[flyga3]

Originally Posted by Alpine F31

BMW to USA- "We're bringing the 3 wagon back!"

Enthusiasts to BMW-"Excellent! We'll take a 335i with a 6MT!"

BMW to USA- "No 335i, no 6MT"

Enthusiasts to BMW-"Sooooo no 335i, no 6MT? Then 328i 8AT?"

BMW to USA- "No 328i, only 328xi"

Enthusiasts to BMW- "No sale!"

+1000

No 328i wagon? Booo!
No 328d 6MT? Boooooooooo!
No 328d wagon w/6MT? Double-Booooooooo!

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by f0xfire021

Drivetrain and price issues aside, the wagon looks pretty good. It's never been an enthusiast car per se, but fits into the family-hauler role well

See, that's just the problem. In the States, we see a wagon and we think "family hauler". In Europe, they think "works well for an active life where you have lots of stuff to carry around." Their perception of wagons equals our perception of SUVs. And that's why we get an N55 X1 from BMW and no N55 F31.

[acorradi87]

Originally Posted by WJGreer

See, that's just the problem. In the States, we see a wagon and we think "family hauler". In Europe, they think "works well for an active life where you have lots of stuff to carry around." Their perception of wagons equals our perception of SUVs. And that's why we get an N55 X1 from BMW and no N55 F31.

Unfortunately, the perception is what kills it. I love wagons but my friends who are not car enthusiasts ask me "why a wagon? It looks like an old lady car!" They don't see what I see when I look at an e39 540iT M Sport.

What sucks is that BMW says they don't sell many wagons in the U.S. so they offer less options. But because they offer less options, they sell even less. As Fat Bastard would say, "It's a vicious cycle!"

[111R]

BMW to USA- "We're bringing the 3 wagon back!"

Enthusiasts to BMW-"Excellent! We'll take a 335i with a 6MT!"

BMW to USA- "No 335i, no 6MT"

Enthusiasts to BMW-"Sooooo no 335i, no 6MT? Then 328i 8AT?"

BMW to USA- "No 328i, only 328xi"

Enthusiasts to BMW- "No sale!"

Agree with this, but as another poster put it, BMW isn't catering to enthusiasts on some models. They did supply M5's with a manual option, but the profit on a $100k car plus the high percentage of enthusiasts buying them did the trick.

Many boomers grew up in the 50's/60's and look at wagons the same way that gen-x types look at minivans - as a kid hauler that you don't want to be seen in after you grow up. We never had a wagon back in the 60's, even though I thought a Vista Cruiser would have been pretty cool.

We've had three wagons over the years and they've had great utility, drove like cars, and were relatively affordable.

[Fraggy]

Originally Posted by Alpine F31

BMW to USA- "We're bringing the 3 wagon back!"

Enthusiasts to BMW-"Excellent! We'll take a 335i with a 6MT!"

BMW to USA- "No 335i, no 6MT"

Enthusiasts to BMW-"Sooooo no 335i, no 6MT? Then 328i 8AT?"

BMW to USA- "No 328i, only 328xi"

Enthusiasts to BMW- "No sale!"

Cute

[Fraggy]

Originally Posted by 111R

Agree with this, but as another poster put it, BMW isn't catering to enthusiasts on some models. They did supply M5's with a manual option, but the profit on a $100k car plus the high percentage of enthusiasts buying them did the trick.

Many boomers grew up in the 50's/60's and look at wagons the same way that gen-x types look at minivans - as a kid hauler that you don't want to be seen in after you grow up. We never had a wagon back in the 60's, even though I thought a Vista Cruiser would have been pretty cool.

We've had three wagons over the years and they've had great utility, drove like cars, and were relatively affordable.

Of course, that's a wagon! Oh, I musta grown up in the 70's lol.

[m3soupy]

I was really looking forward to the sports wagon to replace our current SUV, but it's pretty hard to justify seeing that a similar configured X3 costs less.

[akhter]

Cheap US buyers still complaining about BMW prices lol....

Someday you will realize you are paying lower than any other country in the world for BMWs.

In my country Hyundais cost more than what you pay for BMW so take a moment and appreciate that.

[f0xfire021]

I was really looking forward to the sports wagon to replace our current SUV, but it's pretty hard to justify seeing that a similar configured X3 costs less.

For the money I'd still take the wagon over the x3. You have almost as much room, better handling and better economy. The x3 (2 liter turbo) I drove felt much less buttoned down than our wagon, the steering felt artificial and the engine seemed under-powered. Maybe the n55 x3 would be better, but from an enthusiast perspective the little extra money for the wagon is worth it IMHO.

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by akhter

In my country Hyundais cost more than what you pay for BMW so take a moment and appreciate that.

Is that true? If so, why? Exchange rate? Can you give us an example, like a link to an ad?

EDIT: Looks like it is true. I found the BMW Hong Kong price list, and it looks like the base price for a 335i is HK$770,000, which converts to about $99,000 US Dollars.

That truly sucks, dude.

[Alpine F31]

Originally Posted by akhter

In my country Hyundais cost more than what you pay for BMW so take a moment and appreciate that.

I knew about the prices in Hong Kong from other threads on this forum. Remind me never to move to Hong Kong.

[WilliCO]

In other news, Volvo will be selling the V60 wagon in the US beginning next year. So far, only the 2WD with the T5 engine, though. An AWD V60 R-Type would be an interesting F31 competitor.

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...-up-close.html

[joaopml]

Originally Posted by akhter

Cheap US buyers still complaining about BMW prices lol....

Someday you will realize you are paying lower than any other country in the world for BMWs.

In my country Hyundais cost more than what you pay for BMW so take a moment and appreciate that.

+1