BMW Mulling Over 1-series Based Z2

Nice one. MB, Renault and Citroen are probaly on same tracks with their new A and B-classes, Alpine and GT. Something close is coming from Audi, Peugeot, Saab, Opel, WV and Ford. It will be a resurrection of a segment we are talking about.

I think it will be good :)

Hope they remember to do a coupe version... BMW is missing a small 2 sits coupe.

I hate this car; the 1series coupe that is. The only part of the hatchback that I didn't mind was the back, they then took a hyundai-e rear and mated it to the ugliest part of the hatchback.

That would be awesome.

Obviously they're trying to dominate the auto industry...DUH! Thats the idea. You can hardly call BMW's crap...unless you've had no experience besides looking at pictures. As for competition for the R8, are you forgetting the M6? which absoultely hammers the R8 performance wise. The Z8 was a niche concept model with only a handfull built and was never meant to be a mass produced model. If you ever take the time to go and have a look at an X6 and drive one you would quickly find out what all the fuss is about and realize that they're an awesome drive and a car the belies its size with its dynamics. Cheap low end POSs????? I feel sorry for you.

That rant was in reply to RS5

RS5 has a point; BMW cars are ugly nowadays, only a few actually look decent. How much harder is it now to defend a BMW? Admit that it's very hard to justify their good drive-trains when the piece of metal staring back at you wouldn't look out of place in a sewage pipe. As a BMW fan it's been the hardest thing to admit; I could have always said that Audi's don't drive as good but they've now officially knocked that ball out the park.

RS5 You are obviously an Audi fan boy who is trying his utter hardest to put BMW down at every hurdle. But unfortunately you seem to have forgotten the fact that the chiefs of BMW will never look at this forum. And even if they did they would see your comments and laugh. You my friend need to learn a thing or two about running a business before you start bitching. Do you really think a company can survive solely on making high performance vehicles? If you would pick up a newspaper, even turn on your TV or radio you will hear and see that we are experiencing an economic downturn. The price of petrol has increased and countries such as the UK are making it very difficult for owners to enjoy a powerful car these days. Oh, but Mr. RS5 here thinks that Bentley, Rolls Royce and Lambo do not make $40,000 cars, so why should BMW? Are you serious? Just think for 1 second about who owns Lambo and Bentley..... Audi and VW. What cars do VW make? Power crazy road cars? No. Polo, Golfs, and Passats. BMW are one of the very few companies out there today that are not owned by some mass-producing car giant. So do forgive them for trying to make smaller, easily sellable vehicles during a recession to continue making a profit, whilst still making each and every car in their range a focused driving machine. That is business genius! As far as the complaints towards the look of the cars go, please forward them to the financial accounting department of BMW AG. They will happily slap you out the building. BMW didn't get where they are today by making boring saloons with a nice and safe 4wd system, while placing a massive V8 under the bonnet, expecting it to go fast. BMW is innovative. Audi copy the competition and finally have the R8 thanks to Lamborghini. No matter how a BMW looks, they will always have my respect. They are different.

Well said TSLi. I think the 1 series is still a very good idea, the only problem is its execution. Its too close in price to the 3 series which tempts buyers to just spend a bit more and get a 3er and while i think the styling is okay, the front is still a bit weird. Its a great car IMO, but the execution was a bit flawed.

this is for RS5 and those bmw haters; it is really pathetic when you rant and rave like you have done; pathetic. Two facts for you; 1) even though not everyone buys a car because it is dynamically good for its size- bmw's rivals have been trying to steal the ultimate driving machine's mojo because they realise how unique and different it makes their product -the R8 and RS4 are two good eamples, would they really be any good if they only looked good and were well built?? NO WAY. 2) BMW does not follow the pack otherwise it wouldnt be BMW it would be Audi, Audi has VW/LAMBO engines and switchgear BMW is BMW. educate yourself; if BMW had stuck itself in its past only making cars it made 50 years ago it would be irrelevant; if BMW werent so unique they would have given us a jacked up Mini for a 1 series much the same way the A3 is a Pimped up Golf, no sir, instead we got rear wheel drive and stand out styling, and its a hit.

