2012 BMW 3 Series to help brand keep its lead over Mercedes-Benz

BMW is on its way to become the best-selling luxury brand in the United States this year and believes it can keep the momentum going in the first quarter of 2012. How? With the new redesigned 2012 BMW 3 Series Sedan.

“We have a window to stay No. 1 in the first quarter,” Ludwig Willisch, BMW North America’s new boss. “Our model lineup is broad. We have a lot of opportunities to get there.”

Mercedes-Benz has been doing its best to gain back ground and take the sales grown away from Lexus, which has been the leader in the luxury segment for 11 years.

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BMW sold a total of 177,679 units during the first 9 months of 2011, while Mercedes-Benz sold 170,058.

Click here for our original post on the 2012 BMW 3 Series.

The 2012 BMW 3 Series will start rolling into U.S. showrooms in February.

Refresher: The 2012 BMW 3 Series three trim levels including Sport Line, Luxury Line and Modern Line – of course, an M Sport Package will follow. The 2012 BMW 328i is powered by a 2.0 liter TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder engine making 240-hp at 5,000 rpm and 260 lb-ft of torque between 1,250 and 4,800 rpm. That allows 0 to 60 mph to come in just 5.7 seconds with a top speed of 130 mph (155 mph with Sport Line package). Power for the 2012 BMW 335i comes from the same N55 3.0 liter 6-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine making 300-hp at 5,800 rpm with a maximum torque of 300 lb-ft between 1,200 rpm and 5,000 rpm. 0 to 60 mph comes in 5.4 seconds with a top speed of 130 mph (and 155 mph with Sport Line package).

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News