BMW Production Fact

[SCA]

After taking delivery at the Performance Center last Thursday (06/16), doing our limited track time, and eating lunch, we took the Greer, SC Factory tour as a PCD Group. FYI, Z4 sales are in the toilet. Why? BMW is only producing 64 Z4s a day...Worldwide. When we were there are 1pm they were at 49. BMW is currently only running one 8 hour shift a day. On the other hand, X5 sales are still fairly strong with 425 produced per day...Worldwide. BMW has two 10 hours shifts running.

Also, another interesting note, they are going to produce something else there. Where the Z3 line once was is now completely empty floor space and it appeared they were preparing to put something in it's place. The paint shop windows were also covered as there was something in the shop they did NOT want us to see. The tour guide stated "they're currently doing some testing."

[SARAFIL]

After taking delivery at the Performance Center last Thursday (06/16), doing our limited track time, and eating lunch, we took the Greer, SC Factory tour as a PCD Group. FYI, Z4 sales are in the toilet. Why? BMW is only producing 64 Z4s a day...Worldwide. When we were there are 1pm they were at 49. BMW is currently only running one 8 hour shift a day. On the other hand, X5 sales are still fairly strong with 425 produced per day...Worldwide. BMW has two 10 hours shifts running.

Also, another interesting note...they are going to produce something else there as where the Z3 line is completely empty floor space and it appeared they were preparing to put something in it's place. The paint shop windows were also cover as there was something in the shop they did NOT want us to see

The plant is closing down this fall/winter for a month or two to combine the Z4 and X5 assembly lines together onto one line. The 2006 models will be delayed until a January 2006 release.

I've heard that BMW is considering a few different options for the Z4 model line, and one of the options includes stopping production all together. :eeps: It's still only a rumor, though.

[SCA]

A husband/wife that were taking delivery of their 2006 330i had heard from someone at the PC that BMW will be closing tours to the public this fall for approx. 18 months. :dunno:


Obvisously the Z4 was a bomb, especially when compared to the Z3. I heard a rumor while in Greer that Z3s are hot in the used car market as no one cares for the Z4.

[Jason C]

FYI, Z4 sales are in the toilet. Why? BMW is only producing 64 Z4s a day...Worldwide. When we were there are 1pm they were at 49. BMW is currently only running one 8 hour shift a day.
Obvisously the Z4 was a bomb, especially when compared to the Z3. I heard a rumor while in Greer that Z3s are hot in the used car market as no one cares for the Z4.

Attention lemming! Your piquant wit and requisite jab(s) at BMWAG is requested! :twisted:

[lemming]

i also thought that they were gearing up to produce the x3 here in the US, the next gen x5 and the x6 (think fx45 fighter).

they should just give up on the z4 altogether, start producing mini's here in the US and then making a nice looking z5. if they could just go back to the z8 styling and make a cheaper version of that, it would sell like hotcakes.

the car is excellent --it's the styling. rein that in and sales pick up. this is not difficult to understand. the issue is pride. redoing the z4 drastically or cutting it cold in its tracks would be another humble pie to eat and the land rover debacle is still pretty fresh, no?

the failures of the z4 and e65 to sell well both worldwide and in the US market were easy to call --i just needed the data.

:flipoff: to the people who didn't see this coming.

[SCA]

Sadly if BMW cans the Z4 it doesn't look like they will can Bangle. He's too high up the Corp. ladder now.

[lemming]

if isuzu gets made fun of for the vehiCROSS, suzuki for the x90 and GM for the aztek, then it's totally fair (and not surprising at all) that BMW gets made fun of for the z4. not sure which consumer clinics they held, but they must have been people not typically thought to be the BMW demographic.

not even the japanese can get away with that sort of styling without something (like rally racing heritage) to back it up. styling for the sake of styling without being able to back it up with some functional metrics is a losing proposition.

[SARAFIL]

A husband/wife that were taking delivery of their 2006 330i had heard from someone at the PC that BMW will be closing tours to the public this fall for approx. 18 months. :dunno:

After they consolidate X5 and Z4 production onto one line, they are probably going to bring another model into the plant. I too had heard the factory tours would be on hold for a much longer period while BMW prepares the factory to build a 3rd model if they decide to do so.

[SARAFIL]

the failures of the z4 and e65 to sell well both worldwide and in the US market were easy to call --i just needed the data.

:flipoff: to the people who didn't see this coming.

E65 sales aren't that bad... certainly not where BMW wants them to be, but still not too bad.

The Z4 is having great problems. BMW knows this. The styling is a bit radical, but I still think the biggest factor that is hurting the Z4 is the price. Even with rebates, it is still too expensive compared to where the Z3 was priced.

Used Z4s are selling quite well after they have depreciated to a more appropriate price level. In fact, based on the numbers I've seen at the auctions, the used Z4s are doing much better than the used Z3s.

Unfortunately, BMW is in a difficult position where they can't just suddenly drop the MSRP of the Z4 by $5,000. They've hoped that rebates would help get pricing in line, but it's not getting the job done. The underlying chassis of the Z4 is very good, and this car could be revived with some styling changes and pricing changes. It's only a question now of how dedicated to the roadster market BMW is, and to what degree they're willing to admit that they missed the mark.

