I just came back from a 4-day trip to British Columbia (Vancouver and Victoria) and noticed a few interesting car related things. These comments are mainly due to the fact that I naively see the Canadian market pretty much the same as the US market in terms of consumer expectations/habits and brand image. I guess I am missing something though...
- The E46 320i seems pretty common there. Why is it that BMW Canada does not feel that selling 4-cylinder engines "lowers the brand" as BMW US does?
- I looked on bmw.ca and the E90 is sold in 3 flavors there: the 323i (which I guess is the European "real" 325i), 325i and 330i. I find it rather interesting that BMW Canada feels the need for a more entry-level 3-Series and decides for the 2.5L 6-cylinder 323i which only puts out 174hp (that's less than the E46 325i 184hp...) instead of the 320i.
- The Smart car seems to sell okay there. Why is DC waiting to bring it to the US after so many years to teasing? It is that crash-test regulations are different?
- A couple of cars, such as the Acura EL (Civic with an Acura flavor) and Nissan X-Trail (European market SUV), strike me as cars that would probably do very well in the US. Why aren't they sold here?
Anyone has any insights on these questions?
FrenchBoy
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| Reply » Is Canada such a different market? |
I don't know if Canada is that different a market, but here are random thoughts.- The 320 is a 2.2 litre 6 cylinder engine
- The equivalent car in Canada after the exchange is quite a bit more expensive in Canada than the US
- Generally disposable incomes are higher in the US
I think that generally people in Canada spend less money on cars because our disposable incomes are lower, plus cars are a bit more expensive here. Add all of that up and you need lower price points, which I guess are made possible by moving down market.
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| Reply » Is Canada such a different market? |
Interesting, the 323i is not even listed in Germany yet.
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| Reply » Is Canada such a different market? |
Quote: | [*]The 320 is a 2.2 litre 6 cylinder engine | Interesting. I did not realize that the 320i sold in CA was an inline 6. Indeed, the European 320i is a 4-cylinder 2.0L engine. I guess it is similar to what BMW US did with the E90 325i (3.0L in US and 2.5L in EU).
I think BMW is trying to mess with our heads by having model monikers mean different things in different markets 
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| Reply » Is Canada such a different market? |
It costs $$$ to federalize an auto in the US. Less models and options = less cost. Simple economics. The Smart profit will be eaten up in said costs.
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| Reply » Is Canada such a different market? |
AFAIK - there are no 2.2L 4cyln engines in BMW's current lineup. They do have 1.6L 4cyln engines
In fact you can buy 520i's in the rest of the world and those are the same 2.2L 6cyln engines.
Quote: Interesting. I did not realize that the 320i sold in CA was an inline 6. Indeed, the European 320i is a 4-cylinder 2.0L engine. I guess it is similar to what BMW US did with the E90 325i (3.0L in US and 2.5L in EU).
I think BMW is trying to mess with our heads by having model monikers mean different things in different markets |
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Is Canada such a different market?