Quote:
Originally Posted by Investor
It is this way because somebody in marketing wants it so.
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Exactly. It isn't just the US and Canada, every market has different options. Check out the UK site for a completely different set of configurations ( www.bmw.co.uk) You just notice the CA site because it is next door, so to speak.
The marketing company in each region or country has to decide which models, and which options, it will sell in their own territory. The only issue with the factory is whether they can meet local regulatory requirements. Apart from that, it is just a case of different marketing committees. Those marketing committees include options that in their opinion will increase sales, but they have a counteracting pressure to reduce the number of configurations available because it helps control inventory costs. More configurations means they end up with more cost in the inventory pipeline.
In this case, they just made a different judgement call than their equivalent department on the other side of the Canada-US border.
It also goes far beyond options. Consider all the talk about the extended warranty. BMW CA just doesn't sell one, your only option is aftermarket. Our maintenance plan is just scheduled oil and filters, nothing more.
I always thought that the best Canada-US difference was an early M3, that came to Canada with Euro horsepower specs, but got significantly detuned for the US. It took several years before BMW NA was brave enough to sell it in the US as it was designed.
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