BMW is temporarily abandoning the increasingly competitive and popular compact-luxury segment in the U.S., announcing that the 1 Series coupe and convertible will be discontinued for the 2014 model year. It's a sad end to the short life of a line that delivered a couple of decent high-performance models. Production of the E82 coupe officially ended in August; E88 convertible production stopped in June.
Now that the 1 Series coupe is gone, its successor—the F22 2 Series—is expected to make its debut at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, although it's unclear just how quickly BMW will get it to U.S. showrooms. Unless BMW has a lot of already-built 2013 models to hold them over, that leaves BMW vulnerable, particularly as Audi and Mercedes-Benz are both launching new models in the compact-premium space vacated by the 1 Series. Any delay in the arrival of the 2 Series could be bad news for BMW, especially if the public is receptive to the new Audi A3 and CLA-Class. (Of course, in Europe, the F20 1 Series is still available in four-door and three-door-hatchback versions.)
In addition, BMW has made a number of changes across the rest of its lineup. Some of the notable changes include a revised 445-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 in the 5 Series, a limited-edition Frozen Brilliant White Edition for the 6 Series, and the rollout of a new, touchpad-equipped version of iDrive on a number of BMW models.—Paul Duchene
