Did the SAV save BMW?

I ‘m currently driving the X6 50i and pondering how it slots into what BMW has been historically. There has been lots of talk among automotive enthusiasts about the influx of SAVs at BMW and how they may or may not have impacted the brand. Yet they sell. But better news for BMW, they offer more profit per vehicle than anything else in the fleet.

And that leads to the idea… did the SAV save BMW from being gobbled up by a larger automaker years ago? During the corporate buying spree of the early and even mid 2000 ‘s, BMW was ripe for a take-over. It ‘s worth considering that the additional sales and profit from the X5 and the X3 (the single most profitable vehicle in the line-up) sured up BMW ‘s financials and helped elevate the company to where it is today.

Granted the full answer is probably a little less dramatic. BMW ‘s line-up has appealed to more people and surely benefited from the rise of the luxury class in the 2000s.

Additionally, one could make the argument that MINI had a hand in that success as well. Yet you can ‘t overlook the SAV in all of this. And as an enthusiast who has typically cast aside the SAV (rightly or wrongly over the years), I have to admit it ‘s been an important part of the equation for many reasons.

Agree? Disagree? Sound off below.