First customer opinions of the new 3-series



The Spies did a little informal research at the show on customer reactions of the new 3-series.

Here's what we found out:

1. For the most part, no one thought the new car was objectionable. Most said it looked nice but no one said they were TOTALLY in love with it.

2. NO ONE likes the rear of the car. That was the area that drew the most complaints.

3. Most people thought the design was too conservative.

4. Virtually everyone felt the interior looked cheap inside.

5. Most people liked the front end view of the car best.

6. Most people commented that they wished the cars on display had larger and nicer looking wheels.

7. Virtually everyone we spoke with who owned a current 3-series said they were in NO hurry to upgrade to the new model. They felt it was just not different enough or that much better than the current car.

Please post your opinions below:

MercBasherMercBasher - 3/25/2005 11:32:03 PM
+1 Boost
Wow # 4 and # 7 must be very disappointing to the BMW marketing folks in the USA?


WhosYourDaddyWhosYourDaddy - 3/26/2005 4:53:56 PM
+1 Boost
Folks, say what you want about the E90, but the simple fact is that it will definitely bury the E46's sales numbers. It is slightly larger and sports a modest HP upgrade... it also has a more "modern" look to it. These are things that appeal to people. Will someone with an 04 or 05 E46 run out and replace it? No, why would they? If you were in the 30th month of a 36 mo lease on an E46,though, I'll wager that you would be looking pretty hard at the E90.

Whoever mentioned that the IS350 would "kill" the E90 needs to get their head out of the sand.. the IS350 appears to be a VERY nice car, but they'll also need to work hard to shake the "boy-racer" label that the IS300 earned them. It will take Lexus at least another generation of cars to get to that point.

You don't have to be a huge BMW fan to realize how successful the E90 will be. They have a fairly loyal fan base and have steadily increased their sales generation over generation (E30 to E36, E36 to E46, etc) so there is no reason to doubt that they'll do it again.

Look, there are cars that I don't personally like, but that doesn't mean I would bash them or discount the likeliness of their success. For the record, I am not a likely E90 buyer but I'm smart enough to know that BMW's got a winner on their hands..



WhosYourDaddyWhosYourDaddy - 3/26/2005 4:54:28 PM
+1 Boost
Folks, say what you want about the E90, but the simple fact is that it will definitely bury the E46's sales numbers. It is slightly larger and sports a modest HP upgrade... it also has a more "modern" look to it. These are things that appeal to people. Will someone with an 04 or 05 E46 run out and replace it? No, why would they? If you were in the 30th month of a 36 mo lease on an E46,though, I'll wager that you would be looking pretty hard at the E90.

Whoever mentioned that the IS350 would "kill" the E90 needs to get their head out of the sand.. the IS350 appears to be a VERY nice car, but they'll also need to work hard to shake the "boy-racer" label that the IS300 earned them. It will take Lexus at least another generation of cars to get to that point.

You don't have to be a huge BMW fan to realize how successful the E90 will be. They have a fairly loyal fan base and have steadily increased their sales generation over generation (E30 to E36, E36 to E46, etc) so there is no reason to doubt that they'll do it again.

Look, there are cars that I don't personally like, but that doesn't mean I would bash them or discount the likeliness of their success. For the record, I am not a likely E90 buyer but I'm smart enough to know that BMW's got a winner on their hands..
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