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      08-13-2007, 12:57 AM   #23
IrvRobinson2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brookside View Post
As usual Irv posts the most level-headed comments. Everyone, including myself thinks that the 1-er is going to be a huge hit...
one that combines performance, great design and BMW quality at a relatively fair market price. But what if this car is a sales bomb?
It could happen...easily.


A Perfect Storm




This is merely speculation done in the torpor of waiting for more official info- but here's a doomsday scenario in no particluar order.

37k msrp for 135. Don't think it could happen? Check out the dollar's value to the Euro.
It's dropping...not precipitously, no, even more scary: slowly, steadily day-by-day.
I'm guessing that 37k is the magic number that wipes 50% of initial sales right off the board. You might have a different cut-off number. 37k and I walk.


Fewer Options Packages. Maybe you don't want the 337M Sportpacket, 261M wheels, Lemon leather,
or the cloth option, or the sports seats, LeMans Blue, black chrome interior trim (Schwarz hochglanzend) these just from a list that I'm interested in.
I want all the choices available from the full bag of goodies the Germans get.
We're BMW's 2nd largest market...but I don't want to be treated like a second-class citizen.


From Burner to Econo-box. Perception is everything.
What if there are few(er) takers for the 135 than initially thought?
And the money and the numbers go to the 128-imagine how someone interested in an economical entry-level BMW might build their car?
No "M" package. No sports suspension.
You want to see some ugly wheels available for the 128 in Europe? Oh yeah, they are there on the German dealer sheet.
There's not a car on the road that looks better than a bimmer with great wheels...but how about all those 3-series you see with goofy wheels? (Maybe folks in your neck of the woods have better taste- but I see I see god-awful wheels on 3-ers all the time.)
Now paint this baby silver and you've got something that might indeed be a great car - but it sure won't look special.


Like I said, this is all speculative.
But there are some major mistakes BMW could make upon introduction far more serious than sales centers cutting fewer deals on 135's base msrp'd at 34k.
you're right Jim, if the car comes out at around 37k, a little of people will take a walk and it would hurt them badly. All the years spent in research, development, design, production, etc..will be wasted. But honestly, judging from the past, BMW has always made smart choices in their pricing schemes, they knew how to price their new models without losing its customer to the japanese or german competition. Look at the E92 coupe, I remember a few years ago when the spy photos were circulating on the web, EVERYONE hated it, everyone said that Chris Bangle should be let go and his design team sucks. A few years later, the coupe is their best seller, it's such a hot car that BMW is running short on them, including the European Delivery program.


P.S Sorry for the long posts, I was on a roll tonight
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