{"id":84122,"date":"2025-11-06T13:10:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84122"},"modified":"2025-11-06T13:10:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:10:49","slug":"how-lexus-almost-beat-bmw-history-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84122","title":{"rendered":"How Lexus Nearly Broke BMW \u2014 and How BMW Fought Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

BMW sells a lot of cars in the U.S. these days. In fact, at last count, the marque moved 371,346 cars and SUVs last year. It didn\u2019t happen overnight; fifty years ago, BMW of North America\u2019s inaugural year, the brand only sold 19,419 cars. One of the biggest speed bumps on the brand\u2019s journey to selling that many cars came in the late 1980s. Problems began as the U.S. dollar to Deutschmark exchange rate fell, which unfortunately made BMWs extremely pricey in the U.S. (and elsewhere). Adding to the brand\u2019s U.S.-based woes were increasingly stringent emissions standards. Arguably, some of BMW\u2019s greatest enthusiast offerings never made it to our shores because of them. Then, finally, in the final year of the 1980s, BMW had one more reason to lie awake at night: Lexus.<\/p>\n

Lexus Challenges BMW<\/h3>\n