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That's just staggering, that this is the most popular vehicle in the USA. It's about the same size/weight as a European 8-seater minibus! And this isn't at all the biggest Ford sell, is it? I've seen things on the motorway there that are almost bus sized.

The Association with f1 just means they have cutting edge technology

So where's the feature list?

along with all their testing systems.

So where's the feature list?

Golf is just about knowing the target audience.

So where's the feature list?

Then if you open a tab about a production car (not a concept car that isn't being sold) http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/products/the-a-45-amg-the-new-star-from-mercedes-amg.html you will see they dive straight into juicy details (full to the brim from the 2nd to 6th paragraph).

Right, so we're already 1 click away from the front page, so this is not their primary marketing. Cut out the hyperbolic adjectives, and the 2nd and third paragraphs just reveal it's a 4 cyclinder, 2 litre turbo, 4 wheel drive car. These are expected features I spoke about. Nothing cutting edge, nothing novel, nothing unexpected, nothing hard to understand.

It's not until paragraph 4 that it starts feature listing proper.

Are you seriously saying that apple is being all apple can be at the moment? that your little phone is at the top of what current hardware and software can put together? Because if you are, i think you have to hand in your geek card.

I'm saying what I'm saying, and I'm very clear. That formulation follows from what you are saying, not me.

I'm saying Apple's products are better quality than Samsung, and that makes it a more premium brand than Samsung. And as I've spelled out, neither has much to do with a list of features.

You know, when I was a kid, watches were all wind-up. Then along came the latest features of Quartz crystals, LED displays. And the people that like features bought them. They had to press a button to tell the time. But it was digital! And they could see it in the dark. Then along came LCD. They didn't have to press a button anymore! Unless they were indoors, in which case they needed to press the button for a light to illuminate the LCD. Then they started adding calculator functionality to the digital watches. Though the buttons were too small to operate. And they started putting digital watch capability in pens! None of these features made for premium products. They made for cheap products that ended up in thrift stores. Meanwhile most premium watches remained analogue, and incorporated just the technologies that made their products better. They got the accuracy of quartz, without LCD becoming their primary display. They used new technology to deliver the features thir customers expected, without delivering features for novelty or feature lists.

A Rolex has features it's customers expect. But people don't buy a Rolex because of it's features, or because a feature checklist can't locate a cheaper watch with the same or more ticks.

Premium products are premium because of quality (and qualities), not because it beats other products feature lists, nor because it follows every novelty feature that appears elsewhere in the industry, nor because it invents novelty features.

If none of this makes sense to you, read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It's once of the themes covered, and it's what made me first aware of it 30 years ago. And it's a great read anyway.

I'm not really sure what your examples are trying to prove here. The Association with f1 just means they have cutting edge technology, along with all their testing systems. Golf is just about knowing the target audience. Then if you open a tab about a production car (not a concept car that isn't being sold) http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/products/the-a-45-amg-the-new-star-from-mercedes-amg.html you will see they dive straight into juicy details (full to the brim from the 2nd to 6th paragraph). I'm no samsung fan here, but be careful what you say, because I've seen a plenty of android/samsung things eventually make their way to ios, and i bet your about to see more. To me premium is about being at the top of your profession and that includes features which enhance your use (I've never said anything about features for features sake). Are you seriously saying that apple is being all apple can be at the moment? that your little phone is at the top of what current hardware and software can put together? Because if you are, i think you have to hand in your geek card.

A premium brand requires the features people expect. It doesn't require to be cutting edge. Premium brands are sold on quality, not novelty.

To take your example, if you look at the news Mercedes is reporting, what's prominent: testing, association with Formula 1 and Golf.
http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/

Dig into the first news item about a new car, and you have to get to paragraph 6 before any features are mentioned. Before that it's all qualitative descriptions of it's form.
http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/products/mercedes-benz-concept-gla-arriving-soon.html

To go back to smartphones, feature-led Samsung ends up with things that don't work well. Facial recognition security, tilt to scroll and air gestures. This is not the stuff of premium brands. Premium brands take on features if and when they work.

Not to say Apple always gets it right. They've slipped on their premium brand promise on occasion by shipping features that weren't ready. Apple Maps being the stand out example.

A premium brand requires the features people expect. It doesn't require to be cutting edge. Premium brands are sold on quality, not novelty.

To take your example, if you look at the news Mercedes is reporting, what's prominent: testing, association with Formula 1 and Golf.
http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/

Dig into the first news item about a new car, and you have to get to paragraph 6 before any features are mentioned. Before that it's all qualitative descriptions of it's form.
http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/products/mercedes-benz-concept-gla-arriving-soon.html

To go back to smartphones, feature-led Samsung ends up with things that don't work well. Facial recognition security, tilt to scroll and air gestures. This is not the stuff of premium brands. Premium brands take on features if and when they work.

Not to say Apple always gets it right. They've slipped on their premium brand promise on occasion by shipping features that weren't ready. Apple Maps being the stand out example.

Mercedes-Benz (a.k.a. Daimler-Chrysler - God only knows why the hell they thought Chrysler was worth having) doesn't make "economy cars"?

Smart: http://www.smart.com/
A Class: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/a-class_hatchbac k/May_offer_internalv2.html
B Class: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/b_class.html

As for Muscle Cars, what about http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/b_class.html ? 626 bhp seems a fair amount of muscle....

Mercedes-Benz (a.k.a. Daimler-Chrysler - God only knows why the hell they thought Chrysler was worth having) doesn't make "economy cars"?

Smart: http://www.smart.com/
A Class: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/a-class_hatchbac k/May_offer_internalv2.html
B Class: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/b_class.html

As for Muscle Cars, what about http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/b_class.html ? 626 bhp seems a fair amount of muscle....

Mercedes-Benz (a.k.a. Daimler-Chrysler - God only knows why the hell they thought Chrysler was worth having) doesn't make "economy cars"?

Smart: http://www.smart.com/
A Class: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/a-class_hatchbac k/May_offer_internalv2.html
B Class: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/b_class.html

As for Muscle Cars, what about http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking dom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/pass enger_cars/home/products/new_cars/b_class.html ? 626 bhp seems a fair amount of muscle....

And after all Diesel is a lot cheaper here (Germany). (0.90EUR/l instead of 1.20EUR/l)

BUT: A major problem of the Diesel, and especially the turbos, is the emission of toxic particles. The are proven to cause cancer. Filters can help that, but they also reduce the mileage.

After all, Hybrid Cars may still be the better solution.