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Originally Posted by Tacoma
Understand your point and the 620hp will certainly raise some eyebrows but hp isn't the reason for it's problems. Their biggest issues are rooted in (1) poor reliability, (2) poor reliability, (3) poor reliability reputaton and (4) poor dealer network in North America. Their Ferrari lineage has already been highlighted in Alfa's marketing before but it hasn't helped and 620hp isn't going to change that until they fix their root issues.
Alfa has already scrapped plans for future models 8C and GTV and discontinued the 4C, so if anything, they're actually pulling back. The Quadrifoglio MSRP is already priced higher than the F80. I don't see how increasing price to be commiserate with 620hp is going to help take wind out of the G80 sail no matter the size of the grille. Alfa is currently immaterial to BMW.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by solstice
I agree on all of what you say except the last part. Being the fastest or a distant second in the segment matters for branding/prestige of a car with track ambitions.
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Branding/prestige mean little if it doesn't translate to sales. Last year Alfa sold around 8600 Giulia's in US (240 in Canada). BMW sold 126,000 3-Series in US. How many Guilias are QV and 3-Series are M3/4? Maybe 3%?
Using 3%, that translates to about 260 QV's in US. And then what % of the 260 that had they not purchased the QV would choose an M3/4 over another brand (e.g., MB, Audi, etc.)? Regardless of the number you choose, it's going to be extremely small relative to overall BMW sales.
So from an overall BMW perspective that sells hundreds of thousands of cars overall, $ lost due to QV sales is immaterial to BMW Corporate.