[matmanx1]

I signed and would definitely be interested. Heck *any* G series Wagon being made available in the USA would be cause for celebration but an all-out M3 Touring would be party time at my local dealership.

[CanuckM]

I think I might have signed this twice. Would be so dope.

Although my wish would be a 6MT wagon, this is just a wet dream. I don't love the ZF8 but would deal with it if this car ever came to our shores.

[TouringM3]

Hey Gang –

How many of us on this forum – in North America – would be genuinely interested in the '23 G81 M3 Touring?

By interested, i mean, do what Tesla does and actually slap down a refundable deposit?

LMK, this will definitely inform my approach to building my efforts and how I orient the campaign / outreach to BMW.


Thanks!
~David

[cpippolo]

I absolutely would have if I knew it was coming, but I really doubt that will ever happen, so have put in an order for the M3C. I guess if they hypothetically announced the G81 was coming to NA before my car went into production, I would lob a call to me CA and ask if I can switch my order. Something that I can fantasize about for a few weeks.

[Transfer]

How many people would still sell a kidney for the M3 wagon if it were 8AT and xDrive only? That's the rumor at least.

[PLF69]

Originally Posted by Transfer

How many people would still sell a kidney for the M3 wagon if it were 8AT and xDrive only? That's the rumor at least.

As much as I would like a lighter wagon for track usage I'd just deal with it, there is no other offering like it.

[duky]

Originally Posted by TouringM3

Hey Gang –

How many of us on this forum – in North America – would be genuinely interested in the '23 G81 M3 Touring?

By interested, i mean, do what Tesla does and actually slap down a refundable deposit?

LMK, this will definitely inform my approach to building my efforts and how I orient the campaign / outreach to BMW.


Thanks!
~David

Would put a deposit down for sure

[heavyD^2]

I would put a deposit down on one as well.

[Transfer]

I can't buy one this year but yes I would place deposit for 2022 if <$100k and xDrive.

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by TouringM3

Hey Gang –

How many of us on this forum – in North America – would be genuinely interested in the '23 G81 M3 Touring?

By interested, i mean, do what Tesla does and actually slap down a refundable deposit?

LMK, this will definitely inform my approach to building my efforts and how I orient the campaign / outreach to BMW.


Thanks!
~David

Congress is who you need to convince, not BMW. Mexico will get the G81 and Canada is possible as well if lobbied enough. Technical Barriers are what stands in the way for the US Market. Until those are removed from the picture, any campaign to BMW is pointless.

[heavyD^2]

Originally Posted by lemetier

Congress is who you need to convince, not BMW. Mexico will get the G81 and Canada is possible as well if lobbied enough. Technical Barriers are what stands in the way for the US Market. Until those are removed from the picture, any campaign to BMW is pointless.

What technical barriers? The G81 is simply a variant of the G8x which has already cleared to be sold in North America.

[W///]

Originally Posted by Transfer

How many people would still sell a kidney for the M3 wagon if it were 8AT and xDrive only? That's the rumor at least.

If it became available (my preference is 6MT and RWD), my interest would switch from an F87/G87 directly to G81 to add to the fleet. That would make a killer daily.

Would also be willing to put deposit down, although final price would have to be OK (so not something that starts at $100k before options for example).

P.S. This is how the E36 M3 was brought to the US, maybe we'll get lucky the same way again

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

What technical barriers? The G81 is simply a variant of the G8x which has already cleared to be sold in North America.

No. It's a variant of the G21, which was not designed for the US Market and the antiquated FMVSS.

[TouringM3]

Originally Posted by lemetier

Congress is who you need to convince, not BMW. Mexico will get the G81 and Canada is possible as well if lobbied enough. Technical Barriers are what stands in the way for the US Market. Until those are removed from the picture, any campaign to BMW is pointless.

I don't believe this is true.

BMW N.A. needs to order it, and they also need to get it through crash testing and emissions approval.

Hopefully we all can demonstrate to BMW that the business case is there, beyond the powerful brand case, to bring this car here.

[TouringM3]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

What technical barriers? The G81 is simply a variant of the G8x which has already cleared to be sold in North America.

Unfortunately because it is a different body style (and different driveline) it will require a full set of crash tests and emissions tests. It'll be treated as a wholly new car for certification.

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by TouringM3

I don't believe this is true.

BMW N.A. needs to order it, and they also need to get it through crash testing and emissions approval.

Hopefully we all can demonstrate to BMW that the business case is there, beyond the powerful brand case, to bring this car here.

