03-10-2022, 05:40 PM | #67 |
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I'm floored at how many think that Alpina will continue to be its own brand as if BMW just purchased them for fun. forget about what you think Alpina is, was and will ever be, just like the M brand, it doesn't matter. Alpina is a name that BMW purchased. They bought the rights to the name and that's all. They didn't buy great ideas for cars in the past present or future, they bought a name. And what will BMW do with that name? Ask Carroll Shelby, or AMG or the M division. You dont want to hear it and neither do I but consider Alpina a trim level from now on and not a bespoke builder. They might do some cool stuff with it from time to time just like M but the thrill is gone and mass production sales are the future for BMW.
How many people are gonna buy the 2024 M228i Alpina edition? They're already sold out, because we only care a little. |
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03-10-2022, 05:46 PM | #69 |
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Mixed feelings. Would certainly be cool to see more Alpina models in the US since they are incredibly rare and expensive. However, knowing BMW's priorities over the past 10 years, they will likely whore out the Alpina name just as they did to the M division.
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03-10-2022, 05:49 PM | #70 |
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I can appreciate Alpina, especially their classic wheels and pin striping, but I've never had a desire to own one. I'd rather just go full M division.
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03-10-2022, 06:26 PM | #71 | |
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Like I said earlier, if BMW wanted to go this route and start watering things down, they could have EASILY just turned "BMW Individual" into a trim, they wouldn't even need to buy ALPINA and their production of less than 2,000 vehicles per year. Last edited by TheBingoBalls; 03-10-2022 at 06:41 PM.. |
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03-10-2022, 07:37 PM | #73 | ||
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30 years later, I didn't know what ALPINA was until I started looking at buying my first BMW. BMW definitely doesn't need it for the branding.
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03-10-2022, 08:19 PM | #75 |
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03-10-2022, 08:35 PM | #76 | ||
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Alpina, however, is not a stand alone car or a stand alone anything to most it's a package and to all the soccer mom, executives, and one uppers who drive BMWs having a higher more expensive, exclusive trim makes for an easy buck. They would be stupid and it makes zero sense to make individual a trim level because individual doesn't have a name built for itself like Alpina or M and it's already a part of the company. Now buyers will be able to buy just about any base model with a few upgrades to make it an M and then a few more to make it an Alpina and then drop a few thousand more for the paint shop to throw a little pearl in the paint or put better speakers in it or whatever. Alpina babe stands for far more than what individual does. If individual was its own trim level then they lose out on people feeling like they have something truly special. A Fortune 500 company does not acquire a business with the intentions of keeping that business the same. They buy it to expand on it, they buy it as an investment potential, they buy it to really exploit what that company does. And they paid far more for Alpina than what Alpina makes in profits. If Alpina makes $10 million per year then BMW probably paid $50 million for it. It would take 5 years or far more for any ROI and I'm sure it would take more than that, all things considered. I'm sure my numbers are wrong but that's about how it works. If you're a real estate investor you will expand you're income by buying properties and putting money into them and flipping them to maximize profits. What you're suggesting is that that same investor buys properties and doesn't touch them but instantly flips them, doesn't put on a new roof or fix the floors, just a strait you flip. Both ways you make money but what way makes more? What does BMW care about? Making a unique product for a couple thousand people per year or making a "unique" product and sell to a couple million people per year? BMW does not care about a couple thousand car sales they care about car sales in the millions. |
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03-10-2022, 09:29 PM | #77 | |
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I fully understand what you're saying, BMW can buy up names and make them their own trim and sell but why do that when you already have something already in-house that can achieve the same purpose? The other thing we can argue about is what you think an ALPINA really is. Is it the different VIN? The ALPINA name plate or the ALPINA customization and tuning? Right now, ALPINA is it's own manufacturer ROW, but in Canada, you can see it as another trim (BMW 750i, BMW 750i LWB, BMW 7er PHEV, BMW ALPINA B7) so if BMW continues to do this in the future but it will it have a BMW VIN and no ALPINA name plate but keeps everything else - interior and chassis tuning, are we going to say it's not an ALPINA? I understand why people are pessimistic with what BMW has done recently, but I honestly think they let ALPINA do its thing like they do Rolls Royce. You want the support, you want resources, you want the hardware, here it is. Continue doing ALPINA things. It just won't be in the Buchloe. Last edited by TheBingoBalls; 03-10-2022 at 09:37 PM.. |
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03-10-2022, 09:54 PM | #79 |
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Good move for both parties
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03-10-2022, 11:11 PM | #80 |
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03-10-2022, 11:32 PM | #81 |
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I think most people are off base here. BMW already has a sport brand in M and M Sport. However BMW is looking at the success of the MB Maybach vehicles and will probably use Alpina in a similar fashion to build a differentiated lineup of luxury vehicles that they can jack up their margins with.
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03-11-2022, 02:17 AM | #82 | |
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I don't know whether Porsche or RUF was not interested. Porsche has its perfectly oiled GT war machine division.
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03-11-2022, 06:52 AM | #83 |
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Am I the only one who thinks this is strange? With electric drivetrains providing the instant torque which Alpina is known for why is there a need for this brand at all? Whee does it fit in BMW, BMW M, Rolls Royce family?
Is Alpina going to become the Buick of BMW? Basically a nameplate.
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03-11-2022, 07:15 AM | #84 | |
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03-11-2022, 07:23 AM | #85 |
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I read the short part about surviving electrification and came to the same conclusion as some of you - Alpina would not have survived as an independent OEM without being acquired. So it's either acquisition, or no more Alpina. It's possible that Alpina management even approached BMW and asked them to at least continue their brand and some of their legacy.
At best, they become the Touring version of M. that's not too bad. As an acquisition model, I can only hope for them to be like Mercedes-AMG. Not independent but given the license to stay on-brand and try out crazy things like Black Series and 6x6. That didn't turn out too badly either. |
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03-11-2022, 07:49 AM | #86 |
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I can see any of these outcomes from this. Hopefully it is MORE because of incoming electrification of drivetrains and the lack of tuning need.
Here is hoping they still make Alpina a unique performance LUXURY trim/division/separate brand...just with a focus on suspension tuning and interior trim. Not so much drivetrain tuning. B5 Touring for me please. I'd have that rather than an M5.
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03-11-2022, 09:20 AM | #87 |
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