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Not surprising. This is a way to cut down on legacy costs. The costs you committed to ages ago and you are getting nothing for now.
Also, bmws are notorious for design flaws that don't show up until 50,000 miles or so like VANOS, bearings, oil pumps etc. This will help them avoid paying for those issues and also take pressure off their engineers and designers. It will make it desirable to buy cars at the end of their life cycle so most of those problems are apparent or fixed. I got a car with the N55 engine right before the switch to the B58. The B58 may be better with its closed deck design and integrated manifold and turbo, but I'm hopping the N55 had all its kinks straightened out.
This also makes leasing more and more attractive. Hopefully Georgia will start allowing normal leases where you pay tax on the amount of car you lease rather than the 7.5% tax on the whole value of the car which you currently have to pay. It's hard enough to buy a $50,000-$80,000 car without coming up with another $3,750-$6,000 in tax. I also hope BMW lease residuals start reflecting reality or I may be back to buying used VW or Toyotas!
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