[bavarian19]

Many non-German car brands are on the rise in February:

http://jalopnik.com/the-auto-industr...ear-1762361620

[Destroya]

The only real excitement has been the M2. BMW better produce a bunch to reinvigorate the brand.

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by atopa2002

Design ,design,design.
Bmw recent design is too safe.
I saw the gle coupe yesterday, it's screams look at me, 90% of buyers don't care about how it drives compared to X6.

They have gone back to "same sausage, different length", same with interiors, nothing to write home about. They are going for volume and have started to lose identity.

EDIT: I was a fan of bangle, except the 6 front and back and 7 back-end. ugghhh

[Sassicaia]

To me BMW got away from being "the ultimate driving machine" to being a car for every niche anyone can afford. Its lost brand integrity. The only good thing BMW has going for it is some of its innovation on the horizon (HUD), and its M devision which is loosing its integrity by placing 10 M logos on every single car. Seriously does BMW make a car that doesnt have at least 1 M logo on it?

Like with every business, sports team or relationship for that matter the answer to fixing its problem is to get back to perfecting the basics that made them successful to begin with. Stop being so damn cute.

[The Big O]

Every year we are told that either Audi or MB will outsell BMW and every year they are proven wrong. Relax guys, its only the first quarter of the year. Yes BMW needs to stop prostituting the M badge and yes their interiors are dead boring. But its BMW and it will keep selling. Every1 had a tough February. Just looked at the Lexus, Audi and MB American numbers and they aren't sterling either. And with oil so cheap, buying electric cars makes no sense for a lot of people. Lets see what plans HK has for BMW and lets hope he has recovered fully from whatever made him faint on stage a few months ago.

[TheBry]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

The coupe and roadster were discontinued long ago but remain on the chart because some have lingered around on dealer lots.

The convertible is transitioning from the R56 to the F56. They wound production of the older model down early leading up to the new one's release.

The Paceman is a strange thing that makes little sense. A coupe-ish SUV like an X4 is one thing, but a two-door SUV in today's world should have been rethought. I suspect a new Paceman, if it exists, will be more like an X4/X6 type of vehicle. Which is to say, still not high volume and not something I'd ever consider, but some people apparently do.

Ah... didn't realize the discontinued models (although still in inventory) were reported as sales. Thanks!

[David70]

I agree that two months doesn't mean much but looking at YTD -

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/03...-2016-ytd.html

Audi - up 2.5%
Lexus - down 4.6%
MB - up .7%
Jaguar - up 7%
Cadillac - down 3.6%

BMW - down 8.2%

BMW's numbers look considerably worse right now than the others.

From the post earlier about connected to the stock market, it looks like BMW owners follow this a lot more than the other luxury car buyers?

[Three Pedal Steve]

Originally Posted by shanecarmaster1

Whew. I'm not about to be an armchair analyst, but boy do BMW's cars bore me......... Make something to drool over.

Many hard core car enthusiasts are looking at used BMW's of the past to find value and excitement.

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Cheap gas will do that.

Total EV sales in the US just hit their 4th consecutive record sales month in Feb.
http://insideevs.com/february-electric-vehicle-sales-set-4th-consecutive-monthly-record-for-us/

The i3 is most likely down because the Chevrolet Bolt EV was introduced. Faster, bigger, cheaper and nearly 3 times the range.

[dsad1]

They might as well discontinue the 6 series until the next model. Those sales are abysmal considering it's an lci.

[scoleda]

We may be missing the point here, BMW did a HUGE push to be number one last year and ended up pushing their dealerships to close everything on the books. This means they were going to have a shadow coming up on Jan/Feb/Mar. January and Febuary also had an inventory shortfall and also the price of gas has taken away the allure of many of these vehicles.

Its common to see the pitchforks come out instantly toward BMW whenever we can, especially as we are a group of enthusiasts that have grown with the brand. Keep in mind BMW has been pushing hard on their sales and sometimes you end up with a breath. Taking this information by itself, alone, without taking other things into consideration, may seem bad. It may easily look like BMW is doing may be falling off their horse, but there are so many moving parts that are opaque to most consumers and even dealers.

Some are saying that the brand has a look of uniformity and conservation. I honestly see that this is why they have performed so well in these last years. Years ago we were all in pitchforks because BMW was looking too forward or wierd with the bangle era. No matter what they do, there will be those that will criticize.

Remember, BMW is in it for the long game. sales are up elsewhere and worldwide. Treating this information like it is, monthly reports for a market, shows how things like lease rates, releases of new cars, and aging of older models move the waves but not the sea.

Some are saying that the 7 series didn't make a budge. We need to remember US dealerships just started receiving these vehicles on their lots, they have few incentives and they are not an early adopter vehicle like the M series. Most 7ers are purchased off the lot from whats available, not special ordered, they generally bring a different kind of customer. We will probably see 7ers jump in the summer season and especially after tax season.

My point is to take these numbers lightly. look at them as a small part of a whole and that they only reflect one small time and one small part of a larger company. Looking at these with too much gravitas will lead us prone to mis-conclusions and assumptions. They are just sales numbers.

[ricky430]

dealerships did rdr on vehicles in november and december in big numbers to hit bonus etc for ytd totals. those vehicles are now sold in january/feb and bringing numbers down big time. you will see numbers even out as the year progresses.