OppositeLockMT
Active member
As some of you may know, the diesel initiative for US BMWs is well and truly under way, starting with the "328d" which will then be followed by an LCI "535d" later in the year.
Bimmerpost Article
So basically what the US will be getting is an F30 320d (135kW, 380NM), which has been renamed/rebadged as a 328d because (and this is my educated guess) it will be priced slightly higher than the 180kW, 350NM petrol equivalent 328i.
As to why it's going to be priced higher than the 328i, I don't know, it baffles me. Is this just a marketing ploy? Is the American market just full of badge snobbery which BMW is taking advantage of? Ofcourse the other factor in this is that diesel is more expensive in the US, but I still don't understand how that results in a diesel motor which has considerably less power than it's petrol equivalent being in the same price bracket. I don't see demand for diesels in the US being helped by this, all you would be doing is paying more for a diesel car which is more fuel efficient but will cost the same to run, if not more.
Bear in mind that the US was also previously offered the E90 335d which had the same power output as the LCI Euro 330d and was priced higher than the 335i. Safe to say, it was a bit of a flop...who in their right mind would forego a 335i to go for a 335d that's more expensive and costs the same (if not more) not run :flyfun: Americans are all about POWER and BIG ENGINES.
Would like to hear some Fanatic views on this, my logic may be skewed.
PS: the 535d they will be getting will just be a rebadged 530d, not the real 535d that the rest of us get.
MBUSA also rebadged the "E500/CLS500/S500" etc to "E550/CLS550/S550" so I guess BMW aren't the first.
Bimmerpost Article
So basically what the US will be getting is an F30 320d (135kW, 380NM), which has been renamed/rebadged as a 328d because (and this is my educated guess) it will be priced slightly higher than the 180kW, 350NM petrol equivalent 328i.
As to why it's going to be priced higher than the 328i, I don't know, it baffles me. Is this just a marketing ploy? Is the American market just full of badge snobbery which BMW is taking advantage of? Ofcourse the other factor in this is that diesel is more expensive in the US, but I still don't understand how that results in a diesel motor which has considerably less power than it's petrol equivalent being in the same price bracket. I don't see demand for diesels in the US being helped by this, all you would be doing is paying more for a diesel car which is more fuel efficient but will cost the same to run, if not more.
Bear in mind that the US was also previously offered the E90 335d which had the same power output as the LCI Euro 330d and was priced higher than the 335i. Safe to say, it was a bit of a flop...who in their right mind would forego a 335i to go for a 335d that's more expensive and costs the same (if not more) not run :flyfun: Americans are all about POWER and BIG ENGINES.
Would like to hear some Fanatic views on this, my logic may be skewed.
PS: the 535d they will be getting will just be a rebadged 530d, not the real 535d that the rest of us get.
MBUSA also rebadged the "E500/CLS500/S500" etc to "E550/CLS550/S550" so I guess BMW aren't the first.
