BMW Compactive Tourer - spy pics & info

[Betty Swollocks]

Perhaps the entire 1er line (3dr & 5dr hatch) will be upgraded into 2er line with the next Mk - making 1er designation free for a smaller city car (A1 rival).

So then why make the 3 Series coupe (and of course, the M3 Coupe) a 4 Series, as the argument for that was it would bring some kind of uniformity to the sedan/coupe nomenclature?

It strikes me as fuzzy thinking on the part of BMW. Everybody who agrees with me, hit "agree".

 

[EnI]

What BMW does is take the money they are make from these bullish!t models, buy the Quandts another beach house in the South of France, and then make their core enthusiast models even more orientated towards the lame-stream mass market consumer.

Really? A Beach house? The Quandts are HEAVILY investing the money the get from BMW share dividends back into the business - to help BMW! That's why thay bought the stake in SGL - so BMW got an exclusive partner to produce automotive CFRP @ mass levels. That's why they bought Nordex - so BMW plants can get best & latest wind turbines as energy source. That's why Quandt's are investing in IT start-ups - especially the ones dealing with automotive tech and such. Be sure they don't invest in beach houses.

BMW likes to say that they are doing this so that they can stay independent. I beg the question, what good is staying independent if you have to compromise your core values to stay that way. The more BMW tries to reach this "magical" 2,000,000 sales/year number, the more I believe it would be better for us enthusiasts if some giant conglomerate swallowed BMW whole.

Really? Which one?
Toyota? And what would they do with Lexus then?
VW? Making what out of BMW? Not much with Audi & Porsche already in the VAG's portfolio.
Ford, GM or Chrysler? Yeah, sure.
Daimler? And then what? Making BMW to MB what Bentley once was to RR? A rebadged model. No, thanks.
Some Indian or Chinese company? Sharing faith with eg Jaguar, LR, Volvo? For how long?

Sure BMW cars are not what they used to be. But that's what customers want. Today people want all-round cars. That's why MB is getting more sporty & that's why BMW is getting more comfy. And with all the electronic stuff on-board the carmakers can make a car that's sporty or comfy - on demand! With one or two button clicks. Petrolheads are a dying bread. Generation Z+ is coming: kids obsessed with mobile devices & social media (= communication). For them driving is a nuisance - what they want is an autonomous driving so they can communicate & read & play games & do business etc during the commuting. Customer behavior is changing. And so are the products. What we'll get in few decades will be self-driving mobile devices on wheels. Personal mobility devices.

You'll sit in the car, set up a destination - and a car will bring you there. Autonomously. During the drive you'll be able to do something else: communicate, do business, play games, enjoy the music, even sleep, drink your morning coffee in peace etc.

Sure there would be cars for the enthusiasts - either a pricey collector items. Or some "mass produced track racing cars" - something you'll rent @ the track for the weekend track racing fun. While most will just play racing video games ... with 6D special effects. Even in the P.M.D. during the daily commuting.

We're heading there. At least in urban areas. Tech is almost ready - only the money & the legislation have to follow so the tech can become available to masses. People are already interested in such paradigm shift. What most people want is a simple, comfortable, fun safe & reliable way of transportation from A to B - and Personal Mobility Devices will provide just that: they will be safe, reliable, comfortable, simple - and you'll have all the fun you want with doing what you want during the transport.

 

[Monster]

The problem I see is if every manufacturer gives what the customers want, then it is inevitable that everyone will arrive at the same compromised formula? I think instead of pandering to the generation Z kids, we should educate them about the joy of being an automotive enthusiast. This generation of kids are way too self obsessed and shallow, they need a real hobby instead.

 

[Mr Robert]

This seems like a splendid Skoda Yeti competitor, and as said before, a nice hommage to the original B-class.

 

[EnI]

So then why make the 3 Series coupe (and of course, the M3 Coupe) a 4 Series, as the argument for that was it would bring some kind of uniformity to the sedan/coupe nomenclature?

Did they really? Especially with the sedan-ish or even hatchback-ish GranCoupes in the portfolio. And GTs crossovers wearing the same badge as sedans ... It's been a mess already.

2er Active Tourer & 2er Gran Tourer ... I'm not sure what's the rationale behind the decision of putting 2er badge on a minivan.
As said: one could be they are making space for a sub-compact line which would wear 1er badge in the future.
The other is a pure marketing trick: to make minivan a sibling of a much more sporty car - the 2er - and believe people will associate 2er AT with sportiness. Or because higher designation number would justify the higher price compared to 1er family. But that's really a long shot - even for BMW marketing guys.
What's the most possible explanation is the US market etc situation: where no 1er hatches are available but only 2er coupe & cabrio from now on. So introducing another line (1er AT) would be costly & confusing - so they put all 3 cars into one family: the 2er family. Same may happen with the future sedan & possible wagon spin-off. Wearing 2er badge - and featuring more 2er-like exterior styling. I don't know. We have no info as of yet to make any certain conclusion. But be sure it will make sense in a few years - when the rationale behind that decision will be revealed naturally during the UKL-based product expansion process.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

The problem I see is if every manufacturer gives what the customers want, then it is inevitable that everyone will arrive at the same compromised formula? I think instead of pandering to the generation Z kids, we should educate them about the joy of being an automotive enthusiast. This generation of kids are way too self obsessed and shallow, they need a real hobby instead.

I agree. I want to know who "they" are. "They" who are demanding ever more luxury items on their cars, with the result cars are bloated? I don't know anybody that's been asked, and I certainly haven't been asked.

