Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBingoBalls
That's what most if not all car manufacturers are moving to - it's about using one design to establish brand identity. I have no evidence to back this up but to me, it seems like car manufacturers don't really care to distinguish models, all they want you to know is that person is driving an Audi/BMW/Mercedes/Cadillac almost like they don't want to discriminate against their own models (yes, we know 7er>5er>3er). I'm not saying each manufacturer doesn't want to sell the highest margin vehicles, of course profit is still the goal, but the optics of it all - it doesn't matter which series you buy/drive, it's still a BMW.
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My hypothesis is that CPO profits in some part drive the conservative design evolution. BMW FS and dealers make more on used cars and warranties than on new cars. Avoiding dramatic design changes for volume models makes used cars feel less outdated, and therefore more desirable. (Of course, a market flooded with subsidized leases works against my hypothesis.)