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Originally Posted by ScottAndrew
Or rich Americans demanding luxury and power basically, for whom a "320d" or "320i" is some kind of reds-under-the-bed Kremlin-backed subversion. I can't think of a brand for which there is such a wide gulf in market positioning and demand as BMW. The evidence supporting creation of a sub-brand is certainly overwhelming.
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Hummm... the E21 was only available in the USA with the M10 4-cylinder, while Europe it was offered with the M20. The E30 was originally offered with the M10, until the
eta M20 was offered as the first US-Market 3-series with a BMW straight-six. The E30 didn't get much respect with both under-powered engines. When the E30 was finally offered with the M20B25 starting in 1987 was it a respectable car in the US. BMW sold the 1st and 2nd generation 7-series in the USA with a manual transmission option.
I'd argue the Mini is BMW's US sub-brand. In the USA, the Ford, Chevy, and RAM pickup trucks have a far more diverse market position and demand than BMW could ever dream of.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."