BMW Axes Mega-SUV, Tests X6 Hybrid, Raises Prices, Cuts Production

In a case of "better never than late," Forbes reports that BMW is not going to build the X7 full-size SUV due to fears that it will sell as poorly as its would-be competitor, the Mercedes-Benz GL. Despite recent rumors from an "inside source" who told WorldCarFans the X7 was just "sleeping," Autopia has now confirmed that the same inside source told his kids a similar excuse after he backed over the family golden retriever. Both the X7 and Fido can be found on a farm in Maine, playfully rollicking through the fields.

On a related note, Edmunds posted video of a BMW X6 hybrid that might be hitting dealerships as soon as 2009. Sadly, the car is suffering from a gargantuan tumor, perhaps caused by the test engineer's cell phone or electromagnetic fields emitted from the massive amount of wiring under the hood. We wish the X6 a speedy recovery. Edmunds claims the gasoline-electric hybrid is "designed to take the edge off fuel costs
without giving up much in the way of SUV practicality or performance," which must signify an extremely advanced hybrid system since the X6 offers neither SUV practicality nor performance.

Future X6 hybrid and X7 sales notwithstanding, BMW is having a hard time in the US market due to (surprise, surprise) the economic downturn. The falling dollar and rising euro, cash- and credit-strapped consumers "trading down" from luxury cars and a trend towards more fuel-efficient vehicles hits especially hard for the luxury and performance automaker, as they sell nearly a quarter of their cars stateside. On Friday, Standard and Poor's announced they were downgrading their outlook on BMW from "stable" to "negative," which "reflects the heightened risk of performance deterioration as a result of the challenges BMW is facing in the automotive industry," according to S&P credit analyst Barbara Catellano. At the same time, the 335i you've had your eye on is going to get a lot more exclusive: BMW announced that they'll be raising prices in the US, cutting production of 20,000 units, and shifting sales of 20,000 more to the European market.

Let's hope the only "performance deterioration" we see is financial. We don't want to come across as iDrive-hating, Bangle-bashing Bimmer Luddites, but the pre-X days were arguably the golden age of BMW. Give us an E39 M5 and we'll burn through a tank of gas faster than you can figure out your adaptive steering. It's a different world now, and if it takes building a Bavarian homage to the AMC Eagle in order to justify importing the currency-challenged 3, so be it.

Photo by Flickr user Piutus