Bmw future looking good as October sales edge up 2%

Pray to keep that trend, that will be so hard with so many ugly cars....My hope for them is the new 5 series which looks very nice so far...When it comes out, all the segment will have serious problemsto keep it up with the new 5...

Just curious...are there any "US only" sales figures? I wonder if these up figures have anyhtign more to do with entering more into China.

I find it funny that show the small volume selling X6 as the photo. I can't imagine this being more than 3% of total sales.

Yes, there are U.S. only sales, DogLb. For the month of October 2009, BMW's U.S. sales declined 14%.

Even more surprising is BMW's decision to make an X6 ActiveHybrid which returns pretty pathetic mpg considering its "hybrid" status.

I definitely don't see BMW being able to sustain its trend of increasing global sales when it continues to release "niche-filling" products such as the X6, 5-series GT, 3-series GT, X1 etc.

No one needs an X6 when they can get an X5. No one needs a 5-series GT when they can get a 5er wagon. No one needs an X1 when they can get aan X3 which is practically the same size.

The new cars may drive brilliantly, but that does not help if there is no need for the new cars in the first place, which is what BMW will unfortunately witness in the next two years.

people always make this argument about "need" and it really annoys me. firstly, to assume that YOU know what people do and don't need is idiotic at best.

further, people don't NEED a BMW at all. they could by a cheap ford. but they buy them anyway. people don't NEED a lexus when they could buy an identical toyota for $15K less. but they buy them. people don't need an MB S class, but they still buy them. people don't NEED a lot of the things they buy, but that doesn't stop people from buying what they WANT. and really, it's silly to talk about "need" when you're also talking about a luxury car.

the definition of "luxury" is: something adding to pleasure of comfor but not absolutely necessary.

hell, most of the things i buy aren't needed. i buy them anyway because i have the money and i WANT them. but then, i also bought an X6 - because i wanted it. so as long as people are still allowed to buy what they want, and not only what they need, shut up!

GermanNut

As sstainba said, you don't need most of the things you buy. I personally own and X5, and if the X6 was out at the time, I would have bought it instead!

"No one needs an X6 when they can get an X5. No one needs a 5-series GT when they can get a 5er wagon. No one needs an X1 when they can get aan X3 which is practically the same size"


I agree with the previous post about your assumption on NEED...people have different taste so they WANT different things...so you WANT an X6...then buy an X6...you WANT a 5er GT...then buy that too! There are only 3 things you NEED on this planet to survive from birth to death, that's water, food, and shelter. So let's try not to use the word NEED unless were talking about one of the three things I just mentioned.

I have to agree, no one needs an X6...but I pla on it being my next car. I like the style, performance and (decent) utility. But mostly I like that it's somewhat original.

This post isn't really about want and need. I was just pointing out that the X6 photo is probably very little reason why BMW is up in sales considering fewer than 5000 of them have been sold - but not bad considering it's hefty price and thirsty gas tank.

Niche products are fine if they are made profitably. I am confident that BMW knows what it is doing. It's the worldwide luxury sales leader (though MB and Audi are close behind), and it's considered one of the most sustainable car companies out there.

Fine, I'll stop using the word "NEED". Instead I'll use the word "WANT".

BMW is dreaming that people WANT the X6, 5-series GT, and 3-series GT. People DO NOT WANT ugly looking cars that have barely any functionality and poor fuel economy, even if the cars have strong performance.

BMW will realize that they spent a ton of money in developing these cars and the sales will fail to materialize because the cars look hideous, don't offer any useful functionality, have very average fuel economy, and don't add anything that BMW doesn't already offer.

These niche products will cost BMW a fortune to develop and they won't bring in nearly as much money as BMW expects. That is the definition of failure.

and of course... you know what all people want. i can't imagine why anyone would want a lexus. i mean, it's a toyota with a gold package that's a LOT more expensive.

bmw is the top luxury car maker - not you. apparently they *do* know what people want. i wanted an X6. apparently m54r did as well.

it's quite possible, and even probably, that you have no idea what people like or want.

personally, i think the x6 looks nice. it's big, aggressive and very comfortable. i got 16mpg, but i don't really give a shit about fuel economy. i'm of the view that if the price of the fuel is that big a deal, you probably don't need to buy a $70K car.