Quote:
Originally Posted by Ummm2
Fair points but BMW knows that most people on this forum wouldn't touch those cars despite how amazing they are. How many times has a "M2 vs xxx" thread come up on one of those cars mentioned above only to have this forum community go to full fanboy mode and trash their interiors, turbo lag, undeesteer etc. I just don't think BMW is worried about it. Look at the markups the 350 and Focus RS will command right off the bat too? People are willing to pay for something they respect and a job well done. I think BMW is smart enough to know that.
|
Those of us on the forum are (likely) BMW enthusiasts. I think you may be looking at this much more narrowly than BMW will. BMW isn't trying to convert the "already a BMW enthusiast" crowd. They are trying to convert the AMG, RS, VW R enthusiasts to the M brand. To do that the price needs to be agressive enough to have folks outside the brand splurge for the M car.
The BMW enthusiasts have a ton of options (even more in Europe) around the 50-65k price range including the M235i, 340i, 435i, 435i GC, 535i, 535d, X3, X4, X5, and M3. And those are just the 6 cylinders.
To the M enthusiast, you have 3 options, the M2, the M3 and to a lesser extent the M235i. Its not a stretch to think a fully loaded M235i buyer may want to jump into the M3, as the M3 is much more well equipped stock. Why would that be any different for the M2 to M3?