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This website aside, and others like it, most people don't buy BMWs because they're RWD. It makes complete sense that BMW would want to offer a FWD line in the U.S., a segment that is large and varied in the U.S. The only thing is, for a premium price, people will be looking for larger and less "econobox" cars. U.S. buyers equate high prices with big cars that perform well. Sure, the perception in the U.S. is slowly changing, but a premium-priced compact isn't exactly a big seller here. BMW need only look at the VWs sold in the U.S. for this lesson. VW is having to decontent them like crazy to make them more affordable so that masses of people will buy them. Now, BMW's name has more cache than VW's so that alone may be enough to get people to bite, but I think it's an uphill battle.
MINI's are popular in the U.S., but they are still extremely small in their overall U.S. marketshare. If I was in the market for a FWD small car, I'd absolutely want either a BMW, MINI, or a VW (NOT the new Jetta), but I don't think I'm the typical buyer because I want premium features and performance and am less worried about the cost. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, what is the point of BMW offering a small FWD car in the U.S.? I would imagine that sales figures will be very small so I can't imagine that this type of car would be a huge sales success in terms of profits.
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