![]() 09/05/2016 at 13:36 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
As if fwd BMW mpv isn’t enough now you release a fwd sedan? I know that it will be on sale only in China for now but it’s probably about time that it will be sold elsewhere. Time to get that vintage BMW or 1/2 Series right now I guess.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 13:42 |
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Hot Take: I’m fine with it. They are just building cheaper cars that will make then more money by broadening the buyer market.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 13:44 |
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Does it matter? I wouldn’t be concerned until we see a FWD M car that isn’t some angry hyper hatch.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 13:45 |
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Meh, I know they want some of that A3/CLA cake but that car is such a lazy and predictable solution.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 13:52 |
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Yeah, but if it’s like what the Cayenne is to Porsche, then maybe the shit-tons of profit made by these could fund cooler M-cars.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:00 |
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Am I superior “enthusiast” because I drive a RWD pickup?
[Chuckles]
Yes.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:00 |
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Yeah but What if it’s fun to drive?
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:02 |
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They already have some of the A3/(CL)A market with the RWD 1- and 2-series. With RWD they currently have a unique selling point. Make them FWD, and you make it cheaper while losing that USP.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:02 |
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As long as I can buy an M2 or an M5 with a stick(provided I had the monies) they can do whatever they damn well please. If this opens up the headroom to make more cool stuff for weirdos like me I’m all for it
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:07 |
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Its a shame but it makes great business sense. Trust me the people who buy the sportier and more prestige beemers couldnt care less about the other stuff.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:09 |
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I look at it like the Porsche lineup....
Everyone screamed and gasped at the introduction of the Cayenne. But it saved the company and helped them develop the bad ass models and other driver’s cars.
BMW needs volume as a business to help them make the M2, M4 GTS, plus all the factory race cars (M235i Racing, M4 GT4, M6).
It sucks as a whole (and on the hole) but it beats them getting bought out by someone and the whole thing changing.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:10 |
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Mind. Blown.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:10 |
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Because the Mini Cooper is such an awful car, right?
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:16 |
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The lazy and predictable solution in BMW case would have been to stick with RWD in the first place and add a trunk to the 1-series hatch. Even what they are doing right now, making an even bigger MINI with BMW bodywork is probably more effort than necessary. The thing is, BMW seems to have actually made a car that was designed by practical concerns.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:20 |
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I don’t disagree with you but there is a big difference between pre-Cayenne Porsche and modern day BMW. A lot of BMWs cars like the 3 series and 5 series are volume cars. It’s not like BMWs cheapest offering started at 60k or only had 2 seats.
By the same logic Toyota should be building batshit cars since ALL of their cars are volume cars. I simply see this as BMW filling a void in their line up at least outside of their other markets that will continue to provide them more money which is never a bad thing.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:32 |
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It’s just one car. There will still be plenty of used RWD BMWs for you to buy/ Tavarish to write about.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 14:33 |
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The thing is, BMW already had a FWD platform with BMW-badged products, that this is almost certainly based on - UKL2, used by the F54 Mini Clubman, F45 2-series Active Tourer, and F48 X1, I believe.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 15:16 |
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I see your point, I suppose a true sports car company vs a premium brand is a bit off. And yes, they certainly are filling a market void.
For me, as long as a couple of their overall models are built for the enthusiast fan base then I’m good. The brand as a whole must do what it takes to survive.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 15:56 |
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Many buyers think the smaller cars are fwd anyway which is why BMW decided it would be safe to go ahead with the 2 series Active Tourer.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 17:49 |
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Meh, if I wanted ‘practicality’ I’d not get a small entry level sedan.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 17:56 |
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But RWD in the A3/CLA segment is a big potential selling point, at least for me.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 17:57 |
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Probably is, it’s a Mini sedan.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 17:59 |
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As long as people buy/lease X models and 3er en masse everything’s all right I guess. The 1 Series sedan is just the icing on the sales cake imo.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 18:00 |
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But I do:(. The 3 cylinder engines in the facelifted 1 Series don’t do that car justice, even the new Astra beat it in a recent comparison in a magazine.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 18:01 |
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I guess so.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 18:01 |
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Next gen M140i.. Just wait until the next gen 1er
![]() 09/05/2016 at 18:02 |
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But why make it a BMW and not a Mini sedan?
![]() 09/05/2016 at 18:05 |
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Mini is sort of backed into a corner, style-wise.
![]() 09/05/2016 at 21:15 |
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OK, well so far this car is China only, and it actually makes sense there. There’s an unwritten rule that you cannot drive a car that’s better than your superior’s, i.e. if your boss drives a 5-series, at most you can get is a 3-series. Ever wonder why there are all these 3-series, C-Class, A4 long wheelbase specials there?
Now if BMW makes a 2 Gran Coupe (name be damned) with RWD, I’ll forgive them.