Spoonie G said:
I think that you are being unresonable. How can the 335 be "priced to be somewhat competitive with the Asian alternatives" When the standard E90 is priced to be competitive with the Asian alternatives? What Asain alternatives are you talking about? Or are you suggesting that BMW offer the 335 at the same price as the 325/330i?
I'm suggesting that BMW bring 335i pricing in line with IS350 pricing. That is, starting in the high 30's and going up from there. That's an objective assessment on my part, there's no personal motivation there - there's a 75% chance that
I buy the cheaper model anyway (since I'm only really looking for a fun but relatively stripped commuter car), regardless of what BMW does with the 335i. I can certainly afford the car if they price it all the way up into the 40s, but I won't
want to.
Personally (and ALL of the following is based entirely upon my own subjective perceptions of value), I think that the 325i is a decent buy and well placed in terms of price, performance and equipment value against its most important competitors (A4, IS250, C230/C280, TSX). Note that all of these cars are almost as expensive or more expensive than the 325i when equipped to the same level (for example, the A4's base price is deceptively low; to even get something as simple as HID you need to buy thousands worth in options packages).
I think it makes more sense (as far as the US market is concerned) to continue selling the 325i as is, with perhaps a slight name change or small boost in power, replace the 330i with the 335i, sell the M3 to start at around 55k, and then sell a limited production 335si ZHP-like model in the 40k-50k range to form as the niche model "bridge." This leaves the strong-selling 325i where it is and as it is (which can always be changed later if necessary) and makes the more expensive model more competitive in terms of value and performance with cars like the G35, the C350 (both of which are going to be updated soon) and the IS350. Let me put it this way: if BMW wants to retain the "sport sedan" crown in terms of both sales and prestige in the US market, then they have to do it by providing an undeniably superior product at a competitive price. Sure, a $47k 335i might be a superior product, but at $47k, not very many are going to buy it.
After all, this is basically what BMW did with the E46 during the progression of the line (albeit over several years), by replacing the 328 with the 330, leaving the 323 mostly intact and rebadging it with a very small power increase, and then later introducing the ZHP package for the 330 to bridge the gap between the 330 and the increasingly expensive M3 (as well as offer a true performance option for four door buyers).
As far as the 1 series is concerned, I don't know if there's any room for it here
unless BMW moves the entire 3er line upmarket, presumably just by dropping the 325i. Oh, and BMW will need a sedan version for the US market, because upscale hatches just don't sell that well here and a coupe isn't versatile enough to appeal to the mass market.