If you are talking about transverse FWD architecture then you are obviously wrong. BBA all build a considerable number of transverse FWD vehicles; in fact these are the majority of their sales today because of China. Mercedes uses MFA/MFA2; BMW uses UKL/UKL2; Audi uses MQB. All these platforms are also shared with 'lesser' companies to reduce cost.
Actually switching to the transverse FWD MQB and the longitudinal RWD MSB for different segments is a long overdue decision for Audi. Their longitudinal FWD layout is an 80s relic that was already obsolete in the 90s and somehow on this forum it is considered the 'right' way to do FWD.
Nope. Clearly you didn't look deeply into what I was implying. Three points I have to make.
1. In case you missed it, everyone is shitting on BMW for moving towards FWD platforms that's shared with Mini (like the 1-Series and X1). Not sure where you've been this entire time. For a brand like BMW who always swore that they never would go FWD is sacrilege.
To actually spend money on a quality entry-level RWD product, which BMW was famous for their entire existence, and also cars like the last generation RWD 1-Series was a famous for too. It was a great product, and people actually recognize that and do buy those cars.
I totally don't believe the argument that "most people can't tell the difference between FWD and RWD". You damn well can tell the difference. You take a solid last generation BMW 1-Series and compare it with an equivalent FWD car of that class and the difference is worlds apart. This is BMW's bullsh*t excuse to cut costs. But people will notice and will run away from the brand. I'm calling it right now, if this 1-Series drops as hard as I think it will in Europe and other places where it's offered, they'll immediately revert it back to the RWD platform. Just like how Porsche will be doing the same thing by moving away from those messed up Subaru-esque 4-cylinders that sound like they're choking on concrete and back to those sweet flat-sixes. The only disadvantage that the RWD 1-Series had was interior space and that was also another reason why they did this. But despite that shortcoming, the 1-Series was one of BMW's most popular vehicles in terms of sales and popularity, and it was a good car overall while being not too overly expensive.
So who cares about the BBA product? Now I swear to god I'm not being racist, but most Chinese people I see (in and out of China) buy broke spec cars from luxury marques with the absolute worst quality (yeah and it's FWD too) just because of the "badge". They deal with the worst kind of cost cutting from manufacturers and it's quite disgusting. The new Corolla, Civic and 3 isn't this cheap anymore. So what cars am I talking about? I'm looking at cars like the first generation Mercedes-Benz CLA, the FWD BMW X1, Audi Q3, and the 4 door BMW 2-Series. Literally I don't see any other demographic buying these cars where I am from except the Chinese and young influencers who want to sit their a** in a German luxury car so they can pose and brag to their friends who are driving a Civic. Once they take note (after they pull their heads down from the clouds), they note all the flaws and jump into an entry-level Lexus or an entry-level Porsche (maybe not the best idea because they charge a boat load for options). Hell, even Lincoln is making a really good impression.
2. Clearly you don't understand how BMW, Mercedes and Audi work with their FWD platforms. Because you're purposely missing the fact that those FWD based platforms offer a permanent AWD system that is also quite RWD biased. They're effective, and isn't an element that's a demerit unlike those basic traction control AWD systems you see in Lexus vehicles. Name me ONE Lexus FWD car that has AWD. Don't count hybrids. Right, you couldn't find any. Hence that makes your entire argument a moot point. Lexus should be set on fire for what they're doing, but literally nobody cares. And EVERYBODY buys FWD Lexus vehicles, but as they evolve and get better, FWD naturally becomes out of favour and it needs to be RWD based to be able to support more power and torque.
Power sells cars and if Lexus wants to stay relevant they can't gimp out on that. Also I must add, since their inception they had FWD based vehicles that's shared with Toyotas, so one, it's been accepted within Lexus, the enthusiasts and is competitive as well, and two, they're just SO DAMN GOOD (and lookie here, I am someone who is not the biggest fan of FWD Lexus products but even I admit they're that good) and nobody can dare complain about it. I mean ffs let's look at the Lexus ES. It beat the 3-Series and C-Class in a comparison test a long time ago when it was more compact. As it grew larger and moved upmarket, it became the best FWD luxury sedan. Period. But it doesn't make their excuse any better to keep producing FWD cars that literally cut what feels like more than 50% of the power and torque under acceleration solely because the platform and chassis can't handle it. Why the hell would you put 301 horsepower and 267 lb-ft of torque in a car that suffers from wheel hopping, cutting power and a boat load of torque steer (though the torque steer is way more inoffensive than the Camry and the Avalon).
Also, where is the AWD? At least even if it had AWD, it would have appealed to a wider market, and it would help with sales (which you initially argued about) and most of all, it would have helped in terms of traction and performance. Point is, Lexus is super good at it and mastered it to a certain point where it's actually quite hard to do better than that. Also, Lexus doesn't cut costs in their entry-level cars as much as BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Anyways for the one billionth time, a RWD platform switch is necessary.
3. And jesus christ, look, I get that you're from China and they're an important market, but will all due respect, not everything is about them. Literally you mention China regarding anything. But what about the North American, South American, Western European, Middle Eastern, Eastern European/Russian, Southeast Asian, African and most of all, the Japanese markets?
You're literally talking about a market who wanted BMW to make their nose grille of their flagship sedan 40% larger because they think it looks better (those are words literally taken from the manufacturer themselves, so nobody can deny this). Now watch 7-Series sales take a sharp drop everywhere else except China (ignore the fact that there will be an initial rise in sales because it is a new model). It's that ugly. The more objectively attractive Lexus LS isn't even generating that much sales either. Granted, the LS has it's own little flaws but even that poor car is suffering. Every flagship luxury sedan is suffering bar the S-Class.
Also to close, you've even once admitted you know that I talk from an enthusiast standpoint on another thread, and constructively suggested me to leave the forums because of my anger from their continuous mess ups, so I don't know why you're even making this post in the first place. You know from what standpoint I am talking about. But even on your talk of sales, I gave you examples as to why you're incorrect.