RS5 Thank you for your response. I don't recall using any profanity in my last post.. If you're talking about the expression 'bitching', then let me assure you it is nothing more than an informal verb used to describe or express displeasure or a grumble. I went to school too you know! Again thank you for agreeing with my point about the whole fanboy issue. Yes, I probably do suck at mind-reading and once more, thank you for bringing that do everyones attention. Right, back on topic. Allow me to give you a quick history lesson RS5. The most recent great recession experienced around the the world was The Great Depression. This began in 1929 on a day we now know as Black Tuesday. Amongst the whole world, Europe was affected the worst mainly due to the effect of World War II. Now, would you like to guess when BMW first started producing automobiles? 1928 Something tells me that BMW hadn't even thought of the letter M// let alone begin to contemplate the need of a small hatchback SUV crossover. I reckon that is why, RS5, you have not seen cars like the X1 and 1 series before. Between then and now the world economy has seen a massive incremental INCREASE up until 1999. BMW became a success like you say through making high performance saloons and M cars during this time as people could happily afford them. However, it was actually since the year 2000 that the western world has seen stock markets slowly level off and eventually downturn while places like China and India have thrived. Now, again YOU would like me explain why are BMW neglecting their high end cars with the 1 series? Maybe you havent seen the M3, M5, M6, Z4M, X5/X6M, M1 hommage being released? I also read that the first 4 are pretty good against their rivals! Wow.. neglecting hey? I can only ask you to go and have a look at Audi's history. Why is it so wrong for BMW to make a car that Audi have been making since 1996? (i.e. the A3) What the hell was the A2? And the upcoming A1? Ok, Audi is not on trail here is it.. If BMW stopped making the 1 series and Mini, trust me when I say they would have a much smaller mark on the automobile map today. Just have a look at their yearly sales figures for each model. If the economic downturn were to continue on its path today and swiftly make a lot of rich folks poor, what cars do you think they will buy? A ML? A Q7? A X5? A nice new RS6? NO TT? SLK? Z4? NO A X1, cheaper than the above and better on fuel? YES. A Z2, as above but better to drive that rivals? YES I happen to like the X6 in its real form. Looks very aggressive, and I have yet to see a 7 series in person so i shall reserve judgement on that. Am I a fanboy, yes I probably am. But the difference between me and you, RS5 is that I can happily back up what I write, whereas you have an unearthly urge to announce the 'thickness of my skull' and then ask me to reply. Sorry WCF to rant on like this, but I like to correct people when they make silly remarks without thinking. Enjoy your read! :)

i don't but i'd rather buy a mazda MX-5 (miata) instead of the Z2, nowadays when you buy a BMW you´re paying for the badge and the so call technology, the design is ugly not saying the price...while the miata might look girly or not even agressive but for the price you have a decent car and not to mention mazda have improve their looks and quality during the last years.

TSLi, by your argument I gather that we should expect something of a 0.5-series; maybe something that competes with the VW Polo? no, better yet something that competes with the Tata Nano maybe and while their at it BMW should just make a 9-series to take on Bentleys as well. Look, since you brough VW up, VW learnt first hand about brands; trying to sell in a market that your brand isn't associated with might do more damage than good in the long run; i.e. VW Phaeton. There is a reason BMW bought Mini; Mini, or something else in the same vein should be the "lower-spectrum manufacturer" in the same way that Audi is basically VW-premium; VW handles the "normal" car market, Audi handles BMW and Mercedes territory, mostly anyway, Bentley is super luxury etc... it makes business sense because you can penetrate a certain market without damaging your personal brand. Personally, I would like the 1-series if it didn't look the way it did from the front; all I'm saying is that I'm sure it took the same amount of effort to make the awkward looking front as it would have taken to make it look presentable at the very least. See with cars, unlike (to a greater extent :D) with humans, you can actually pick what it looks like. To me, the 1-series should have looked better... they have the rest of the formula working for them, I think it wouldn't be too much to ask for for them to look the part as well.

and excuse my argument if it sounds a little scatter-brained, I'm kind of disorientated at the moment... I do know that Rolls Royce is BMW's ultra-luxury arm but I'm hoping you understand the gist of my argument anyhow.

lol maybe I should learn not to argue when I feel like this. I revoke my statement...

Okay I see your point; I guess I'm just trying to fill my own need to feel like BMW is all over their competition, not just in engines and dynamics, but in looks as well. I never quite thought of it like that. lol it's kind of hard thinking like that when you're surrounded by Audi and Merc fans who never fail to remind you about BMW's shortcomings.

the difference between bmw's and all other carbrands is that they make their car look better then in real life and bmw do not ,.... when i first saw the X6 photo's i thought it was so ugly but when i saw it face to face in real life everything changed,same for the 1'series,at the end you will know that the old lengend did not fall

For those who think the spirit of BMW lies in the luxury, you are totally wrong. The spirit of BMW used to come from bringing sports cars to the people. Not in terms of price, obviously :-), but in terms of practicality: their models were two cars in one, sports + sedan, for the price of a big one. The remaining part of that spirit is the exclusive use of Rear-Wheel Drive, which is even more quintessential for a roadster, along with lightweightness. Thus I do think it's going to be a very and honest car (if there aren't too many heavy gadgets in it), a bit better and a bit more expensive than the MX-5

the difference between bmw's and other carbrands is that they make their car look better in the photo's than in real life and bmw do not....*