I send them a note this morning:
To: customerrelations@bmwusa.com
Greetings,
I currently drive a 2006 BMW X3 3.0i with a six-speed manual, m-sport package, premium package etc. I've loved the new X1 since I saw it in Berlin two summers ago while on holiday. My X3 is six years old, and I plan to replace it in the next two years. The X1 would be at the op of my list, if it had a manual transmission option. If it's automatic only, then it's outside of my consideration set.
Back in 2006, I traded in my 1998 Audi A4 for a 2006 BMW 330Ci convertible, because of the manual transmission. Audi didn't offer the A4 convertible with a manual. I later chose the X3 over other options on the market, because it was the only compact SUV with both all-wheel drive and a manual transmission. By comparison the Audi Q5 is automatic only and the VW Tiguan has a manual, but only in front-wheel drive configurations. If I had to buy a new car today, I would purchase a VW GTI or GTI-R. It's the only German, manual-transmission, four-door hatchback available in the US.
I understand that emissions and safety testing is an expensive process that can limit the number of drivetrain configurations available in the US. That said, the compact, all-wheel drive SUV with a manual transmission is effectively an untapped segment, although perhaps too small a segment.
In case demographics help make the business case, I am a 36-year-old professional living in San Francisco. I work in high-tech and have an undergraduate and a master's degree. Living in the city, means that I need something compact. Going to Lake Tahoe both skiing and backpacking means that I need something all-wheel drive with ground clearance. Please bring the X1 manual to the US!
Sincerely,
James Dailey
San Francisco, CA
History of cars I've owned:
1986 Volvo 760 GLE -- learned to drive on the family car.
Didn't own a car for many years through university and working in Boston Massachusetts.
1998 Audi A4 2.8Quattro Tiptronic -- bought my mother's old car from her when I moved to California in 2001.
2006 BMW 330Ci convertible -- purchased new at BMW Seattle. Chose the BMW over the Audi A4 cabrio, because only the BMW had a manual transmission.
2006 BMW X3 3.0i manual/m-sport/premium/xenons/pdc -- purchase CPO at BMW of Bellevue Washington in 2007 with only 9,000 miles on it. Traded the convertible which was impractical in the Northwest.
2006 Mini CooperS convertible -- purchased used as a second car and sold it roughly a year later. It was incredibly fun, but I needed my second parking space for visitors.
2014 BMW X1 ???
To: customerrelations@bmwusa.com
Greetings,
I currently drive a 2006 BMW X3 3.0i with a six-speed manual, m-sport package, premium package etc. I've loved the new X1 since I saw it in Berlin two summers ago while on holiday. My X3 is six years old, and I plan to replace it in the next two years. The X1 would be at the op of my list, if it had a manual transmission option. If it's automatic only, then it's outside of my consideration set.
Back in 2006, I traded in my 1998 Audi A4 for a 2006 BMW 330Ci convertible, because of the manual transmission. Audi didn't offer the A4 convertible with a manual. I later chose the X3 over other options on the market, because it was the only compact SUV with both all-wheel drive and a manual transmission. By comparison the Audi Q5 is automatic only and the VW Tiguan has a manual, but only in front-wheel drive configurations. If I had to buy a new car today, I would purchase a VW GTI or GTI-R. It's the only German, manual-transmission, four-door hatchback available in the US.
I understand that emissions and safety testing is an expensive process that can limit the number of drivetrain configurations available in the US. That said, the compact, all-wheel drive SUV with a manual transmission is effectively an untapped segment, although perhaps too small a segment.
In case demographics help make the business case, I am a 36-year-old professional living in San Francisco. I work in high-tech and have an undergraduate and a master's degree. Living in the city, means that I need something compact. Going to Lake Tahoe both skiing and backpacking means that I need something all-wheel drive with ground clearance. Please bring the X1 manual to the US!
Sincerely,
James Dailey
San Francisco, CA
History of cars I've owned:
1986 Volvo 760 GLE -- learned to drive on the family car.
Didn't own a car for many years through university and working in Boston Massachusetts.
1998 Audi A4 2.8Quattro Tiptronic -- bought my mother's old car from her when I moved to California in 2001.
2006 BMW 330Ci convertible -- purchased new at BMW Seattle. Chose the BMW over the Audi A4 cabrio, because only the BMW had a manual transmission.
2006 BMW X3 3.0i manual/m-sport/premium/xenons/pdc -- purchase CPO at BMW of Bellevue Washington in 2007 with only 9,000 miles on it. Traded the convertible which was impractical in the Northwest.
2006 Mini CooperS convertible -- purchased used as a second car and sold it roughly a year later. It was incredibly fun, but I needed my second parking space for visitors.
2014 BMW X1 ???