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      11-14-2006, 10:10 PM   #1
WahooWill
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Z2 Z4 Z6?!

Whats with all these news about a Z2 and Z6 ? BMW is going to have 3 different Z cars The Z4 hasn't sold like hotcakes if I remember right so what are they thinking.

How come z4's aren't selling as well as Z3's did anyway? It looks and performs much better so whats the deal.
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      11-15-2006, 11:39 AM   #2
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Rumor is that Z2 will replace the Z4 as BMW's roadster in a few years. I personally think the Z6 is pure fanatsy.
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      11-16-2006, 11:17 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WahooWill View Post
Whats with all these news about a Z2 and Z6 ? BMW is going to have 3 different Z cars The Z4 hasn't sold like hotcakes if I remember right so what are they thinking.

How come z4's aren't selling as well as Z3's did anyway? It looks and performs much better so whats the deal.
Not only that, there's been "rumors" about a Z2 coupe, as if it weren't confusing enough already where BMW is heading with the Z line.
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      02-20-2007, 08:25 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WahooWill View Post
How come z4's aren't selling as well as Z3's did anyway? It looks and performs much better so whats the deal.
The Z3 didn't sell that well either if you look at it from a historical point of view. Especially the Coupé models sold terribly! There were like only 5500 M Coupés produced worldwide during it's whole production run, and it had a TV ad with the M Coupé spinning on a desert etc.

The whole thing just didn't get the attention that it deserved, and second reason is, the old parts from E30 design and the shitty E36-derived cockpit were very low standard stuff that BMW was already moving away from with the E46 that was already out. Customers expected more for their money.

As far as the Z4, I think it's just a tad bit pricey. When you can get a 335i Coupé for the same price as a Z4 3.0si Coupé, something is wrong. That's my personal guess as to why the Z4 isn't selling as hot as it should. And oh yeah, the Z4 again is based on the now-obsolete E46 interior design with analogue turn signal switches etc. And BMW people have already gotten used to the new digital stuff on the E60/E90/E92 etc. Personally it doesn't bother me, but in the light of the pricing, it might bother other potential buyers and scare them away. BMW should drop Z4's pricing by about 20%. So that it would match the E92 pricing with the same engine, not like now where a Z4 with a 2.5si engine costs as much as a E92 Coupé with a 3.0. (In Europe.)

The only decently priced Z4 is the M - it's the best value for money M car in a long while, cheaper than the E46 M3 was, definitely cheaper than the E92 M3 will be. My only beef with that is, if you configure a Z4 3.0si Coupé with all the options that the Z4 M Coupé has on it for free, you'll end up paying almost the same price for it as for the M - again the 3.0si is way overpriced in relation to other series, and even in relation to the M. US starting price for the Z4 3.0si Coupé - $40.400, US starting price for the 335i Coupé - $40.600, US starting price for the 335i Sedan - $38.700. Who's really going to be interested in the Z4 3.0si Coupé at these price points when you can get a very well tunable 335i bi-turbo instead at exactly the same price category.

If Z4 3.0si Roadster and Coupé don't sell well anymore, and I was at BMW wondering why, I would look in the mirror and consider the fact that for the same amount of bread you can get a 335i Coupé in base configuration, 335i Sedan for even much less and soon (already orderable) the E93 335i Cabrio at the same price as the Z4 Roadster. Who's gonna pay top dollar for 3.0L naturally aspirated 2-seater when you can get the new 3.0L N54 bi-turbo that nearly kicks old E46 M3's ass in performance for the same price.

Really it comes down to the hard fact that the Z4 is BMW's only current model-series where you don't get more for less these days. All other series have gotten new engines, new models, new facelifts and ended up getting more power, bigger engines, turbo-engines (diesel models especially) etc. at the same price point that people were used to paying for something much less for. Once you do that across your product line, giving much more value for money, you can't go back to not doing it. Or not do it only on one or two product groups. That's why the Z4 doesn't sell. Except for the M models, again. And even those sell only because the engine and transmission are so excellent and it's the cheapest way to own an M car in a long while. So again, the Z4 M models give the buyer more value for their money, that the regular models don't do. The M models are practically fully loaded with nearly all optional equipment as standard, that alone is worth about $10,000 right there that the regular Z4 models don't get.

Oh and as one specific detail by the way, the regular Z4 models still have the electronic power steering, that can't help their sales among the BMW purists, who really want the old-school hydraulic rack and pinion steering that all other BMW models have. The electronic power steering was an try-out gone bad and should have been ripped out from all the Z4's at the latest when they did the face-lift. I know of at least 2 people who skipped on the Z4 3.0si Coupé because the did not want the electronic power steering and it's non-BMW-like feel - they were still ready to get the by default, badly equipped and way overpriced 3.0si Coupé instead of new 335i's because they wanted special cars (surprisingly, not many at all have been sold over here), but the electric power steering was too much after they test drove the cars and realized they don't drive like BMW's.

Best regards,

Jussi

Last edited by JK42; 02-20-2007 at 08:58 AM..
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