[HTXE93]

I went to the MX1 CCA gathering this weekend. There was a guy from BMW NA who works in product planning, and he fielded a few questions from the crowd after his presentation.

The first was about the G81, and the BMW NA guy once again emphatically confirmed that NA is not going to get the G81. Further, he said no amount of letter writing or petitioning was going to do it either, as even the European G81 is quite late in the production cycle, and bringing even later to the NA market wouldn't make any sense.

I tried to press him a bit after to see how many units they'd need to move to consider it, and while he wouldn't give an actual number, he said a couple thousand G81s wouldn't be enough.

For what it's worth, he said he's a big wagon guy himself and follows the one-off builds that people do on older models, reads the enthusiast posts on forums, etc.

Yet another confirmation that it seems the only way to get a G81 is move to Europe.

[MSport_Jon]

Oh well... I guess Audi or Mercedes is getting money

[CarbonBlackJack]

Originally Posted by MSport_Jon

Oh well... I guess Audi or Mercedes is getting money

What an effin travesty. Honestly.
Product strategy gone bad a few years back and now impacting what I think is a niche but growing segment here in the US. BMWNA a complete gong show.

If Audi didn't have so many abysmal small SUVs in the US, I'd guess they would double down and bring the RS4 Avant here. I was hoping the RS6 Avant exercise was a proof of concept that would demonstrate the want is strong. They could scoop up a good amount of new Audi owners on the back of this M3 touring debacle. Maybe that's the next petition to drum up "Audi help us! BMW won't bring a mid-size performance wagon to the States- maybe you can?"

[Ska8139]

Originally Posted by MSport_Jon

Oh well... I guess Audi or Mercedes is getting money

It’ll have to be Audi. Mercedes isn’t making the E63s AMG anymore. There’ll be none for MY2022 and whether it comes back as the next generation (W214) is up for debate (likely no). The few allocations that snuck out that weren’t claimed for MY21 were selling for $25-30k over MSRP. Hell, 2018-2019 models were selling for nearly the same price I paid for my 2021 ($130k). A few weeks back, some dude dropped over $175k for a very lightly used 2021 on one of those car auction websites. The market for this car is nuts. Before I got my car, I had ordered an RS6 and even getting that involved almost a year of waiting.

BMW would make money on this car. There’s a lot of us wagon fans out there. Why they won’t make is idiocy. Pure idiocy. Sport wagon fans are a crazy bunch of enthusiasts; we’d sell this car out if given the chance.

[AR_Motorwerkz]

What would be best: an m3 wagon or an m5 wagon??

[pg80]

Originally Posted by Ska8139

It’ll have to be Audi. Mercedes isn’t making the E63s AMG anymore. There’ll be none for MY2022 and whether it comes back as the next generation (W214) is up for debate (likely no). The few allocations that snuck out that weren’t claimed for MY21 were selling for $25-30k over MSRP. Hell, 2018-2019 models were selling for nearly the same price I paid for my 2021 ($130k). A few weeks back, some dude dropped over $175k for a very lightly used 2021 on one of those car auction websites. The market for this car is nuts. Before I got my car, I had ordered an RS6 and even getting that involved almost a year of waiting.

BMW would make money on this car. There’s a lot of us wagon fans out there. Why they won’t make is idiocy. Pure idiocy. Sport wagon fans are a crazy bunch of enthusiasts; we’d sell this car out if given the chance.

I would sell my G80 in a heart beat for this wagon really upset it’s not coming here

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by HTXE93

I went to the MX1 CCA gathering this weekend. There was a guy from BMW NA who works in product planning, and he fielded a few questions from the crowd after his presentation.

The first was about the G81, and the BMW NA guy once again emphatically confirmed that NA is not going to get the G81. Further, he said no amount of letter writing or petitioning was going to do it either, as even the European G81 is quite late in the production cycle, and bringing even later to the NA market wouldn't make any sense.

I tried to press him a bit after to see how many units they'd need to move to consider it, and while he wouldn't give an actual number, he said a couple thousand G81s wouldn't be enough.

