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09-13-2007, 09:49 AM | #1 |
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Frankfurt 1-er Debut... Satisfied?
Frankfurt 1-er Debut...Satisfied? Frankfurt Boom or Bust? First of all sincere thanks to drillslinger for posting his impressions and his pics. A really cool and much appreciated effort. But was it really such a great debut? To me it seemed a little flat and that the X6 was the star of BMW’s booth... maybe it’s me...maybe I expected a little more info. For example, aren’t there going to be additional press pics and publicity photos...coming out of Frankfurt? And finally why no additional colors besides black-and Sedona Red? ( whose color is still as elusive as ever....at least to me...under some lighting at Frankfurt the car seemed indeed, red, in others a washed out copper color). |
09-13-2007, 09:54 AM | #2 |
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The IAA went off pretty much as I expected - I didn't think we'd get much out of this show. The meat in this sandwhich is coming when we see driving impresssions (hopefully next week or so).
These shows have a ton of folks clammoring for the execs, so I can understand Drillslinger's frustration. They are stinking Rugby scrums. The trick is to find an engineer standing to the side and get them talking - find out what they are responsible for on the car, have them show you it - express an 'Ah, so that's how that works, clever!' and as long as you can keep the PR handler away they talk (good social engineering ; -). BMW probably was pushing the much bolder X6 - I think they have more tied to that than the 1er. The coupe is merely an extension to the current line - and this is Frankfurt, DE not Frankfurt, KY so pricing is going to be assumed for the Euro market based on exisiting 1er prices and the rest of the lines sedans/coupe ratios. I wasn't surprised that the 128 wasn't there - it's a US market only vehicle. It's w-a-y too early to be talking pricing for the US market - we'll get the hints - but I do believe BMW sees this as a way of pulling in buyers of Japanese cars. That quote from the BMW exec was the money quote - the pricing was not the key but the target audience was. In the grand scheme of things autoshows are shams - dances with bad music and bad refreshments. We may be days away from driving impressions. And that's when my frustration level will build. I want to spend 15 minutes behind the wheel so badly. |
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09-13-2007, 09:58 AM | #3 |
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completely agree with hugo.
i would add that the way i saw it this was the X6's show and merely the green light for 1er promo campaign. i'd expect the promotion effort for the 1er to ramp up now ... including test drives very soon. perhaps the LA show that people have mentioned is the 1er N/A time to shine. |
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09-13-2007, 10:03 AM | #4 |
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No surprise for me...
After all, in Europe, the coupe is just an addition to an existing series (hatch). It will be a much bigger deal at the N.Amer. shows.
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09-13-2007, 10:08 AM | #7 | |
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On the other hand I was wishing for a variety of colors and options... a 1/2 dozen 1-ers on the showroom platforms..where was the 128? LeMans Blue? Alpine White? GM is right...the money is the info. |
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09-13-2007, 10:36 AM | #8 |
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[quote=atr_hugo;18449]The IAA went off pretty much as I expected - I didn't think we'd get much out of this show. The meat in this sandwhich is coming when we see driving impresssions (hopefully next week or so
I agree.... |
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09-13-2007, 10:55 AM | #9 | |
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I think we are going to see a lot of Sedona Red 1er's, so get used to it. Sorry. |
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09-13-2007, 12:16 PM | #10 |
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Brookside: why would BMW display a 128i when it's not sold there? Did you see BMW Diesels on last year's auto show circuit?
Interesting that white is hot in Europe. I know it is not, or was not, hot in the UK in 2005. I bought a White Land Rover, and my UK cronies gave me no end of heck about buying the "white lorry" as they associated it with police, ambulance, and work vehicles, not personal vehicles. I was fairly satisfied with the launch, it was what I expected, although I'd be more satisfied if I was there touching and sitting in them! And sipping Augustiner, of course. |
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09-13-2007, 12:27 PM | #11 |
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09-13-2007, 12:28 PM | #12 |
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Es Ist Bier Uhr!!
JW Augustiner in Munich is one of my all time favorites!!
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09-13-2007, 01:06 PM | #13 |
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Frankfurt autoshow leaves me longing for more. Naturally, I am not happy 1's debut was eclipsed by X6's and the lack of additional information provided by BMW, but I don't think I will be satisfied until I have a 1 in my driverway. I am looking forward to LA's Autoshow in Nov.
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09-13-2007, 01:11 PM | #14 |
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Zwei Helles, Bitte.
Love that stuff. We spent, eh, a few evenings at the various Augustiner biergartens. Brookside: even though it may have been the "international" unveiling, it is not unusual to have all international variations. For example, when the 1er convertible is unveiled at Detroit in January, BMW will not feature, say, a 123d Convertible. Manufacturers usually display models sold in that country, especially with these bread-and-butter models. My second question was rhetorical in nature. Sorry, it is sometimes hard to come across correctly in typed language. |
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09-13-2007, 01:42 PM | #15 |
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Who could be satisfied by this showing of the 1-Series? Other than letting people take lots of pictures of the cars, BMW revealed absolutely nothing of consequence. Most automotive websites barely covered the 1-Series debut. Why? Not because the X6 upstaged it, but because there was nothing to report.
Oh well. BMW owes us something big in LA in November! :biggrin: |
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09-13-2007, 03:07 PM | #16 |
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Well, let's see, I learned the catback exhaust is a single 3", that the brake ducts will require judicious enlarging, And that it is a long time to May 5, 2008 (ED date). Just sold my M3 and it's going to be a long dry spell for fun driving, unless I can pry the Cooper S out of my wife's hands.
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09-13-2007, 03:08 PM | #17 | |
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09-13-2007, 03:29 PM | #18 |
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The devil is in the details.... hopefully some more details will be reviled at the LA autoshow in November, but we'll probably will have to wait till NAIAS in January for all the details...
It was nice to see the 128i (what I'm interested in buying) at Frankfurt... It does still look good without the m sport trimmings of the 135i... |
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09-13-2007, 03:50 PM | #19 | |
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I'm guess the non-M package 128 will look like the 123d so I'm happy. Personnally I like it better then the M styling, but that's just my opinion. |
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09-13-2007, 04:41 PM | #20 |
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I would think that BMW wants to avoid a committment to price until the last possible moment. The Euro has been climbing (or the US Dollar tanking) lately and that will have a great effect on the US price. So I think it natural that they will save the big news until a US show.
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09-13-2007, 05:23 PM | #21 | |
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