Fun Fact: 4/5 1-series drivers "think it's FWD"

According to BMW CEO - http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/248407/

So, only 20% of buyers are "enthusiasts"? I suppose that probably sounds about right.

I'd like to see the demographics of their survey audience.

nderwater wrote: I'd like to see the demographics of their survey audience.

Apparently 80% of the demographics were idiots.

m4ff3w wrote:

nderwater wrote: I'd like to see the demographics of their survey audience.

Apparently 80% of the demographics were idiots.

Thats true of any demographic.

They should have asked more than 5 people...

In the U.K. where I assume this survey was taken (since it's referencing the mag AutoCar) A LOT of folks buy based on the brand name. The cheapest 1 series 3 door hatch (yeah, they sell it as a hatchback EVERYWHERE else but here) doesn't cost much more than a Ford Focus...so which would you buy?

Nearly every other car in this market segment is FWD...is it so stupid for the "casual" owner to believe the 1 series is also FWD? FWIW, the British mag CAR calls the 1 series hatchbacks THE stupidest cars that BMW sells. Their only redeeming feature is the total lack of FWD induced torque steer....their crummy space utilization makes them poor choices for much more than cummuter use by 1 or 2 people.

integraguy wrote: In the U.K. where I assume this survey was taken (since it's referencing the mag AutoCar) A LOT of folks buy based on the brand name. The cheapest 1 series 3 door hatch (yeah, they sell it as a hatchback EVERYWHERE else but here) doesn't cost much more than a Ford Focus...so which would you buy? Nearly every other car in this market segment is FWD...is it so stupid for the "casual" owner to believe the 1 series is also FWD? FWIW, the British mag CAR calls the 1 series hatchbacks THE stupidest cars that BMW sells. Their only redeeming feature is the total lack of FWD induced torque steer....their crummy space utilization makes them poor choices for much more than cummuter use by 1 or 2 people.

Yup - it's really that stupid.

I think the 1 is quite ugly.. the prettiest version is the one we do not get.. the 2 door hatch

Even if FWD is common in that price segment, when you spend $30K on a car, you damn well better know what hardware it has. Besides, it's a BMW...duh.

they are right.. 90% of the people buy the car for the name alone

Maybe they think it's related to the MINI...

You'd think that the driving characteristics or the view when they opened the hood (or crawled underneath) would tip them off. I guess that tells us something else about 80% of 1-series buyers...

WilD wrote: You'd think that the driving characteristics or the view when they opened the hood (or crawled underneath) would tip them off. I guess that tells us something else about 80% of 1-series buyers...

That assumes they open the hood. I know a guy who owns an AMG Mercedes and has had it for years. I asked him to open the hood so I could check out the engine...he didn't know how.

In reply to Cotton:

Not that you could see the engine for all the plastic.

I would bet most people on the road have no idea which set if their drive wheels. Most do not even know what engine size their car has. My sister in law is a good example. She had to call me to get her car's name correct, engine size, and ask what year it is! (she was checking on repair prices for brakes by phone) And she's owned for almost 2 years now...it's pretty common really.

And I would probably add that most BMW buyers are not enthusiasts, and neither are new Porsche buyers if you believe a local salesman. They are just old guys that have a bit of money and want a cool car...according to him.

WilD wrote: You'd think that the driving characteristics or the view when they opened the hood (or crawled underneath) would tip them off. I guess that tells us something else about 80% of 1-series buyers...

Most people buy new cars so they don't HAVE to ever open the hood or crawl under the car. the 1 sereis is sold there as a small 2 box hatchback, like a pile of other cars that cost less to the same. I don't think that it's advertised as RWD, so the average buyer, who doesn't read car magazines, or obsess over sports cars, has no reason to believe it's any different than all the other cars in it's segment in that regard. And why should they? Since they have small diesel engines avaialble, cloth interiors, and are not as luxurious/costly as the "basic" models sold in teh US, it's more about the reputation of the company and the reliability/economy/comfort of the car and the company.

I have a nice GE refrigerator, but I couldn't tell you any of the technical details of why it might be superior/inferior to other refrigerators in it's category. I just like it, it fits in my kitchen, and it works. I'm not a fridge enthusiast, don't read the magazines, and frankly, don't care.

They also think it has a V6 engine.

racerdave600 wrote: I would bet most people on the road have no idea which set if their drive wheels. Most do not even know what engine size their car has. My sister in law is a good example. She had to call me to get her car's name correct, engine size, and ask what year it is! (she was checking on repair prices for brakes by phone) And she's owned for almost 2 years now...it's pretty common really.

sounds like my sis... she bought a car many yrs ago and I called her to ask what kind... her reply.."red"

Friend's dad has a 1983 Porsche 944. 12,000 miles on it. Bought it new.

The starter died and he had to get the car out of his parking gargage because they were cleaning it.

I went over, pushed the car back out of its parking space, had his son-in-law help me get it rolling, jumped in, pulled it into 2nd, let out the clutch, started it, and drove it to his mechanic.

The guy's eyes were as big as saucers... he had never heard of anyone roll starting a car. Ever. It was as if I'd just pulled off the greatest magic trick he'd ever seen.

He's about 80... you think he would have run across that little trick at some point. And he was enough of an enthusiast to buy a new Porsche...

Bill

Doesn't surprise me one bit. A coworker once asked me if the, then new, 2004 Mustang Mach 1 he was about to buy was FWD or RWD. He somehow ended up with a Cooper S instead. When he got it, he'd drive around the parking lot in first with engine screaming at about 7400 RPM because "I can't put it into 2nd until it goes to the red"

Same guy was stunned when I roll started his dead batteried MINI and had the same reaction as Bill's story. He was on the phone with AAA calling a wrecker when I did it too.

I've also read about people that work at smog stations with rolling roads and strapping the front wheels of Miatas to the rollers. Those people should know and have no excuse compared to the average appliance driving citizen.

I bet computer nerds have this same conversation about people that buy new computers from a big box store.

I bet computer nerds have this same conversation about people that buy new computers from a big box store.

RossD wrote: I bet computer nerds have this same conversation about people that buy new computers from a big box store.

All enthusiasts think this about non enthusiasts I think. I hate talking to people like that, so I try not to be like that either.

"When you spend $30K on a car...."

You'd be amazed at the number of folks driving BMWs and M-Bs who don't know how many cylinders the engine in their cars have. I'll bet lots of folks drivng many cars in the $30+ range can't tell if it's FWD or RWD ...with any accuracy, and MOST don't care.

BTW, the M-B competitor to the "1 series" is FWD.