Mika
06-03-2007, 05:30 AM
Today’s Birthdays / Calendar (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&day=2007-6-3&c=1)
http://img.123greetings.com/eventsnew/birth_kids/1008-006-28-1017.gif
News:
The competition for BMW’s 450
mtorcycledaily.com
A short take: 2007 Kawasaki KX450F and KX250F ( http://www.motorcycledaily.com/31may07_2007kawasaki_kx450f_kx250f.htm)
electricmotorcycles.net
Electric bike on a drive shaft with gears (http://electricmotorcycles.net/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=106)
canada.com
Trouble brews in Germany as boom in biofuel jacks up price of beer ( http://www.canada.com/technology/story.html?id=fa9ffbfa-226f-4ebe-bb50-3b1a9c2d87f0&k=39750)
kxma.com
Leinenkugel brothers look for more innovation with craft brews… ( http://www.kxma.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=128450)
Rumors:
Motoclismo Magazine and many Euro blogs are hoping this is the Honda Hornet 1000 for 2008
http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/158767803-L.jpg
Blog Update:
Nate Kern (http://nate-kern.blogspot.com/2007/06/hi-yall-i-guess-thats-how-they-spell-it.html)
Meanderings on Two Wheels (http://ridingtwowheels.blogspot.com/)
Motosketches ( http://motosketches.blogspot.com/)
Ed Youngblood’s News and Views ( http://www.motohistory.net/news.html)
bikes ( http://bikermania88.blogspot.com/2007/06/history-main-article-motorcycle-history.html): History
Nelson’s BMW airhead motorcycles (http://1978r100rs-airhead.blogspot.com/2007/06/nelsons-airhead-bmw-motorcycles-my.html)
2009 Dakar Attempt:
Responsible or reluctant? (http://www.2009dakar.com/blog/2007/06/responsible-or-reluctant.html)
café (racer) society:
Speed through unity (http://caferacersociety.blogspot.com/2007/06/speed-through-unity.html)
The return of the Café Racers (http://caferacersreturn.blogspot.com/2007/05/vd-classic-croissants-and-crotch.html)
Draw of the Mountains
Day 5 (http://drawofthemountains.blogspot.com/)
Faster and Faste:
Custom Triumph Pettinari Speed Triple (http://sameerkumar.blogspot.com/2007/06/custom-triumph-pettinari-speed-triple.html)
loudbike (http://loudbike.blogs.com/loud_bike/2007/06/rob_tastes_heri.html)
Musings of an Intrepid Commuter (http://intrepidcommuter.blogspot.com/)
pitted chrome:
The bike that started it all is now gone (http://www.pittedchrome.com/2007/06/bike-that-started-it-all-is-now-gone.html)
Two Wheel Soapbox
Just one word: Plastic (http://twowheelsoapbox.com/?p=28)
WorldRider:
Journey of Adventure & Discovery (http://worldrider.com/blog/archives/2007/02/cabo_virgenes_t.php)
http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/158767785-M.jpg
Motorcycle Repair and Care:
Ride It Like You Stole It!
Review GS-911 Emergency Tool (http://davedragon.rilysi.com/2007/05/review-gs-911-emergency-tool.html)
Wonderings:
Acquisition Cost v. Life Cycle Costs
In my management life I found myself doing many AC v. LC analyses. Some outcomes were predictable while many were surprising. Many a grand discount on the front end would leave us paying through the nose over the expected life cycle of a product.
With that background in mind read the following article do a bit of wondering with me.
inter-bike.co.uk (http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/tblnewspop.asp?news=1779)
Britain gets price reductions and subsidized insurance for Aprilia’s
I have wondered about the value of insurance subsidies to new bike buyers in the N.A. markets. Set aside the problems of multi state/province jurisdiction and regulation issues and think about it for a moment.
With the weak dollar manufactures are selling bikes in our markets at a discount from what they are charging in their home markets. Some will remember a comparison I did of the price of the BMW line in the US and Germany using prices from the respective markets and converting them into US dollars. The discount for the US purchase ranged between $1 to almost $5000 at the then current exchange rates. While sales were up for all BMW lines the per unit profit was down for 2006. Currency/cost issues were sited as a major factor.
