BMW 1 Series - Have BMW missed a trick?

tvr

We all know BMW marketing is very good they make something like on average 20,000 dollars per car mainly down to the BMW brand.

However does anyone else think in light of all the BMW 316 Compact threads popping up here , that if BMW waited a bit and had launched the current 1 series now as a current 3 series compact it would have sold a lot better. Snop value and all that?

They could have probably cranked up the base price for 29000 to 33,000 aswell for the poverty ES specs and left the Mini's to continue filling the plug as an entry BMW.

tvr

jhegarty

tvr wrote:

We all know BMW marketing is very good they make something like on average 20,000 dollars per car mainly down to the BMW brand.

However does anyone else think in light of all the BMW 316 Compact threads popping up here , that if BMW waited a bit and had launched the current 1 series now as a current 3 series compact it would have sold a lot better. Snop value and all that?

They could have probably cranked up the base price for 29000 to 33,000 aswell for the poverty ES specs and left the Mini's to continue filling the plug as an entry BMW.

I drive a 316 compact but you never consider a 1 series.... i think there was a place for a cheaper bmw , and the 1 series seem to fit it....


while they may be some overlap between the 316 and 1 series there would be none between the 325, m3 ..etc..etc.. and it...

DukeDredd

I read somewhere that BMW made on average 10 grand profit on every car sold last year - thats some going!

colm_mcm

average enough on cars that as a whole must average over 50k. 20%

zuutroy

Though they dont do great in Ireland, they're EVERYWHERE on the continent...hugely popular. *waits for stats to contradict me*

DeBeere

Looks like the new models of the 3 and 5 series because I am seeing them everywhere!

OfflerCrocGod

Awful waste of money - ugly to boot.

eamon234

They basically brought it in so the 3 series owners wouldn't be the bottom of the barrel anymore. Hence sales of 3 series have rocketed in the last few years especially in the UK. A rather insane yet perversely effective marketing ploy. They'll never admit to it but it's true I tells ya!

wingnut

1 Series = not for men!

kdevitt

eamon234 wrote:

They basically brought it in so the 3 series owners wouldn't be the bottom of the barrel anymore. Hence sales of 3 series have rocketed in the last few years especially in the UK.

Eh...3 series sales rocketed log before the 1 series was even designed, let alone built and on sale.

They built it as a competitor for the Golf and A3 sector - Golf is a better option than the 1er in my opinion, don't think the 1 series looks right from any angle.

The compact wasn't a huge seller because it wasn't really much cheaper than the saloon or coupe, love em / hate em looks can't have helped either.

Seth Brundle

The 1 series also introduced a lot of people to BMW who otherwise would not have considered the marque.
As for MINIs filling the gap if the 1er was a 3er compact - MINIs are FWD.

unkel

Interesting points, tvr. I feel the 1-series was a mistake. Both from a downscaling point of view (brand is watered down) and from a sales point of view (and I don't like the looks of the yoke). I dunno about sales figures, but I don't see too many around

colm_mcm wrote:

average enough on cars that as a whole must average over 50k. 20%

Much better than average. BMW is by far the most profitable (as profit/sales percentage) mainstream car manufacturer in the world. Interestingly, it is the only family owned mainstream car manufacturer in the world. Perhaps the winning qualification is not to be under the short term bottom line pressure as publicly quoted multinationals are subject too (Daimler-Chrysler, anyone?)

colm_mcm

did anyone who bought a new Compact do so for the RWD or just the badge?

Andrewf20

The price of a new 116i beggars belief. Only a few thousand snots short of a mark 5 VW GTI

kdevitt

colm_mcm wrote:

did anyone who bought a new Compact do so for the RWD or just the badge?

My girlfriend bought hers for the way it drives...and RWD is an important part of that.

Lex Luthor

The only reason I can see why people would buy a 1 series is for the badge...

There are far better alternatives out there for a lot less money

colm_mcm

kdevitt wrote:

My girlfriend bought hers for the way it drives...and RWD is an important part of that.

But it'll never go fast enough to be fun. give me a high powered FWD Focus any day.

unkel

colm_mcm wrote:

But it'll never go fast enough to be fun. give me a high powered FWD Focus any day.

