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Originally Posted by mkoesel
Where is BMW? They clearly dropped the ball in this regard (they will attempt to fix this next year, perhaps too little too late). They’ve also failed to develop any high performance powertrain and chassis for their small vehicle platform, which has left them woefully behind Audi and Mercedes for enthusiast mindshare. They’re now attempting to fix this too (M35i), but again too little too late with the 400hp RS3, TT RS, and the RS Q3 next up in a hot minute, making headlines. And Mercedes’ second generation AMG *45 lineup is incoming as well (mild hybrid, BTW) not to mention the *35 lineup.
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I think the major issue with the entry level offerings currently on sale from BMW is that they seem to be listening to the reviewers and magazines and not the wallets of consumers. All the reviews of the A3, CLA250, et. al. harp on the fact that the quality feel of the higher end models ins't there. You constantly here "evidence of cost cutting" in the review. You don't typically hear that about the BMW X1, 228i, etc. The problem is, most buyers don't really care. The Audi A3 and MB CLA250 are selling like wildfire, and they should be - they are great cars. I personally love the BMW 228i, but when moderately equipped - it comes out to $11,000 more than the Audi. Yes, the BMW is quicker and sportier and more fun to drive with a higher level of refinement. You know what, though? The buying public doesn't care. So yes, BMW does need a high performance variant of the small vehicle platform, but that is such a small seller, I just don't feel it would make the impact that adding additional cost cutting measures would to a small 1 or 2 series.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkoesel
NMS Passat will move to MQB very soon, while the Jetta already has. These are good points, but they are outliers. And they are, strictly speaking, not premium. VW is the no-frills German car, Audi is the VAG premium brand. And they are a global brand with no US specific product. US product or branding isn’t the answer. Getting it right everywhere, and then bringing that to the US is.
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^ This. One of the best examples of doing this process right, has surprisingly been Ford. Ford was struggling for a long time and finally decided to bring it's compact segment vehicles that sell so well globally to the US market, a la the new Focus and Fiesta models. Not only did this allow them to capitalize on the ubiquitous global platform sharing model, but it brought legitimately quality compact vehicles to the lineup in the states. Results? Those two cars are now stellar sellers in the US market and create excellent compact car margins for the financial statements. Ford is essential doing the opposite of what BMW needs to do. This 'meet in the middle' plan of up-scaling economy brands and down-scaling luxury brands is really what appears to work. Can BMW capitalize on it like Ford has done? We shall see.