to achieving that and driving will be banished as too dangerous in the hands of the general populous.

However, most will find the way these automated cars move around too cautious and sensible. So I propose cars that will be able to be set to types of driving. Other cars will get feedback on the your car's setting and react accordingly. Here would be the options on the selector dial:

Geriatric: As the name suggests, the car would be driven like someone who's in the twilight of their driving career. In fact, this is how self-drive cars are currently performing, so this would be the default setting. Slowing down as traffic lights approach lest they change colour and a solid braking effort is required. A cautionary tap on the breaks whenever a bend looms or anything slightly taxing of its computing power. Safety first if this setting is chosen.

Sprightly: One turn of the knob and the car starts to act perkily. Acceleration is now actually noticeable and traffic lights no longer treated with trepidation. On a motorway even lane changing occurs to improve ones position rather than just on entering and exiting, as will happen in the default setting. Safety is still paramount but so is getting from A to B in a mental state above comatose.

Running Late: Ah, this is something that happens from time to time, and for some people it's their modus operandi. Therefore an essential option. Acceleration is harsh and braking comes late. The speed limit is quickly achieved and scrupulously adhered too once there. The horn automatically goes off whenever a slower vehicle (ie. in Geriatric mode) gets in the way. It has even a hand break parking manoeuvre in its arsenal, for arrival at your destination parking space.

Switch Off: This is controversial. Full control to a human driver. Of course humans are much better at driving than artificial intelligence will ever be. The problem is too many people do not respect the car enough and the potential dangers it poses. Male drivers - young ones especially - are particularly an issue. Testosterone and driving isn't a good combination. I'm thinking this setting may be on the 'endangered species' list so to speak.

Summary: I struggle to care much about the subject. I understand too many people die on the roads but also accept that's because some don't respect the responsibility that goes with driving. This allows the Nanny State to step in and take over. For now the best I can say is drive carefully and be considerate of other road users.

Is she really ready to take over if required?
If so, are her skills getting too rusty anyway?