End of the Z4. E89 production finishing in August.

Going off topic Tom, you can drive an E89 quickly round corners as well as in a straight line, not without some care but they're good enough at non stupid speeds. Back on topic good write up, post pics of your grey CSL shod E89 when it arrives please... :wink:
 
A valid point over perceived vandalism threat on a soft top and I'm sure sales have been lost because of it, however Audi sells a lot of TT's and not all of them are diesel, without resorting to the discounts that BMW have had to offer to meet quotas. My opinion on the folding metal roof though has been influenced by those e85 owners who made negative comments on said roof during the early days of the e89 in 2009 when I ordered mine. And let's be honest as an e89 owner with a folding metal roof you are going to be slightly biased towards it and defend it's virtue....been there. Looking back without those rose tinted glasses, I very much preferred the fabric roof of the e85, quicker, lighter and takes up less space.

Z4Rick said:
What we are left with, as the E89 successor, is likely to appeal to a wider market than the Z4......and I will mourn the loss of yet another best-in-class roadster.
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Best in class roadster :rofl:

Nictrix said:
People like different things.
We ruled out the soft top E85 after seeing the E89.
A retractable hard top for me was the way forward.
Yes you lose a bit of boot space but you dont buy a 2 seater car for the size of its boot.
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Indeed people do, unfortunately not enough wanted the e89 over the competition.
 
metal licker said:
Good post Tom :thumbsup:
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yes I should have said that too,

One other point though, the mkIII TT in 2.0T, S-tronic and Quattro guise is a significantly better car than the e89 and I would be driving one now if I could have got that tan interior on an S-Line
 
A bit early for my lease renewal needs. And rates aren't great right now so an early refresh is out of the question.

I guess we'll see what leftover e89 things are on dealer lots next year and whether BMW goes nuts on residuals for them.
 
From Z3 to Z4 (E85/6) BMW kept the same design ethos although totally different in their implementation, and it worked well as an upmarket European MX5. The E89 seems to always have been somewhere in the middle between the pure minimal thrills of the E85/MX5 roadsters and the long established market for high end GT's by the likes of MB and Jag, and as a consequence has never really seemed to have had a market to target and has suffered because of this, the fact that it is a competent 2 seater capable of both a bit of scratching as well as touring seems to have passed the market by.

The moral is once you've the design right, spend your time refining it, not completely changing it. Mazda have recently produced their millionth MX5, their design ethos hasn't altered from the day's of the MK1 when the realised they had got it spot on.

Stu.
 
I must admit that the fact that the E89 replacement is 'hood' softop only will prevent me from bothering with one and just push me further to an i8 or a 911.

I wont pay 50k plus for a cloth roof on anything. They age, wear and do get slashed. Not worth it in my opinion. Targas/spyders or coupes for me then.
 
techathy said:
So how much of a failure was the E89?
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Well a failure for me would be: -

1 - not selling more than the previous model, you know that thing called sales growth
2 - not continuing the line further and filling the gap through collaboration with another manufacturer to cut costs

TBH failure is a harsh term and not one that I would use in this case, it has just not fulfilled the board's sales aspirations
 
techathy said:
Z4s registered in the UK by year
Z4-reg-year.png

So how much of a failure was the E89?
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I think basing failure on UK sales is somewhat myopic. Despite a much larger market,
sales numbers from the North American market are VERY different:
 

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I was invited by BMW to the official launch of the E89 in May 2009 at Bedford Autodrome, where we drove what were fully loaded 35i's (not M-Sports as they weren't available at launch). I decided there and then I wouldn't be having one, and bought my Z4MC less than a year later. 6 years later I have no regrets.
 
Shame really. I looked long and hard at Z4 ownership and the E89 was a contender at one point. I just found the lure of an M car too much in the end. Never driven an E89 so can't comment on the drive really.

H.
 
The 3 big markets for the Z4 has been Germany, the UK & the US. More so from 2007 onwards the UK became the Z4's main European market.

Z4 v's SLK in the UK
Z4_SLK_UK.png

Z4 v's MX-5 v's SLK v's Audi TT (Coupe & Roadster)
TT_SLK_Z_Europe.png

Essentially the market for this kind of car has been shrinking. Even the 1 million cars produced MX-5 has seen a slow but steady decline in its UK & European absolute sales since 2007.
 
Maniac said:
I doubt they'd be anywhere near as adventurous with styling as those renders.

Last e89 orders were taken in the first half of this year so I read. No further orders are now being accepted apparently.
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That's interesting as I enquired about a broucher 4 weeks ago via BMW UK, I got a call from new car sales at the local dealership who sent a broucher and offered a test drive. Didn't sound like they were aware.
 
TT's are bound to sell more - they have a (small) rear seat in Coupe guise, which means they appear on many corporate company-car lists (including where I work). The Z4 and SLK don't.
 
Those graphics are quite interesting, if they are correct.
And it would seem that apart from a couple of years the Merc is out in front on sales.
It would seem that the Z4 is selling almost as many as the MX5 and considering the difference in price I think thats quite good.
Also there is a decline in all cars meaning that it isnt just the Z4 thats "failing"
Are people in general just moving on to other vehicles such as SUVs that seem to be in at the moment.
 
Nictrix said:
Are people in general just moving on to other vehicles such as SUVs that seem to be in at the moment.
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With the states of the roads, not surprising !
 
After pretty much every country in South America, North America (yes they aren't good!), Africa and South East Asia I will never complain about another road in Britain again... EVER!

After 14,000km in this beast mostly off road... No suspension mods was just a haulage truck with a bus back. Being in the rear was like being on a rodeo bull. My back was pretty much destroyed, later we got a Tata and its was a least twice as bad never experienced anything like it. Wouldn't change it tho.

13735563_735293257113_7234735993925907784_o.jpg


This is in the Etosha Salt Pan in Namibia with our awesome driver Dico at the wheel.

Being back in Britain is like this

[youtube]/R_N8skhI9s0?t=59s[/youtube]

https://youtu.be/R_N8skhI9s0?t=59s
 
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