[SCA]

A husband/wife that were taking delivery of their 2006 330i had heard from someone at the PC that BMW will be closing tours to the public this fall for approx. 18 months. :dunno:

After they consolidate X5 and Z4 production onto one line, they are probably going to bring another model into the plant. I too had heard the factory tours would be on hold for a much longer period while BMW prepares the factory to build a 3rd model if they decide to do so.


It would help if a 3rd model was built in the US (Euro-Dollar)

[lemming]

the failures of the z4 and e65 to sell well both worldwide and in the US market were easy to call --i just needed the data.

:flipoff: to the people who didn't see this coming.

E65 sales aren't that bad... certainly not where BMW wants them to be, but still not too bad.

The Z4 is having great problems. BMW knows this. The styling is a bit radical, but I still think the biggest factor that is hurting the Z4 is the price. Even with rebates, it is still too expensive compared to where the Z3 was priced.

Used Z4s are selling quite well after they have depreciated to a more appropriate price level. In fact, based on the numbers I've seen at the auctions, the used Z4s are doing much better than the used Z3s.

Unfortunately, BMW is in a difficult position where they can't just suddenly drop the MSRP of the Z4 by $5,000. They've hoped that rebates would help get pricing in line, but it's not getting the job done. The underlying chassis of the Z4 is very good, and this car could be revived with some styling changes and pricing changes. It's only a question now of how dedicated to the roadster market BMW is, and to what degree they're willing to admit that they missed the mark.

i appreciate your insight because you see the battle as it unfolds in the trenches.

the only thing i'd opine is that the styling does play a role. and it's correlated to the price. when something is $20k or even $30k, some if not most people will pull the trigger if it's a rewarding driving experience even if the styling is still slightly questionable or oddball. witness the STi, the Evo, the Rx8, the s2000 and the 350z. they're not pure lookers, but they're priced such that you could buy it at an affordable price and overlook that and focus purely on the drive.

but the z4 is in the next echelon of pricing where it's harder and harder to justifty $40k on something that is that questionable on styling grounds. look, the M coupe was no looker, but it wasn't the mainstream model --the z4 is the mainstream model but the problem is that it's got looks even as/more polarizing than the M coupe. even then, M coupe fans can argue that its funny looks are justified because the hardtop gave the car an enormous rigidity advantage. what precisely can one point to on the z4 and say is "functional" versus just for form's sake?

see, we wouldn't even be having this discussion at 30k because people are okay with funny looks at that price. 40k? c'mon, man. why bother when the boxster (base) and slk are only 5k more?

i think it makes sense to have the x3 assembled in the US. it will make the profit margins even better.

[ZBB]

I was last in Spartanberg in Apr '02. We couldn't do a tour of the plant, just saw the museum -- they had the plant tours closed for the Z3 to Z4 conversion, and the Z4 was not yet public. Always meant to get back up there to see the facility before I left Atlanta, but never did (I used to work in the Munich plant -- so I wanted to see how similar/different it is).

As for the Z4's styling -- just like all post-X5 BMW's, there are parts of the styling that are great, and parts that are exceptionally poor. I absolutely love how the body line starts before the front tires, sweeps back and dips in the door, then arcs back to the rear over the rear wheels. It evokes the classic roadster shape. Too bad they didn't focus the rest of the design on complementing that shape -- the Zorro slash, while an interesting idea, is just ugly. The duck tail rear end is a bad and distorted copy of the Honda S2000. The headlights/grille just don't work -- an evolution of the Z3 face would have been more successful. The interior design isn't really that bad, but suffers from poor quality (some parts just feel cheep), but the BMW Individual Maritime package looks wonderful (too bad we can't get it here in the US).

But I'd agree that its overpriced. I think BMW got greedy, and thought they could price the Z4 like a Boxster and still sell a bunch. Although I'd bet a good portion of that daily production heads here to AZ -- I see more Z4s than Z3s around here. But then again, a Z4 is kind of cheap transportation in Scottsdale (although I easily see 2-3 times as many current body style SLs as Z4s)

[SCA]

I'd bet a good portion of that daily production heads here to AZ -- I see more Z4s than Z3s around here. But then again, a Z4 is kind of cheap transportation in Scottsdale (although I easily see 2-3 times as many current body style SLs as Z4s)


Most of the Z4s we saw being built that day were going oversees as they did not have the round reflectors on the front or rear bumper covers. Also a good bit of them had the new 2.0 4 cyl. engine. If they were not that, they were 2.5. There were a few 3.0s, but not many.

[Jason C]

Don't :stickpoke: the Z4 styling so much. It could have been this:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/9688_HFKIQKEAURMDR.jpg

:)

[ZBB]

Don't :stickpoke: the Z4 styling so much. It could have been this:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/9688_HFKIQKEAURMDR.jpg

:)

Get rid of the e65 headlights, and it would probably sell better than the Z4
:stickpoke: