Quote:
Originally Posted by vase330
You have to look at it from BMW view point. More horse power gets them more sales but only to a point. However the N54 in all its HP capability glory has the disadvantage that it consumes more and pollutes more. Have you heard of fleet average economy? Yeah, that hurts their numbers more than the N55, which is cleaner and more economical. It matters because there is a fee associated with those numbers, and the worse they are, the more you are penalized as a manufacturer. So say you get two new customers because of the N54 is carried over, but now you have to pay an extra $1 million in fees compared to N55 which would bring your numbers down across your fleet. Are the two customers worth it to you? No! BMW is a business, which means the bean counters absolutely have the biggest say in the product line no matter what BMW says about Ultimate this and that. BTW that's just marketing.
So absolutely to be realistic N55 > N54. They tried to have their cake and eat it too, keeping the N54 for the more sports oriented "IS" so they give to the enthusiast crowd what they prefer. They also are not stupid, they know some people will buy a car just because the motor is mod-friendly  . Look at all the STI, EVO crowd that jumped ship. BMW knows that, and I am sure its in their calculations somehow. Of course they have also extrapolated warranty claims, and how many warranties they must absolutely void to make the business case for that too. Nothing is left to chance, you can believe that. Everything is all about opportunity costs vs reward. As ultimate driving whatever as you might think they are, if they could make a completely neutered 120 HP un-moddable car that sells like crazy, you better believe that is what they'd do. In the end is all about the bottom-line. That is why I laugh when people complain about M-division SUVs and none inline engines. If they can sell it, they will make it, "M Philosophy" be damned.  |
true, from an enthusiast (and I use the term loosely) I thought "wtf is the point of this?" but it is a business..