FWD BMW 2 Series Models Too Small For USDM To Be Sold

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: March 11th, 2015

fwd bmw 2 series models too small for usdm to be sold

Hoping to drive home in a front-driven BMW 2 Series? You’ll have to settle for the RWD coupe, as the automaker has no plans to sell the former in the U.S.

Automotive News reports the 2 Series Gran Tourer and Active Tourer — both based upon the UKL1 platform also underpinning the third-gen MINI Cooper — won’t be leaving Germany for the U.S. market due to their small size.

Per a representative, the Gran Tourer’s 179-inch length and the Active Tourer’s 171 inches are too small for a three-row minivan meant for the market. Thus, the smallest USDM BMW will be the 175.5-inch X1 crossover, which will become FWD via the UKL1 platform when the next-gen model goes on sale later this year.

#2SeriesActiveTourer #2SeriesGranTourer #BMW #UKL1 #UnitedStatesDomesticMarket #X1

Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

More by Cameron Aubernon

Comments

Join the conversation

9 of 35 comments

Corey Lewis on Mar 11, 2015

"too small for a three-row minivan meant for the market" Americans. Eating too many hamburgers since 1960.

Like Reply
- See 4 previous
- 28-Cars-Later on Mar 11, 2015
  
  Beef has it's own issues but its the artificially added sugar [in everything] we are being poisoned with which creates the obesity (among other things).
  
  Like
- Corey Lewis on Mar 11, 2015
  
  @28-Cars-Later Yeah, most people have no idea how many HFCS calories they're consuming each day.
  
  Like
- 28-Cars-Later on Mar 11, 2015
  
  @Corey Lewis Did you also know nearly half of the HFCS used contains traces of the most poisonous non-radioactive element known, Mercury? (not the MGM variety unfortunately) "Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies. HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average. "Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html
  
  Like
- Corey Lewis on Mar 11, 2015
  
  @28-Cars-Later That is awful. Thank you corn subsidies.
  
  Like
- Mike9o on Mar 11, 2015
  
  @28-Cars-Later HFCS is now made via bioenzymes not through chemical processes. While mercury was found in some HFCS samples in 2009, the more modern processes avoid this possibility. Wikipedia
  
  Like
Monty on Mar 11, 2015

Perhaps BMW doesn't want to sully the "premium" reputation in the USDM?

Like Reply
CarnotCycle on Mar 11, 2015

BMW could sell it in US as the emergency escape pod on a 7-series.

Like Reply
AnotherMillenial on Mar 12, 2015

"Hoping to drive home in a front-driven BMW 2 Series? You’ll have to settle for the RWD coupe, as the automaker has no plans to sell the former in the U.S" So we're not getting a likely overpriced, FWD micro-MPV with German reliability?! Oh no! And you say all we get is a RWD sports coupe? Who wants to "settle" on that? Surely BMW, "The Ultimate Driving Machine", made the wrong product decision. With the slow-selling Mazda 5 gone where will those customers go?!

Like Reply