20 inch - shortage
 

I heard today that there will be no 20 inch wheels for April production. Apparently they are more popular than anticpiated and so there is a shortage.

As a side note, I noticed that the tires have the manufacturer's name in an unusual spot - the tread.

Before some one says that this post is useless without pictures - here you go:

well that's aggravating...i just placed my order for a x5 4.8is with 20s

Why are all the popular options on limited supply or not available yet according to one recent thread there are plenty of stock vehicles at the dealers. Has marketing totally blown this introduction or are there real production problems? I would like to order a 4.8 but can't get it the way I want it. I have been told maybe Sept. prod.

Why is BMW having so many problems with producing and supplying so many options? They dropped the ball big time. In a market this competitive, BMW needs to do better.

1st year runs :)

There were numerous posts before the E70 came out on this board, and others, in regards to the fact that BMW (like most manufacturers) would have issues with a new model release. This is why you generally wait for a 2MY or better. These delays and issues are inevitable because it is extremely hard to predict market curve. And unless you want to lose TONS of money on a set of options nobody wanted, you have to build a minimum amount and wait. The dust should settle by next model year.

Still, this is not their first "1st year run" they have had trouble with. Maybe it is more the "learning curve" than the "market curve" that BMW has a problem with. What surprises me is that they have problems with vital parts of the car: seats, leather, rims. I m sure it is not something they can't fix, but still, why not learn from previous experiences and take action earlier.

They're having a shortage of parts that fall into options list not part of the packages. 20" wheels, Tobacco Leather, Comfort Seats, etc. Most people did not opt for these kinds of options with the E53. Just-in time manufacturing is harder to manage with no experience with a new model and a million options. While this may cause an inconvenience, no one's gonna jump to a Cayenne or Toureg over something this frivolous.

It is first-year run for this model's new gen. You should expect these kinds of issues along with bugs.

Of course I ll stick with BMW, I did change my seats from Comfort to Sport to avoid a wait until september.

in addition to the first year run for E70. the factory in SC just went through a major renovation in late 2006, early 2007. I will assume some of new associates(workers) are not yet familier with building a BMW.

I'm gettting Black Napa Multi-Contour (comfort) seats in an April build X5, no delay.