[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by w3rkn

Like Diver said, the M2 needs to start at under $50k to be viable against it's new found competition. That also means the 235i will need a redux in price too, to stay competitive in the marketplace.

Your understanding of market segmentation and product pricing is about as nuanced as a toddler's. BMW has been selling less performant cars at a higher price point than the alternatives for years. It's practically their modus operandi.

BMW's strategy is to make a car that is just different enough from the competition to capture their portion of the market. These buyers rule out the alternative for some reason that may seem marginal to you, but is a core requirement to the BMW buyer. Pay close attention, and you'll see that all auto manufacturers play this game.

Even though it seems like they should, cars don't behave like strict commodities. You can't write down all the specs on paper, extract groupings, and award to the lowest priced competitor. Sure, plenty of people purchase this way, but cars -- like every large purchase in our lives -- involve an affective component. This is the result of years of marketing by BMW and other automotive manufacturers. It's the #1 job of their marketing departments: get the customer emotionally involved with our product so that they don't perceive our product as a commodity.

To clarify, there are plenty of people for whom an automobile is a strict commodity, but the population is large, and there's plenty of room for BMW to sell to people who don't view them that way. Not to mention, many of the people who proclaim to purchase cars on a commodity basis go out and make irrational decisions (from a pure economics perspective) because of some emotional element.

[w3rkn]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Your understanding of market segmentation and product pricing is about as nuanced as a toddler's. BMW has been selling less performant cars at a higher price point than the alternatives for years. It's practically their modus operandi.

BMW's strategy is to make a car that is just different enough from the competition to capture their portion of the market. These buyers rule out the alternative for some reason that may seem marginal to you, but is a core requirement to the BMW buyer. Pay close attention, and you'll see that all auto manufacturers play this game.

Even though it seems like they should, cars don't behave like strict commodities. You can't write down all the specs on paper, extract groupings, and award to the lowest priced competitor. Sure, plenty of people purchase this way, but cars -- like every large purchase in our lives -- involve an affective component. This is the result of years of marketing by BMW and other automotive manufacturers. It's the #1 job of their marketing departments: get the customer emotionally involved with our product so that they don't perceive our product as a commodity.

To clarify, there are plenty of people for whom an automobile is a strict commodity, but the population is large, and there's plenty of room for BMW to sell to people who don't view them that way. Not to mention, many of the people who proclaim to purchase cars on a commodity basis go out and make irrational decisions (from a pure economics perspective) because of some emotional element.

BMW strategy, is marketing...

They are currently living off the name they built for themselves, not in pursuance of driver's car. But after the GCD..

BMW is chasing Audi & making their cars more Audi like... so one might as well shop Audi, or Audi's competition, instead of the mimicking BMW. Right?

I mean, BMW is so concerned by Audi, they are defined by what Audi does..



Lastly, does the new 3/4-series impress anyone here..?, or you like me, and just aware they exists, but not mentally on radar.

[Diver]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

I'll be driving a 2015 Mustang GT, for sure, but I'm not ready to hand over my cash based on lap times alone. I have to like the way the car drives.

Never truer words said. I drove the Mustang GT, the first year it had the new V8. I drove a bunch of them, with the track suspension, without, and also with an automatic.

The thing they have that turbo cars do not have is low end grunt. I am also older than most around here and there is a good bit of nostalgia connected to the Mustang. This kind of thing is intangible, but it explains why people keep buying Harleys.

[phoenixbmwlife]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Your understanding of market segmentation and product pricing is about as nuanced as a toddler's. BMW has been selling less performant cars at a higher price point than the alternatives for years. It's practically their modus operandi.

BMW's strategy is to make a car that is just different enough from the competition to capture their portion of the market. These buyers rule out the alternative for some reason that may seem marginal to you, but is a core requirement to the BMW buyer. Pay close attention, and you'll see that all auto manufacturers play this game.

Even though it seems like they should, cars don't behave like strict commodities. You can't write down all the specs on paper, extract groupings, and award to the lowest priced competitor. Sure, plenty of people purchase this way, but cars -- like every large purchase in our lives -- involve an affective component. This is the result of years of marketing by BMW and other automotive manufacturers. It's the #1 job of their marketing departments: get the customer emotionally involved with our product so that they don't perceive our product as a commodity.

To clarify, there are plenty of people for whom an automobile is a strict commodity, but the population is large, and there's plenty of room for BMW to sell to people who don't view them that way. Not to mention, many of the people who proclaim to purchase cars on a commodity basis go out and make irrational decisions (from a pure economics perspective) because of some emotional element.

Yup that's why as a luxury performance brand they sell $2,000,000+ cars a year. About the same as Ford but BMWs model for sales certainly is not hurting since the global depression. While other luxury car makers have been showing loss in sales.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by w3rkn

BMW strategy, is marketing...

They are currently living off the name they built for themselves, not in pursuance of driver's car. But after the GCD..

BMW is chasing Audi & making their cars more Audi like... so one might as well shop Audi, or Audi's competition, instead of the mimicking BMW. Right?

I mean, BMW is so concerned by Audi, they are defined by what Audi does..



Lastly, does the new 3/4-series impress anyone here..?, or you like me, and just aware they exists, but not mentally on radar.

I'd address your remarks, but you're clearly trolling (poorly) at this point. You should consider posting the next time you have something of value to add to the conversation.