Unfazed? Yep. That’s the headline from an Advertising Age report about Mini, the little car company that could. Not only did Mini increase its market share in 2008, according to the magazine, “Mini USA was one of only two auto brands to tally year-over-year sales increases in the U.S. last year (the other was Subaru of America).”

Obviously, Mini and Subaru know something other automakers don’t, and it’s reflected in a quotation attributed to an auto industry consultant buried deeper in the article: “The good news for the niche brand…is it doesn’t have to reach the mass market, so it can focus its marketing very tightly to its target.”

Sticking closely to a well-defined niche is the key to success that both Mini and Subaru have used over the course of many years. But my question is this: why haven’t all the other automakers done the same? To be sure, there are other good examples of well-focused car brands, but there are others that seem to confuse the present with the past. There is no “mass market.” Not anymore.

It’s easy, of course, to point a finger at the troubled automakers. But the question extends to your company and mine as well: how focused are our brands? At a time when it’s more difficult than ever to drive the top line, it’s a good question to ponder.