Less Than What the People Want: BMW Shorts U.S. 40k In Production

With the wild ride that the dollar has been on, BMW has decided to reduce its U.S. allotment by up to 40,000 vehicles. BMW figures that it can make more money with the same cars elsewhere, so why should it ship them to the troubled U.S. market? Not that BMWs have ever been offered at a discount, but the company has seen that its Mini brand can command fantastic average transaction prices by constraining supply. You simply cannot go into a Mini store and say "give me two grand off" as they'll laugh you out the door. Rather, you walk in, hat in hand, and beg for the opportunity to buy one of the last remaining models with all sorts of crazy dealer additions or agree to wait until they can build and ship you one. With up to 40,000 less BMWs hitting our shores, the likelihood of your getting smokin' deal on a 3-series is greatly reduced.

The article also mentions that the seven-seater X7 has been cancelled. I wasn't aware that it was still on.

source: inside line