Quote:
Originally Posted by AlpineCloud9
Just remember what Cayenne did for Porsche. I personally don't think it is bad for BMW to diversify, as long as they keep making the excellent sports sedan/coupe which they had been making for the last few decades.
|
Alpine, I think you are touching the root of the issue.....
- Porsche got lucky with market timing. The Cayenne came in a boom, the X5M / X6M is coming is the worst time in the auto industry
- Porsche didn't reinvest their profits from the Cayenne in their cars. Is the 997 that much better than the 996 or is the 998 going to be that much better than the 997? Are they going to continue to develop flat 6's?
The systemic problem with BMW is they are actively seeking to be MORE profitable. They made this decision well before the economy tanked. One of the reasons BMW is so successful was their R&D spend as a % of revenue. As anyone in finance will tell you, cutting jobs will only net a very small savings from R&D, the big R&D cuts come from projects.
When they killed the Z4M, the CSLs and even the CS, to make trucks, this was their corporate strategy in action. Cutting sedans, coupes and GTs in favor of trucks.
Given the current economy and the long road to recovery, BMW is going to HAVE to cut even more projects. What if they cut more from engine development? What if they don't do a new engine for every generation of M car? Let's just merge with AMG and get it over with....