Margins have been tight at the dealer level and growing slimmer all the time. The traditional wisdom is to dicker on accessories because there still is margin to play with there. This is still a workable strategy but seems to assume that accessory manufactures have found a way to avoid the impacts of product costs/ unit margins that have hurt BMW’s unit margins. Unless they have found a magic business model the margins and hence the ability to dicker discounts with them is also getting slimmer.
Is the N.A. market ready for the strategy of offering subsidized insurance as draw to buy? What would the period of subsidy that would work to motivate you? For example if the subsidy was over three years and amounted to 10% of the purchase price, would that work for you?
Ignore, as I said in the beginning of this wondering, the legal issues of putting such a deal in place in N.A. and think about it. I wonder what your reaction to the idea is once you have given it some thought.
Weather
West Bend WI
Current (http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USWI0733?from=search_current)
10 Day Forcast (http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USWI0733?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared )
United States
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (http://www.noaa.gov/)
Canada
Meteorological Service of Canada (http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/canada_e.html)
Today’s RoadFood.com ( http://www.roadfood.com/)
Woot
Todays Woot ( http://www.woot.com/Default.aspx)
The Blog ( http://www.woot.com/Blog/Default.aspx)
Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City (http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/)
All things BMW
BMW Sauber F1: Website (http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html)
BMWOracleRacing.com (http://bmworacleracing.com/en/index.html?track.refer=) the America’s Cup website.
The 32nd America’s Cup Official Website (http://www.americascup.com/en/news/detail.php?idRubr=22&idIndex=0&idContent=18116)
BMW Group Press Club:
PressClub Canada
BMW Group Canada sets monthly sales record for BMW, MINI and Motorrad.
Whitby, Ontario. BMW Group Canada reported today a best ever sales month of 3,133 BMW and MINI vehicles in May. May sales increased 25.7% compared to May 2006 sales. BMW Group also achieved a year-to-date sales record of 10,979 units, up 18.3% compared to the same period last year.
“May was a significant sales month for BMW, MINI and Motorrad,” said Christian Feilmeier, Vice President, Finance & Administration, BMW Group Canada. “All three brands set new monthly and year-to-date sales records and BMW Group Canada passed the 3,000 unit sales threshold for the first time.”
BMW Brand: BMW brand sales up 28.3% to achieve monthly sales record.
The BMW brand sold a record 2,721 units in May 2007, an increase of 28.3% over May 2006 and the best ever sales month for BMW. The new 3 Series Cabriolet with BMW’s first retractable hard top roof led the way with the largest sales increase in May. Sales of the 3 Series Cabriolet were up 287.1%, translating to 391 units.
The BMW brand achieved record year-to-date sales of 9,496 units, an increase of 19.5% over last year.
BMW Motorrad Canada also experienced an all-time best sales month in May with 326 motorcycles sold, up 75.2% from last year. Year-to-date, BMW Motorrad has retailed 782 units, up 37.4% from the same period last year.
BMW Pre-Owned sales for May were 831 units, 617 of those were Certified units, an increase of 12.1% and 37.7% respectively, compared to May 2006. Year-to-date, 3,627 Pre-Owned units, 2,793 of those Certified, were sold which is an increase of 16.3% or 26.7% respectively compared to the same period last year.
MINI Brand: Record May Sales for MINI.
MINI achieved its all time best sales month with 412 units sold in May 2007, an increase of 10.8% over May 2006. 1,483 MINIs have been sold in Canada year-to-date, up 11.1% compared to last year.
MINI Pre-Owned sales in May totaled 64 units, with 38 of them MINI NEXT certified pre-owned vehicles. This was a best ever May for MINI Pre-Owned and an increase of 25.5% and 31.0% respectively over May 2006. Year-to-date, 245 MINI Pre-Owned units have been sold, 154 of which were MINI NEXT, a 10.9% and 22.2% respective increase over the same period last year.
