BMW North America is looking to cut prices of its diesel-powered vehicles

Do it BMW. $45,000 is too much for a 335d.

— Anthony (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 12:10:32 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8   

America is not friendly to deisels, maybe this move will bring more business.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 3:27:04 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

Good to know BMW has admitted overcharging for diesels just like I said.

On a $45000 car, upto $2000 off isn't going to amount to a whole lot and if it does, the person probably can't really afford the car anyway. BMW will just move a few gasoline sales to diesel but they won't be taking sales away from other companies.

If the Europeans want diesels to succeed, they need to make one that is cheaper than a Prius, outperforms a Prius and is atleast the same size as a Prius. People who buy diesels are thinking about saving money and you don't do that by getting a higher priced, inferior diesel vehicle thats probably smaller.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 10:18:19 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -5   

Ordered a 2010 X5 diesel for my mother last week and took advantage of the $4,500 BMW rebate for diesels last month. With that and a bit of a deal on the car too it was cheaper than the 6 cylinder gas X5, and way faster. Couldn't resist the deal and can't wait to see her get more than the 14mpg she gets in her 550i.

— eimr02 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 10:50:19 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

I have an idea..................

How about putting the 4-cylinder turbo-diesel model in them that can actually push 40 mpg plus, costs less, and actually gives buyers a REASON to buy one in the first place.

Why BMW put this expensive high-performance turbo diesel in the 3-series here in the States is beyond me. It might be just as fast as a similar gas powered model, but the extra size, weight and cost completely erase any incentive to buy the oil burner in the first place.

Bad planning.

— SteedPub (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 1:03:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Good a better deal on a great car!

— theoptimisticpessimist (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 7:34:58 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I agree with SteedPub on this one. People who buy diesels are not concerned with the number of cylinders. They are concerned with frugality. The 320d puts out 175hp and 258lb-ft and gets about 50mpg or so. BMW is the only one of the German automakers that believes that the US public won't buy a 4 cylinder sport sedan. They need to do more research. They ruined the 1-series by putting those expensive I6s in it and they are ruining the diesel models with the same bullshit.

— tango (View Profile)

Posted on 9/5/2009 11:45:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

I think we have a misunderstanding of what diesels are all about these days, particularly in the USA. Our perception has been clouded by poorly engineered diesel engines (GM) and heavy, slow, dirty diesels from previous years (Mercedes in the 80's). The new diesels are cleaner and infinitely better performing. In Europe, my understanding is that they are not seen as "frugal" but as a great alternative to a standard V8 with better mileage and greater longevity. They are indeed used in small cars over there for economy but, in the larger, more luxurious cars, they are used for their massive torque as a way of motivating those much heavier cars without penalizing the owners with huge gas bills. While this is certainly not a primary consideration for those who can afford these cars, it is an openly public gesture at trying to be a sensible and reasonable conservator of resources.

If you've never driven one of the new diesels, they are quiet, smooth and the torque they generate will give you a thrill.

— kuvakas1 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/6/2009 9:07:31 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

3 reasons why diesels are a hard sell in the U.S.: 1) Why pay more for a diesel vehicle when diesel fuel cost more? 2) The majority of Americans don't keep vehicles beyond 5 years. A diesel engine is barely broke-in by 5 years. 3) Americans live for the 0 to 60. Any speed after that is just icing on the cake.

— Bmw8ter (View Profile)

Posted on 9/7/2009 2:17:25 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

To the diesel lovers.
If diesel engines are so great, why does Europe still bother to manufacture gasoline engines? Just a question since.

Diesel engines are Europe's best scam. They want to milk as much profit from diesels as they can because they don't want to spend money on hybrids unless they have to. Lucky for the people of Europe that Toyota is forcing them to change.

Can someone show me a diesel vehicle that outperforms the Prius and is atleast the same size? It doesn't exist because Europe's diesle R&D consists of ever smaller engines attached to ever smaller cars with more and more filters. Hybrids allow more mileage and performance for larger vehicles while NOT producing emissions. You don't need to hide pollution with filters if you don't produce it to begin with.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/8/2009 12:35:49 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I decided to test drive a 335d on Saturday. It's an impressive car, but it's at least $4000 than a comparably equipped 335i. And I can't get X-drive, which would help in Colorado. Yeah, I could buy some Blizzaks, but I don't know if any of those snow tires have run-flat technology.

Plus, the 335d they had didn't have the sport package. I was not impressed with how it drive, it sort of floated over bumps, drove more like a Buick than a BMW, if you ask me.

I also think BMW is starting to show some real signs of cost cutting. I drove a black shappire exterior with brown leather. A decent color combo, but the headliner was light grey. So, you had light grey, brown and black in the interior. It looked dumb as hell.

Getting to the point, dropping the price by at least a couple of thousand and adding X-drive would help the chances of the 335d.

— vogeygolf (View Profile)

Posted on 9/8/2009 10:49:49 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

"I have an idea.................."

"How about putting the 4-cylinder turbo-diesel model in them that can actually push 40 mpg plus, costs less, and actually gives buyers a REASON to buy one in the first place."
-steedpub

VW has already come up with that idea and the diesel concept, unlike for MB and BMW, is working for them. The 40+ hwy mpg 2.0 CR is planted in both the Jetta TDI sedan and Jetta TDI SportWagen. VW broke their own US diesel sales records in both June and July, but ran out of supply during cash for clunkers and could not repeat for August. They have since ramped up production. Jetta Sales are running almost 40% TDI. SportWagens--almost 81%; and almost 20% of total VW, US sales, even though the TDI is in only three models. The percentages would be higher if VW had been ready for this demand. They could not know, however, that diesel fuel would drop from its $.85 premium to an average, $.20 premium over regular unleaded.

BMW, MB, and Audi are making a mistake regardless of diesel fuel prices. They are trying to market diesels in America to performance-luxury minded Americans that neither care or know anything about making practical car choices. If this target market did make smart choices, they wouldn't consider $15,000 extra for a premium nameplate on the trunk.

Only VW is targeting the right market. Honda would have hit a home run with the idtec diesel program but backed out in favor of inferior hybrids. Inferior, that is, to Toyota and Ford.

"To the diesel lovers."
"If diesel engines are so great, why does Europe still bother to manufacture gasoline engines? Just a question since..."

That's the most ignorant statement HUU76 has ever made on this board and that's saying alot. I would counter that, if hybrids are so good, then why is America still manufacturing ICEs without electric motors that aid in propulsion? That's like saying, hypothetically, that Pepsi revamped their taste formula and has gained market share on Coke, but since Coke still manufactures their product, the new Pepsi is worthless.

— gregsfc (View Profile)

Posted on 9/16/2009 12:14:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1