Quote:
Originally Posted by angelbones
Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of choice, and yes the alcantara undoubtedly has its advantages over vinyl when sporting around. My point is that if BMW says you can have 3, no 4, no 5, no 6 options of interior, you can have it, then understand the ramifications. In other words, you do realize that that would not be cost effective for BMW. In turn, that will raise the price on every model. More choices=more cost to you. One reason Detroit is reviled by most but loved by some for their "packages" as opposed to individual options is that it keeps their costs down and, in theory, they can pass the savings onto the consumer. For the record, I actually like the way that "cloth" interior looks in the OP, and does not seem out of place outside America. That said, 85%+ of Americans will not consider that a luxury car, and will just go buy a Buick or Ford and save some cash.
There were other discussions about stripper cars and if you want to do that to a 40k car, I think that's great. In fact, that is THE way to go if you're going to race, tune, or do visual mods. But for BMW to keep selling M235s in the US means that you are going to have to sacrifice adding a little bit of extras that the vast majority of people want in order to get to what makes the M235 special: the engine and suspension. As others have pointed out, you can get all those individual bits and pieces added and deleted on other sports cars such as the Porsche Cayman (I car I love), but just be prepared to pay out the wazoo. I've built a Cayman on the Porsche site (their configurator is terrible, IMO), and even if I go with a base model, the options are another 20 grand. That's what makes the M235 so appealing, it's great bang for the buck, and if I have to live without a few things here and there, I will. Otherwise, I'll go buy a Cayman or a Vette or a C63 or an S5, or a . . . .
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The problem is that all those little choices away from performance to luxury add up. I'm already willing to deal with idrive and maybe even power seats but to have such a great performance interior and not give Americans the choice is just wrong. It's like the Germans are saying. Americans are all fat and lazy so let's just give them luxurious looking interiors and comfort suspensions and motorized folding mirrors because they just drag race between fast food stops. So some of us are saying. Just give us the choice! That is we are asking for just choice. Yes M235i has good value but the VW gti is a better value but I'm not shopping value per se. I am shopping for ultimate driving machine and Alcantara for me is the ultimate driving material . So we are just a lowly group of grass root enthusiasts asking for an option that we feel is important. You are part of the majority and every car is tailored to your preference. Can't you just let a few of us who love BMWs have the choice to configure them closer to the way we want?
My apologies and gratitude to those that have helped by asking BMW to offer this!