Morning Reads: RALLY PAGES (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?p=211958&posted=1#post211958)
http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally/rally07/assets/home_logo2.png
A resource of information and links to information for use at the 2007 Rally
Bike Candy:
http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/152925424-L.jpg
Rustic Road 21 ( http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/scenic/rusticroad21.htm)
THE END ( http://www.cograilway.com/images/end_of_plowing-day1x.jpg)
http://img.123greetings.com/eventsnew/birth_kids/1008-006-28-1017.gif
News:
The competition for BMW’s 450
mtorcycledaily.com
A short take: 2007 Kawasaki KX450F and KX250F ( http://www.motorcycledaily.com/31may07_2007kawasaki_kx450f_kx250f.htm)
electricmotorcycles.net
Electric bike on a drive shaft with gears (http://electricmotorcycles.net/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=106)
canada.com
Trouble brews in Germany as boom in biofuel jacks up price of beer ( http://www.canada.com/technology/story.html?id=fa9ffbfa-226f-4ebe-bb50-3b1a9c2d87f0&k=39750)
kxma.com
Leinenkugel brothers look for more innovation with craft brews… ( http://www.kxma.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=128450)
Rumors:
Motoclismo Magazine and many Euro blogs are hoping this is the Honda Hornet 1000 for 2008
http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/158767803-L.jpg
Blog Update:
Nate Kern (http://nate-kern.blogspot.com/2007/06/hi-yall-i-guess-thats-how-they-spell-it.html)
Meanderings on Two Wheels (http://ridingtwowheels.blogspot.com/)
Motosketches ( http://motosketches.blogspot.com/)
Ed Youngblood’s News and Views ( http://www.motohistory.net/news.html)
bikes ( http://bikermania88.blogspot.com/2007/06/history-main-article-motorcycle-history.html): History
Nelson’s BMW airhead motorcycles (http://1978r100rs-airhead.blogspot.com/2007/06/nelsons-airhead-bmw-motorcycles-my.html)
2009 Dakar Attempt:
Responsible or reluctant? (http://www.2009dakar.com/blog/2007/06/responsible-or-reluctant.html)
café (racer) society:
Speed through unity (http://caferacersociety.blogspot.com/2007/06/speed-through-unity.html)
The return of the Café Racers (http://caferacersreturn.blogspot.com/2007/05/vd-classic-croissants-and-crotch.html)
Draw of the Mountains
Day 5 (http://drawofthemountains.blogspot.com/)
Faster and Faste:
Custom Triumph Pettinari Speed Triple (http://sameerkumar.blogspot.com/2007/06/custom-triumph-pettinari-speed-triple.html)
loudbike (http://loudbike.blogs.com/loud_bike/2007/06/rob_tastes_heri.html)
Musings of an Intrepid Commuter (http://intrepidcommuter.blogspot.com/)
pitted chrome:
The bike that started it all is now gone (http://www.pittedchrome.com/2007/06/bike-that-started-it-all-is-now-gone.html)
Two Wheel Soapbox
Just one word: Plastic (http://twowheelsoapbox.com/?p=28)
WorldRider:
Journey of Adventure & Discovery (http://worldrider.com/blog/archives/2007/02/cabo_virgenes_t.php)
http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/158767785-M.jpg
Motorcycle Repair and Care:
Ride It Like You Stole It!
Review GS-911 Emergency Tool (http://davedragon.rilysi.com/2007/05/review-gs-911-emergency-tool.html)
Wonderings:
Acquisition Cost v. Life Cycle Costs
In my management life I found myself doing many AC v. LC analyses. Some outcomes were predictable while many were surprising. Many a grand discount on the front end would leave us paying through the nose over the expected life cycle of a product.
With that background in mind read the following article do a bit of wondering with me.
inter-bike.co.uk (http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/tblnewspop.asp?news=1779)
Britain gets price reductions and subsidized insurance for Aprilia’s
I have wondered about the value of insurance subsidies to new bike buyers in the N.A. markets. Set aside the problems of multi state/province jurisdiction and regulation issues and think about it for a moment.
With the weak dollar manufactures are selling bikes in our markets at a discount from what they are charging in their home markets. Some will remember a comparison I did of the price of the BMW line in the US and Germany using prices from the respective markets and converting them into US dollars. The discount for the US purchase ranged between $1 to almost $5000 at the then current exchange rates. While sales were up for all BMW lines the per unit profit was down for 2006. Currency/cost issues were sited as a major factor.