For what it's worth, he said he's a big wagon guy himself and follows the one-off builds that people do on older models, reads the enthusiast posts on forums, etc.

Yet another confirmation that it seems the only way to get a G81 is move to Europe.

1. Join the military
2. Pick a job that has postings in Germany
3. Get a rotation to Germany written into your contract
4. Order your M3 wagon (at a very nice discount) through the military sales with a Germany delivery address
5. Rotate back to the states and have the military ship your car for free

Off the top of my head there are at least a few jobs that have a 12 week basic training, 1 year or less assignment to Germany, and can be done in a Reserve capacity vs active duty. So basically you'd be a weekend warrior back here in the states (1 weekend a month for a couple years) and get to go live in Germany for a bit while your car is being built. It's also possible (depending on your line of work) to continue to do your civilian job while stationed abroad...or, some companies will just hold your job for you while you're on active status. Even better, some will continue to pay the difference in salary between your civilian job and military pay.

Yeah...that should get you one into the US without worrying about all that pesky tens of thousands in shipping costs.

[adc]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

1. Join the military
2. Pick a job that has postings in Germany
3. Get a rotation to Germany written into your contract
4. Order your M3 wagon (at a very nice discount) through the military sales with a Germany delivery address
5. Rotate back to the states and have the military ship your car for free

Off the top of my head there are at least a few jobs that have a 12 week basic training, 1 year or less assignment to Germany, and can be done in a Reserve capacity vs active duty. So basically you'd be a weekend warrior back here in the states (1 weekend a month for a couple years) and get to go live in Germany for a bit while your car is being built. It's also possible (depending on your line of work) to continue to do your civilian job while stationed abroad...or, some companies will just hold your job for you while you're on active status. Even better, some will continue to pay the difference in salary between your civilian job and military pay.

Yeah...that should get you one into the US without worrying about all that pesky tens of thousands in shipping costs.

Won’t work. You can only pick US models via the BMW Military program.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by adc

Won’t work. You can only pick US models via the BMW Military program.

Damn. My plot is foiled.

[JohnWizz]

I had not been keeping up with this soga but I find it very disappointing and disheartening. I haven't owned my E91 Wagon long but absolutely love it and would love to be able to get my hands on the M3 Touring.

I have known a number of people who have shipped vehicles over seas and while the shipping costs aren't usually the killer, the import fees and taxes are. Still, makes me wonder how many people would be willing to pay that extra....

[TouringM3]

FUCK

Originally Posted by HTXE93

I went to the MX1 CCA gathering this weekend. There was a guy from BMW NA who works in product planning, and he fielded a few questions from the crowd after his presentation.

The first was about the G81, and the BMW NA guy once again emphatically confirmed that NA is not going to get the G81. Further, he said no amount of letter writing or petitioning was going to do it either, as even the European G81 is quite late in the production cycle, and bringing even later to the NA market wouldn't make any sense.

I tried to press him a bit after to see how many units they'd need to move to consider it, and while he wouldn't give an actual number, he said a couple thousand G81s wouldn't be enough.

For what it's worth, he said he's a big wagon guy himself and follows the one-off builds that people do on older models, reads the enthusiast posts on forums, etc.

Yet another confirmation that it seems the only way to get a G81 is move to Europe.

[YamaLink]

My SA told me this week he's asked about the G81 a lot. Told me BMW is putting their NA efforts into the hybrid and EV which will outsell the wagon exponentially.
The neighborhood guy with the 5 series wagon gets offers to sell weekly. Same with the Cadillac V Sport manual owner.

[seis-speed]

Wagon market is strong - Doug explains the appeal well in this clip. Currently off-roader vehicles like Bronco, Jeep, 4Runner are getting the people that do not want a crossover….JMHO. At least BMW offers a G80 sedan (6MT) with a roof-rack…..but anyone with a dog can see why the wagon would be so much more practical.

[Sandy Eggo]

Originally Posted by HTXE93

Yet another confirmation that it seems the only way to get a G81 is move to Europe.

Hey, not necessarily. Any of us can legally import one to the U.S....just have to wait 25 years

[Mark]

I would certainly buy one