BMW LCI not ASAP for M July 18, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , trackbackBMW facelifted the 3 Series last year. Odd, how M hasn’t followed with the M3. Why’s that?
Well, it’s because M has such independence from BMW AG.
It’s able, says Head of Product Management Carsten Pries, to make deliberate decisions separately from mainstream BMs
‘We launched the M3 in March 2008,’ says Pries. ‘In September, AG launched the LCI (life cycle impulse) 3 Series. We didn’t follow, keeping instead the same existing front end.
Why? ‘Because we didn’t think it was necessary.’
The M3, says Pries, is suitably differentiated from the 3 Series not to need the additional expense of an (admittedly subtle) LCI so soon into its like. ‘We carried over the revised design tail lights, that’s all.’
This independence, he adds, comes through M being so well integrated into BMW AG. It can make unilateral decisions 12, even 24 months ahead, as it did in this case.
‘It’s exciting to do LCIs – as with the M6 Competition – but if it’s not necessary, we won’t automatically do it.’
Purity and purpose, rather than marketing for marketing’s sake. That’s M. Now, the X6M…
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[...] no full facelift for the BMW M3 Sedan? Our friend Richard Aucock from MSN UK and RichardAucock.com sat down with Carston Pries, Head of Management Product to find out more about the M3 Sedan and the [...]