Thanks to a crafty member of 1Addicts we have the final US 1M ordering guide. Early thoughts? Both good and bad.

When the ordering guide first was released there was outrage that BMW was forcing potential owners to order several packages just to get popular options such as an iPod connector and Navigation. In talking with BMWNA M Brand head Matthew Russell it was clear he was pushing for changes that would satisfy those who wanted a few specific options without having to order $5000 worth of packages. While that ‘s proven to be correct in two cases, we ‘re still left needing to order a full specced car for a couple of key options.

The two changes we can point to with the updated ordering guide (that we ‘re aware of) is 6FL iPod connectively and 639 BMW Assist/Bluetooth as a standalone options. Otherwise everything else remains intact. So once again if you want navigation (an increasingly popular option with the all technology BMW leverages the screen for) you ‘ll need to not only order one package full of options but both. The same goes for things like comfort access and evenpark distance control.

What we don ‘t know yet are prices. But based on BMWNA ‘s pricing of the 135i we can make some assumptions. We ‘d expect the Premium Package (ZPP) to retail for under the $1950 that it costs on the 135i since the car comes standard with leather. Based on that we ‘d look for it retail between $1100 to $1400 (considering leather costs $1450 standalone).

Next up we have the Convenience package. On the 135i this is an $1000 option and includes alarm, keyless and PDC. On the M3 it ‘s priced at $2900 and not only includes Nav (normally a $2100 stand-alone option) but also the iPod adapter (typically $400). If you take away that last option you have the 1M Convenience package. Based on this we would expect the 1M Convenience Package to retail from $2300 to $2500.

Confused yet? Hopefully we all won ‘t be within a few weeks when BMWNA releases final pricing.

BF Analysis

We have yet to see how BMW prices these options but we can ‘t help but be a little disappointed by what we see above. The thing that is particularly galling about this move is that it ‘s at odds with what this car has been marketed as. BMW has gone out of their way to say the 1M is a return to the roots of BMW M. Unfortunately someone didn ‘t tell the accountants in Munich (where these decisions were likely made) and the US customer is once again forced to choose between a stripped down car or one full of options and extra weight.

Surely profit margins will be tight and this move was likely made to make the 1M a money making proposition for the US market. And it ‘s a completely understandable given that BMW is the business of making not just great cars but also money. However this is a bit disappointing given that I ‘ve ordered a 1M to be a back to basics car. I had planned on Nav, iPod, Bluetooth and nothing else. Now I ‘ll be having to remove Nav from the possibilities given I don ‘t want the weight, cost and complexity of having a full optioned 1M. Unfortunately for BMW that also means they just lost out on another $2100 of my money. I can ‘t help but wonder how many others are in my shoes.