Wasn't it Steve Jobs who said "the customer doesn't know what they want". Apple is a very product-driven company. When did BMW stop being one?

 

[Monster]

What's the most possible explanation is the US market etc situation: where no 1er hatches are available but only 2er coupe & cabrio from now on. So introducing another line (1er AT) would be costly & confusing - so they put all 3 cars into one family: the 2er family. Same may happen with the future sedan & possible wagon spin-off. Wearing 2er badge - and featuring more 2er-like exterior styling. I don't know. We have no info as of yet to make any certain conclusion. But be sure it will make sense in a few years - when the rationale behind that decision will be revealed naturally during the UKL-based product expansion process.

Do you think this car will sell in respectable numbers in the US?

 

[SCOTT27]

I make no apologies if we make products that appeal to a wide demographic of people. As long as there is a customer identified then there will be a product to match that customer.

If we take the Active Tourer we have identified three types of customer.

1/ A family where a BMW is primary but have a secondary import or domestic vehicle for family duties.

2/ A BMW customer who had to leave the brand because of an increase to the family unit. And there were no products identified at that time.

3/ New customers that would like A BMW but need the flexibility of a crossover but there was never anything within their chosen price range that had seven seats or increased flexibility within the BMW portfolio.

Think of the Active Tourer as higher roofed Touring but with significant space on offer above any other compact and entry BMW.
Active Tourer is designed to stand out and be instantly recognisable as a BMW but also show its versatility and image amongst a segment that maintains a simple rule to be ordinary as it can.
It is also a segment that continues to grow .

The arrival of the Active Tourer comes at a time of booming compact crossover sales which no one cannot overlook.
The preview in the two concepts has allowed considerable interest to be registered and both variants have been tested in customer clinics across the globe to justify success.

 

[bimmerjph]

Really? A Beach house? The Quandts are HEAVILY investing the money the get from BMW share dividends back into the business - to help BMW! That's why thay bought the stake in SGL - so BMW got an exclusive partner to produce automotive CFRP @ mass levels. That's why they bought Nordex - so BMW plants can get best & latest wind turbines as energy source. That's why Quandt's are investing in IT start-ups - especially the ones dealing with automotive tech and such. Be sure they don't invest in beach houses.

Okay, fair enough. The Quandts weren't the best people to single out. However, my point of BMW pandering to their shareholders should still come across.

Really? Which one?
Toyota? And what would they do with Lexus then?
VW? Making what out of BMW? Not much with Audi & Porsche already in the VAG's portfolio.
Ford, GM or Chrysler? Yeah, sure.
Daimler? And then what? Making BMW to MB what Bentley once was to RR? A rebadged model. No, thanks.
Some Indian or Chinese company? Sharing faith with eg Jaguar, LR, Volvo? For how long?

Hey, its BMW who thinks that someone is out to get them. Not me!

And with all the electronic stuff on-board the carmakers can make a car that's sporty or comfy - on demand!

That'd be nice wouldn't it? Too bad no one has figured out how to actually do it properly yet...

Petrolheads are a dying bread. Generation Z+ is coming: kids obsessed with mobile devices & social media (= communication). For them driving is a nuisance - what they want is an autonomous driving so they can communicate & read & play games & do business etc during the commuting. Customer behavior is changing. And so are the products. What we'll get in few decades will be self-driving mobile devices on wheels. Personal mobility devices.

The oldest members of Generation Z are not even 14 years old yet. Anyone that says that they view driving as a nuisance is guessing at best, because they don't even know how they view driving yet. There is no country, state, or province where a member of Generation Z can legally drive. A passion for driving is not something that starts until they drive for the first time. Which as I just said, they cannot legally do yet. I would love to see a graph of BMW's average owner age, as I guarantee you it has shot up over the past three years.

Wasn't it Steve Jobs who said "the customer doesn't know what they want". Apple is a very product-driven company. When did BMW stop being one?

^This is so true.

 

[SCOTT27]

Some more pictures have appeared of the shoot.

 

[LaArtist]

^ahh i see they want some of the B class money..

It looks like shit..just like the B..

People who buy these appreciate that should be a hit

 

[bimmerjph]

Its just boring. In every conceivable way. There is nothing exciting, creative, ground-breaking, or unique about it.

 

[Monster]

Its just boring. In every conceivable way. There is nothing exciting, creative, ground-breaking, or unique about it.

How can it be? After all BMW calls it the segment breaking Compactive Tourer? I can't wait til the marketing department vomits out their garbage and insult our intelligence.

 

[Sunny]

^Is "compactive" seriously the official term for it? It is not even a freaking English word.

 

[Monster]

^Is "compactive" seriously the official term for it? It is not even a freaking English word.

I guess we will have to wait for the official press release material to find out, I really hope they won't use this term.

 

[Cashmere]

making 1er designation free for a smaller city car (A1 rival).

Something like this?

 

[braaf]

What are you guys on about, it's a freaking mom's van not an M3 or M4.

 

[martinbo]

That thing is absolutely hideous! What's wrong with some people?

And that fake Beemer is really ugly too...

 

[Monster]

What are you guys on about, it's a freaking mom's van not an M3 or M4.

I don't think we have problem with the car itself, we understand the necessity of this model but we can't quite get over the name and the model designation of this van.

 

[klier]

Hhaha, awesome comments
I feel so much shame. Can't believe this FWD disaster actually is a Bimmer.

Martin, guess Eni thinks the fake Bimmer isn't ugly looking....LOL!

I don't think we have problem with the car itself, we understand the necessity of this model

We do?
I really do have big problems with the car itself. Couln't really care less about the name.