Should we criticize BMW for not offering for sale in the US market the same fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines that it sells (in high volumes) in Europe? All BMW branded vehicles sold in the US are equipped with 6-cylinder, 6-cylinder turbo, 6-cylinder turbo diesel, V8, V8 turbo, V10 or V12 gasoline engines. Why? Because BMW recognized that when gasoline is inexpensive (<$2/gallon as it is again today) consumers choose performance and fun over conservation. In the US market, consumers prefer larger and/or more powerful vehicles, as long as they don't hit their wallets too hard. This strategy of giving consumers what they demand has helped BMW achieve record US sales each year for more than a decade. The media regularly criticizes the Detroit 3 for offering and selling F-150s, Expeditions, Navigators, Yukons, Durangos, Hummers, Suburbans, Silverados and other full-size trucks and SUVs in record numbers in the early 2000's. Like BMW, the Detroit 3 chose consumers' demands for size and rugged image over optimum fuel efficiency. Should BMW's powertrain strategy face the same public scrutiny? Should some of this criticism, for issues created by consumer demand, be focused on the consumer?
1 comments:
We'll get great 4 cylinder BMW's (and Mercs too) as soon as we get an energy policy that keeps the price of gas above $4.00 (2008 dollars). Below that threshold, Americans just don't care enough about economy to give up the performance of 6 cylinder and up engines.
Of course, BMW makes the best 6 cylinder engines period, so it may be a better idea for them to keep the 4 cylinders out of the US to maintain the premium positioning that they have created over the years.
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