BMW CEO: “There will be front-wheel drive BMWs”

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

BMW CEO: “There will be front-wheel drive BMWs”

At a BMW press conference, Dr. Norbert Reithofer has dropped a dab-of-oppo-less bomb of an unorthodox Bavarian future. Mein Gott!

Buried in a longer speech about BMW’s plans for the next decade, almost as an afterthough following his update on Mini’s successes, this is the full text of Reithofer’s vision:

In the future, we will generate growth both in the large model segments and in the compact and sub-compact model segments. We will launch more MINI and BMW models and variants—also in the small car segment. This segment is expected to grow further. And we will take advantage of this opportunity. We are exploring the possibility of developing a joint architecture for the front and four-wheel drive systems of these cars. In other words: There will be front-wheel drive BMWs in the smaller vehicle classes in the future. We all know that the cost structure in the small car segment is different from that of the larger model classes. We intend to grow profitably in this segment as well.

link:

http://jalopnik.com/5496441/bmw-ceo-there-will-be-front+wheel-drive-bmws

[Robert Hall]

Weak.

[Drew Dowdell]

Neato!

[balthazar]

[Z-06]

And the butchering continues. BMW lost its mojo since the old Lund-Shark Z4 was built. Now this. BMW is on a verge of losing relevance. I fear it is ripe for takeover. As much a rosy picture BMW is painting it has some issues burning under its Ultimate Driving Machine.

[FloydHendershot]

Gott in Himmel!

Edited March 18, 2010 by FloydHendershot

[ShadowDog]

They said it themselves that even with two companies to work with, they can't perform inexpensive platform sharing because of BMW being RWD and Mini being FWD. BMW can't enter the premium small car market without some cost-effective platform engineering/sharing.

They want their company to grow. It's business that comes first, not pride or heritage.

[Robert Hall]

A fwd BMW is an oxymoron. It's a repellent idea. As bad as say, a FWD Corvette. Or a FWD Porsche. Or a FWD Mustang. Or a FWD Jeep. Or a FWD Merc S-Class.

Some things shouldn't mix, like FWD and performance or FWD and luxury. Leave FWD to the mass market midsize, subcompacts, and compacts.

Some lines just shouldn't be crossed.

[Blake Noble]

I hope this rabbit haunts BMW's CEO in his sleep.

[balthazar]

'In a perfect world, there'd be a Mercedes in every driveway' is an open admission to the German twins' goal- to be everything to everybody. Think how far ahead their cars would be if they didn't waste time on a dozen SUVs and downmarket FWD cars.

[ShadowDog]

A fwd BMW is an oxymoron. It's a repellent idea. As bad as say, a FWD Corvette. Or a FWD Porsche. Or a FWD Mustang. Or a FWD Jeep. Or a FWD Merc S-Class.

Some things shouldn't mix, like FWD and performance or FWD and luxury. Leave FWD to the mass market midsize, subcompacts, and compacts.

Some lines just shouldn't be crossed.

I guess they see it differently because they don't believe BMW should limit themselves to just performance and luxury.