AutoblogGreen

Mercedes isn't going to be too happy to discover that the Smart has "moved' to the competition!

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Seriously, how can an ABG writer make the mistake of saying that BMW is going to be selling the Smart? It's been all over Autoblog for months that the Smart is coming to the USA...via Mercedes Benz. Duh.

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By the way, a mention of the potential "new-Isetta" might have been a bit more relevant.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/28/bmw-ma-bring-back-isetta/

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I think BMW is losing their way. Yes they are still making money, but while most people focus on BMW design I look more critically at the product. X6 and Mini SUV as prime examples. They have Mini which is inherently fuel efficient and thus"greener" than most brands out there, especially the premium brands. Why not bring over the Mini D or how about a super efficient Mini with 1.4 liter engine from PSA? Mini could easily be positioned as a green brand without much effort. To start a new brand which will undoubtedly would be a premium brand, since that is all BMW knows how to make is just dumb. Why compete against yourself? They certainly can't compete against Honda, Mazda etc and expect to make money. BMW does not know how to build a mainstream car, look what happened when they owned Rover.

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Mini is not fuel-efficient. Mini is just a way to build a small car that is really not practical and has higher CO2-emissions than the bigger and more practical VW Polo. Mini is a small retro-brand in the sporty lineup of BMW. So a real green brand would be usefull. BMW has some brands they could use for a efficient "green" car: Isetta, Glas, Triumph ,etc.

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I guess it depends on your definition of green. Mini's get very good gas mileage, which I suspect is what BMW is really after. If by green you mean electric then yes do another brand. But why bring out another premium brand, when you have a great brand that has been accepted all over the world? Mini is currently the only sucessful small premium brand selling all over the world.

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"BMW also makes the fuel efficient Mini and recently began selling the tiny Smart in the United States."

Mercedes sells Smart, not BMW!!!!!!

In reference to the two posts above, there really is no such thing as one car being fuel-efficient and antother car not being fuel-efficient.

If you compare two vehicles of similar size, weight, and engine, their fuel-economy is usually almost the same.

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Of course there are great differences in fuel efficiency. It mostly depends on engine technology, engine size and weight of car. The problem about mini is that they use very powerfull engines for such small cars. Why do you need about 100 hp for a car wich isn't longer than 3,60 m. A Skoda Fabia can bring you anywhere you want to go with a small 60 hp engine. There are a lot of cars which are bigger with better mileages. The other bad point is the weight of the mini. A Mini D is heavier than a 1.9 TDI Golf IV. The VW Lupo was about the same size but needed just 3 liter per 100 km (78 miles per US gallon or 94 miles per Imperial gallon). That really was an efficient small car.

@ Joseph
You forgot aerodynamics and transmission technology. The factors you mentioned are what decides if a car is fuel-efficient or not.

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BMW doesn't need a new brand at all. Rather, it needs to redefine the concept of "premium", which basically just means the product costs more than it otherwise would. Currently, it also means a product with high power, luxury, safety, gizmos, prestige etc. - all features that (supposedly) benefit the buyer directly.

With its EfficientDynamics program, BMW is actually already on the right track wrt environmental issues. Since the benefits accrue mostly to society as a whole, no-one wants to be the sucker that pays a large premium for an especially green car while his neighbor keeps driving a gas guzzler. Modest but de facto mandatory improvements across the whole model range may not give the marketing department much to shout about, but they do ensure no-one can opt out and, they keep the markup manageable.

The real problem BMW faces is that the EU's plans for fleet average CO2 emissions go well beyond what can be achieved with stop-start systems alone. Sure, BMW could build a new Isetta or buy Loremo, but for the psychological reasons outlines above, they simply wouldn't achieve sufficiently high unit volume. They'd just end up with a commercial flop like the VW Lupo.

Therefore, BMW will need to figure out how to build and market their entire model range with lower weight, downsized engines and more limited luxuries. They will then have to spin this green frugality as added value. That will be very hard, especially for a car maker whose image and profits have long been based on straight-six engines and RWD layouts.

Perhaps they should start lobbying the EU to focus not only on CO2 emissions in the official NEDC but also on actual distance covered by individual cars. Oh, and get them to make stop-start systems mandatory on all new cars.

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Interestingly, BMW owns the word "Evergreen" as an automotive trademark. It registered it in 1991, so it's a long shot, but it has the rights if it wants to create a new brand...
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-number?detailsrequested=C&trademark=1455912

However, Mini was originally an Austin model name not a marque, and BMW might repeat the trick with another old Austin brand: Metro.

http://www.auto-it.co.uk/2008/02/what-name-will-bmws-city-car-bear.html

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