On the Road to North America: BMW and its Plan for the 1-Series

As with its larger 3-Series sibling, BMW has plans for a rapid extension of the 1-Series range including the all-important

The current North American arrival date of the 1-Series, including the all-important four-door notchback sedan, is expected to be late 2006, early 2007. (Photo: BMW Canada)

four-door notchback sedan, expected as the 1's entry ticket to North America. Other 1-Series models, including a Touring (station wagon) and a three-door hatchback are expected to arrive, but not necessarily for North America - our markets are considered too narrow for such a broad range. Eventually a sporty two-door notchback sedan and a convertible will be produced and sold in North America, badged as the 2-Series. Rumor has it M versions of these will be forthcoming.

As it stands, the current arrival date of the 1-Series for North America is late 2006, early 2007. Why the big delay? Aside from adding the straight six and new body styles, BMW is doing a double-take on the car's much-criticized ride. Preliminary tests by magazines and newspapers have yielded a single

BMW showed a possible 2-Series convertible in 2002 dubbed the CS1 concept. (Photo: BMW Canada)

opinion: the 1-Series rides too harshly. Tweaking of the chassis plus other minor alterations should improve these imperfections in Europe before the car arrives in North America.

Further down the road, BMW has plans to revise its inline-four series of engines with a variety of powerplants ranging from 1.6-liters to 2.0-liters. These will deliver more power, torque and better economy. The revised range, dubbed "TU2+" is to be built at BMW's UK engine facility, and all are said to feature a six-speed manual transmission as standard equipment. Whether or not these motors will also be used in the next generation MINI is unknown, but BMW's decision to bring engine production in-house has been made clear for many months. If MINI gets the new engines, it will probably be the only BMW-made product sold in North America to use them. BMW seems adamant about pursuing its 6-cylinder minimum in Canada and the U.S.