Margins have been tight at the dealer level and growing slimmer all the time. The traditional wisdom is to dicker on accessories because there still is margin to play with there. This is still a workable strategy but seems to assume that accessory manufactures have found a way to avoid the impacts of product costs/ unit margins that have hurt BMW’s unit margins. Unless they have found a magic business model the margins and hence the ability to dicker discounts with them is also getting slimmer.
Is the N.A. market ready for the strategy of offering subsidized insurance as draw to buy? What would the period of subsidy that would work to motivate you? For example if the subsidy was over three years and amounted to 10% of the purchase price, would that work for you?
Ignore, as I said in the beginning of this wondering, the legal issues of putting such a deal in place in N.A. and think about it. I wonder what your reaction to the idea is once you have given it some thought.
Weather
West Bend WI
Current (http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USWI0733?from=search_current)
10 Day Forcast (http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USWI0733?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared )
United States
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (http://www.noaa.gov/)
Canada
Meteorological Service of Canada (http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/canada_e.html)
Today’s RoadFood.com ( http://www.roadfood.com/)
Woot
Todays Woot ( http://www.woot.com/Default.aspx)
The Blog ( http://www.woot.com/Blog/Default.aspx)
Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City (http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/)
All things BMW
BMW Sauber F1: Website (http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html)
BMWOracleRacing.com (http://bmworacleracing.com/en/index.html?track.refer=) the America’s Cup website.
The 32nd America’s Cup Official Website (http://www.americascup.com/en/news/detail.php?idRubr=22&idIndex=0&idContent=18116)
BMW Group Press Club:
PressClub Canada
BMW Group Canada sets monthly sales record for BMW, MINI and Motorrad.
Whitby, Ontario. BMW Group Canada reported today a best ever sales month of 3,133 BMW and MINI vehicles in May. May sales increased 25.7% compared to May 2006 sales. BMW Group also achieved a year-to-date sales record of 10,979 units, up 18.3% compared to the same period last year.
“May was a significant sales month for BMW, MINI and Motorrad,” said Christian Feilmeier, Vice President, Finance & Administration, BMW Group Canada. “All three brands set new monthly and year-to-date sales records and BMW Group Canada passed the 3,000 unit sales threshold for the first time.”
BMW Brand: BMW brand sales up 28.3% to achieve monthly sales record.
The BMW brand sold a record 2,721 units in May 2007, an increase of 28.3% over May 2006 and the best ever sales month for BMW. The new 3 Series Cabriolet with BMW’s first retractable hard top roof led the way with the largest sales increase in May. Sales of the 3 Series Cabriolet were up 287.1%, translating to 391 units.
The BMW brand achieved record year-to-date sales of 9,496 units, an increase of 19.5% over last year.
BMW Motorrad Canada also experienced an all-time best sales month in May with 326 motorcycles sold, up 75.2% from last year. Year-to-date, BMW Motorrad has retailed 782 units, up 37.4% from the same period last year.
BMW Pre-Owned sales for May were 831 units, 617 of those were Certified units, an increase of 12.1% and 37.7% respectively, compared to May 2006. Year-to-date, 3,627 Pre-Owned units, 2,793 of those Certified, were sold which is an increase of 16.3% or 26.7% respectively compared to the same period last year.
MINI Brand: Record May Sales for MINI.
MINI achieved its all time best sales month with 412 units sold in May 2007, an increase of 10.8% over May 2006. 1,483 MINIs have been sold in Canada year-to-date, up 11.1% compared to last year.
MINI Pre-Owned sales in May totaled 64 units, with 38 of them MINI NEXT certified pre-owned vehicles. This was a best ever May for MINI Pre-Owned and an increase of 25.5% and 31.0% respectively over May 2006. Year-to-date, 245 MINI Pre-Owned units have been sold, 154 of which were MINI NEXT, a 10.9% and 22.2% respective increase over the same period last year.
Morning Reads: RALLY PAGES (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?p=211958&posted=1#post211958)
http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally/rally07/assets/home_logo2.png
A resource of information and links to information for use at the 2007 Rally
Bike Candy:
http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/152925424-L.jpg
Rustic Road 21 ( http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/scenic/rusticroad21.htm)
THE END ( http://www.cograilway.com/images/end_of_plowing-day1x.jpg)