German Car Zone

I was told E90 lifecycle would be shorter than usual 7yrs since BMW wanted to switch to a new platform ASAP - which is more profitable, more flexible and hybrid compatible.

According to Car Magazine, F30 3er has been fast-tracked by a year. The biggest gripe about E90 isn't just exterior, the hump dash interior has led BMW with a lot of criticism.Car Magazine

I think the car will be fastracked as the current 3 is loosing sales due to a very excellent made C class W204..Here in South Africa the 3 used to be king in the segmant all the time even in its later or last stages it used to outsell the C and A4..Yet with the W204 since its arrival almost every mounth since it was introduced it has outsold the 3 something that would never ever happen in the past..

In Europe Audi A4 is selling better than the 'excellent made' C-class. And correct me if I'm wrong , isnt 3-series outselling C-class and A4 in the states?
I don't think you can blame everything on the C-class

It's also the A4, which at least at this stage of its life, looks very sleek and modern. While the 3series doesn't look bad, it doesn't look good enough so that potential buyers won't go and have a look at the C and A4; and more importantly, the typical bmw handling/engine advantage is diminished, there is no straight reason for anyone to choose the 3series over the A4 for example.

Not blaming mate just saying what is happening in SA and i think maybe a reason why the 3 has to be changed erlier then planned as you say the A4 is leader where you are so the 3 seems to falling behind..

3 Series is still king in Australia with the introduction of the mid life facelift model. The introduction of the facelift coupe and convertible should only help to increase sales...

Car magazine claims the F32 Cabrio will feature canvas roof and secretnewcar.com says it will be a hardtop. What do you think?.

That Car's article is pure BS.

335i loosing a turbo? Yeah, right.
Actually: no more NA engines. 4-cyl & 6-cyl turbos only. With various outputs.

As said: shorter lifecycle is due to a shift to a new more profitable platform - which is also more flexible & fully hybrid compatible. It's a part of Number ONE strategy - increasing profitability by 2012. Having 3er on new platform at that time is crucial for the strategy result.

Regarding the sales: car journalists have no idea. Perhaps in UK market sales are down by 40% but worldwide the right figueres are as follows (Jan - Sept 2009):

BMW 3 Series

Sedan: 159,024 (– 15.7%)
Touring: 62,144 (– 9.8%)
Coupé: 41,305 (– 35.8%)
Convertible: 29,993 (– 35.5%)
------------------------------------
Total 3er: 292,466 (– 20.6%)


So, the most dramatic drop is recorded in Coupe & Convertible sales (LCI still to come), not LCI Sedan & Touring. In the Jan-Jun 2009 period the sales were down by -25% (still the heaviest drop was recorded in Coupe & Convertible sales, not Sedan & Touring!!!).



Not to mention rivals have recorded similar drops in sales as well - due to recession & significant drop in demand for premium automotive products. Especially for none-core models like coupe & convertible etc.
Sure a new Mk helps boosting sales.

The most significant drop was recorded in 6er sales (-47%), followed by X3 (-37%) & X5 (-30%). 7er is up (+14%), so it is the Z4 (+7%). 1er is down (-6%) - the only positive figure is recorded in Convertibla sales (+11%). 5er is down 18%, and 3er roughly 21%.

X6 sales are extremely good: 30,500 units sold in the first 9 months of 2009. cMind the plan was to produce max 35k units per yeaar - and the number is in reach despite the recession. And since X6 is selling as planned while X5 sales are down the ratio between X6 & X5 is almost 1:2 only, although it was planned to be 1:4!

Btw, expect significant drop in 5er & X3 sales in the next months when production is starting to slow down & finally stop - due to Mk change. Same case with 6er & 1er a bit later.

X1 sales are expected to be extremely good - covering the X3 & 5er sales drop in the next months. 5er GT is also to contribute to positive sales in the 1st half of 2010.

Also: due to new tech & aim to further improve reliability upcoming BMW models are tested heavily. Twice as much as previous models - therefore all the prototypes can be seen so early being tested on the public roads.

Eni, i think Car is saying the engine will change from a twin-turbo to a single-turbo engine, just like with the 535i GT.