Eh? The fastest compact (325TI) and the fastest Focus (ST 2.5 turbo) have roughly the same performance on paper. The compact doesn't need a turbo to get that performance. It also has RWD :cool:

ZiabR

Personally i can't stand the 1 series BMW and i would be a BMW fan. It just looks all wrong.

unkel

unkel wrote:

Eh? The fastest compact (325TI) and the fastest Focus (ST 2.5 turbo) have roughly the same performance on paper. The compact doesn't need a turbo to get that performance. It also has RWD :cool:

Yes I own the 325ti, its nice and quick It has vvt where as the ST is quicker with a little turbo. I'd say the compact can put its power down better as its RWD. On a dry day with a good road it is impossible to spin the back wheels accelerating from standstill without dumping the clutch.

The ST on the other hand..

Also the 1 series is the replacment for the compact.

Seth Brundle

colm_mcm wrote:

But it'll never go fast enough to be fun. give me a high powered FWD Focus any day.

130i?

bazz26

kbannon wrote:

130i?

I think the point he was making is that the majority of 1 Series sold in this country anyway, would be the 116i and 118i. These are hardly bought because of their rwd characteristics. So in that instance there are cheaper and just as good fwd cars on offer such as the Focus.

Andrewf20

Andrewf20 wrote:

The price of a new 116i beggars belief. Only a few thousand snots short of a mark 5 VW GTI

This is true. However the 1 series is unique in that they share none of their bits, chassis, drive train etc with other marques. Nearly every other manufacturer has the benefit of using someone else’s chassis engine etc or letting other people use it.

This partially explains the price. There aren’t too many RWD compact hatchbacks out there!

rebel.ranter

Just on the comments about the 1 Series watering the sporting/motoring pedigree of the BMW brand, I kind of agree (apart from the 130i Sport). Wait till they start making people carriers.......
.....it may not be as far off as you think. Like all companies they are driven by profit.

kdevitt

colm_mcm wrote:

But it'll never go fast enough to be fun. give me a high powered FWD Focus any day.

Sorry but thats utter tosh

She went from an E30 325i to the 316ti... the compact is a far more fun car to drive, I even use it over my M3.

Its completely chuckable into corners and handles like a dream... there seems to be a bit of an issue with people on this forum and people who drive BMW's with sub 2.5 litre engines!

tvr

the current fastest 1 series is the 130 m sport basically as close to a M1 as you will get , price is mindblowing at 57000 with metallic and all that othe stuff you need . Mind boggles the Golf R32 would seem the better option.

colm_mcm

kdevitt wrote:

Sorry but thats utter tosh

She went from an E30 325i to the 316ti... the compact is a far more fun car to drive, I even use it over my M3.

Its completely chuckable into corners and handles like a dream... there seems to be a bit of an issue with people on this forum and people who drive BMW's with sub 2.5 litre engines!

I would have to disagree, Granted it handles very well, but having driven both the old and newer compact the engine is a huge letdown, and in my opinion is completely unsuited to the car.
I know in the real world there are considerations like running costs and fuel economy, but at the price the Compact was, I expected a lot more.

E92

I also as I've said here before think that the 'einser' was a mistake. It did I think water down the BMW brand. Its the same price as a more powerful(in the real world, not in terms of bhp), much better equiped diesel family saloon.(the 116i) Its pig ugly(though the front reminds me of what a modernized E30 front would look like, which is good), even after a facelift, and if it was such a good car, why have BMW refreshed it after only 2 1/2 years?The E36(it was introduced in 1991 wasnt it?) and E39 managed 5 years before a refresh.(okay I admit, BMW changed the M50 engine in 94 to the M50TU(the one with VANOS) and then changed it again with the refresh to the M52 I think, I know I got some of those dates wrong, feel free to correct them). Those two cars were still the best in their class even when they were retired by BMW(I still maintain that the E39 is a better car than the E60 and if it were still on sale the best car in its class(with the new N53 engines of course;))). I've never been for a drive in the E87(1 series), but the ride is meant to be rock solid, and the dash doesnt look to be very well made too. I have sat in the 1 series and theres no room in the back and it has a crappy sized boot.

kdevitt

The valvetronic engines are peaches...really think you're way off the mark, and having owned a heap of E30/E36/E46 BMW's I'm not plucking compliments out of the sky. Have you driven one with the newer engine?

Lex Luthor

ronoc wrote:

There aren’t too many RWD compact hatchbacks out there!

and people aren't willing to pay the premium for one either

the lack of sales just proves that