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

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

If they do it there will be diesel buyers lined up to test out this car. I would like one these everyone knows you get a alotr more torque than a gas engine and the engine power modifications you can do to a diesel than a gas engine is pretty much endless

Yea because GM ruined it for America

Nobody buys a Prius because of performance. Nobody.

Face it. Toyota has done a brilliant job at brainwashing people into thinking the Prius is a green car that doesn't pollute in any way. Most of the people I encounter driving the Prius hog the left lane and talk on their cellphones - basically idiots who bought this car as a status symbol to show how concerned they are about the environment. "Poseur" is another word that comes to mind.

The majority of the American public is not well informed enough regarding diesels. You want the Europeans to bring over diesels that destroy the Prius in performance? There are tons of them in Europe. They might not quite reach the mileage of the Prius, but then again they don't have an electric motor which reduces fuel consumption in urban settings. The people who buy these "fuel savers" don't care about performance. You can't really have both a fast car and a fuel saver in one package. And please don't claim the Prius fulfills this because it's not fast at all.

I would not say they were "overcharging". I would say they were trying to recoup some R&D costs. People often dont understand that sometimes the time, resources, and employ it takes to get a product to market factors a cost larger than the sum of a vehicle's parts. Given they did not know for sure how many of these cars they would sell, they put some fat in their to hedge their bets.

As I stated in a post below, in the end the fact these cars aren't selling has more to do with the fact they dont offer much incentive to buy over a petrol model.

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.

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.

It's quite simple. Your average American BMW buyer will feel that a 4-cylinder is a poor deal given the hefty price tag and not fitting enough for a BMW.

Good a better deal on a great car!

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:

> The 320d puts out 175hp and 258lb-ft and gets about 50mpg or so.

It returns 6,53 l / 100 km = 36 mpg US.

http://www.spritmonitor.de/de/uebersicht/6-BMW/37-3er.html?fueltype=1&constyear_s=2007&constyear_e=2009&power_s=120&power_e=140

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.

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.

Great and valid points. Ironically, even with the higher cost of diesel here in the USA, diesels may be more economical to operate due to their efficiency. Most of the new diesels have 0-60 time equal if not better than most mid-range gasoline offerings. Right now, diesel engines are Europe's best kept secret.

That is because all the pollution is let off form the factory in which the battery/motor came from.

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.

"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.