And who's going to pay for it? We're talking tens of millions of dollars. Now factor in no incentivized lease program and no special mfr captive arm apr finance rates. The customer base is reduced to the double digits.

The USA is the LEAST profitable market per unit for BMW, so the amount of goodwill they'll eat is only so much.

This isn't the same as the E36 M3. Not even remotely similar.

[TouringM3]

Originally Posted by lemetier

And who's going to pay for it? We're talking tens of millions of dollars. Now factor in no incentivized lease program and no special mfr captive arm apr finance rates. The customer base is reduced to the double digits.

The USA is the LEAST profitable market per unit for BMW, so the amount of goodwill they'll eat is only so much.

This isn't the same as the E36 M3. Not even remotely similar.

Let's pretend they only sell 2,000 G81 M3 Tourings throughout the entire run. Say an average MSRP of $85,000

= $170,000,000 Gross Bookings

Let's say it costs $20MM to get the car federalized, that's barely over 11% of the total bookings of the vehicle.


Add to it two things:
The insane amount of earned media the car would get from all of us fans, car journalists, influencers, youtubers, yada yada

The brand positioning help it would give BMW in comparison to Audi and Porsche with their performance wagons on these shores. It gives them a potent (dare i say likely dominant) challenger in the longroof space.

[mbanck]

Originally Posted by TouringM3

Let's pretend they only sell 2,000 G81 M3 Tourings throughout the entire run. Say an average MSRP of $85,000

= $170,000,000 Gross Bookings

Let's say it costs $20MM to get the car federalized, that's barely over 11% of the total bookings of the vehicle.

Uhm, I don't think that's how it works. First off, not all G81 would be sold in the US, but probably only a few. 200 would be probably way too high, but let's say 10% for the sake of argument.

Then, BMW sells the cars for $170,000,000 but it does not make $170,000,000 in profits from it, far from it. And it sells the 200 US cars for 17MM, but you want them to pay 20MM (i.e. even more than they get back in sales, let alone profits) up front to get the car federalized in the US? How should that work?

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by TouringM3

Let's pretend they only sell 2,000 G81 M3 Tourings throughout the entire run. Say an average MSRP of $85,000

= $170,000,000 Gross Bookings

Let's say it costs $20MM to get the car federalized, that's barely over 11% of the total bookings of the vehicle.


Add to it two things:
The insane amount of earned media the car would get from all of us fans, car journalists, influencers, youtubers, yada yada

The brand positioning help it would give BMW in comparison to Audi and Porsche with their performance wagons on these shores. It gives them a potent (dare i say likely dominant) challenger in the longroof space.

The federalization cost at $20M is way too low (triple it) and the volume of 2000 units is beyond production capacity. 200 additional LHD units split between the US and Canada is about the max that could be milked out of the program and that's pushing it tbh.

[TouringM3]

Originally Posted by lemetier

The federalization cost at $20M is way too low (triple it) and the volume of 2000 units is beyond production capacity. 200 additional LHD units split between the US and Canada is about the max that could be milked out of the program and that's pushing it tbh.

If you know specifics, please share, otherwise you're responding like you think i don't know what i'm talking about.

2,000 units for North America is feasible, and absolutely in-range for production capabilities for the 3 series lines.

See the breakdown for the F8x generation here:
https://www.carmag.co.za/news/farewe...ny-were-built/

[TouringM3]

Originally Posted by mbanck

Uhm, I don't think that's how it works. First off, not all G81 would be sold in the US, but probably only a few. 200 would be probably way too high, but let's say 10% for the sake of argument.

Then, BMW sells the cars for $170,000,000 but it does not make $170,000,000 in profits from it, far from it. And it sells the 200 US cars for 17MM, but you want them to pay 20MM (i.e. even more than they get back in sales, let alone profits) up front to get the car federalized in the US? How should that work?

Audi has sold over 1,000 RS6 avants so far, BMW would easily sell over that number if the car is selling on our shores for 3 years+

Bookings = top line sales, i recognize that is not profit, numbers still hold up strongly to support the business case.

[mbanck]

Originally Posted by TouringM3

If you know specifics, please share, otherwise you're responding like you think i don't know what i'm talking about.

2,000 units for North America is feasible, and absolutely in-range for production capabilities for the 3 series lines.

See the breakdown for the F8x generation here:
https://www.carmag.co.za/news/farewe...ny-were-built/

See here for some more context:
https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...&postcount=850