Quote:
Originally Posted by Toshi
Yep. I think the cost issue is also one of the reasons.
Alpina always respects M3 and M5 and they often understate their specs...
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The cost issue is a good point, although in some markets this is due to value added tax and other government revenue streams, but definitely correct that profit margins are lower in the US, especially since I think the dollar is strengthening (esp wrt to eastern countries).
Importing a car into the USA is *very* expensive from a safety point of view, not just country specific production but additional crash testing etc. I think more socialist governments provide these services to the auto companies while in the US you have to fund a lot of it. Liability is obviously a bigger concern here, since cry baby lawsuits and mcdonalds coffee on the lap become monumental problems. In Japan, I've heard that certain Toyota failures occur but never reache the press due to national pride in the brand. I will mention that this is speculation and I'm probably exaggerating the impact, but otherwise it seems hard to think Alpina can't make a business case for selling in NA, especially when NA is BMW's bread and butter, at least now while Europe recovers from the recession.