What do you do when you have just launched a brand-new smaller model, but you are still in the process of ramping up production and need to keep your hungry clientele satiated? To bring home the bacon, BMW trimmed off the fat from their still-tasty older small model for a couple of years – the poverty speck strategy. (Quite the ham-fisted T87 metaphor, though I’ve seen wurst). Let’s have a butcher’s at how this little piggy went to market.
The -02 series debuted in 1966 with the 1600 (later renumbered as 1602). Strictly speaking, those were just a two-door version of the 1962-72 Neue Klasse four-door saloons, but thanks to the subsequent launch of the 2002 in 1968 and 1802 in 1971, the -02 series became the default smaller BMW, surviving much longer than the Neue Klasse it was based on.
The BMW range, by 1975, had evolved from its Neue Klasse roots to include three sizes of saloons, plus the E9 coupé. The regular -02 models, by now the oldest in the range, were to be gradually replaced by the E21 from the summer of 1975; 2002 production did carry over until mid-1976, but solely for export to the US.
But BMW were keen to squeeze every last drop of -02 out of their highly successful legacy platform. Since they had only made it go up in power and trim over the better part of the last decade, the cunning Bavarians figured a de-contented base model might prove popular. After all, who doesn’t like a stripper?
The 1502 was launched in selected markets (North America was not one of them) in January 1975. The moniker was a bit of a misnomer, in that the engine was the same as the one found in the 1602 (to whit, a 1573cc OHC straight-4). The somewhat diminishing 1502 appellation compelled BMW to tuning the engine down to 75hp, ten fewer than in the 1602. This enabled owners to make do with regular rather than premium at the pump – not a small thing, in these post-Oil Shock times. This was somewhat offset by the 1502’s fuel economy, which was reportedly not as good as its predecessor’s.
And then, BMW started picking off other luxuries. The first thing to go was the chrome trim that had adorned the beltline of all Neue Klasse and -02s since 1962. It may not be that apparent in photos (especially on a white car), but in the metal, that missing trim is pretty noticeable. Not that it affects the car’s overall appearance that much…
I’m not sure what, if anything, was done to cheapen the interior. It’s not like the other -02s were particularly luxurious to begin with. The options list was quite large though, and it included some new ones that belied the 1502’s spec: the vent windows would only open if you paid extra for the privilege, for instance.
One notable hidden saving was the lack of sway bars – the car’s somewhat calmer nature made this omission justifiable, in BMW’s eyes. Not that the 1502 was totally lacking in sportiness. It was still a -02, and as such it was still a fairly capable performer. And despite its mission statement as the lowest rung in BMW’s range, it did not come that cheap, either.
The 1502’s base price in West Germany was DM11,390 in January 1975, though that crept up to DM12,380 by the summer – and we think we have it bad with inflation nowadays! Still, that was a full DM1,500 less than the new 316, which had the same engine (albeit rated at 90hp). On the other hand, it was also what you could expect to pay for an Opel Manta 1.9, which boasted 88hp. But the contrast between the 1502 and its rivals was even starker in export markets.
Take Britain, for instance. Sure, if you wanted a more expensive sporty “family coupé,” you had a few options, but they took a fair amount of digging on my part. The Alfa and the Lancia were really in a different league, performance-wise. I omitted the 2-door VW Golf, the Opel Ascona and the Toyota Celica, as well as a plethora of (mostly) capable and cheaper 4-door options (Austin, Ford, Triumph, Peugeot, Vauxhall, Honda…) in that crowded 1500-1800cc segment to try and keep the 1502 from being in last place on this table, but really that BMW was quite an expensive proposition.
Yet BMW allegedly lost money on these cars. At least, that’s what online BMW forums claim – I can neither confirm nor deny that. Part of me finds that doubtful, as the 1502’s tooling costs were a couple of Deutschmarks north of zero. And they did sell over 72,000 of these between January 1975 and the summer of 1977, which isn’t nothing. I guess there were quite a few folks who figured a cheaper and slower -02 was still worth buying.
I’m not sure many were exported in general and to Japan in particular. This one may well have been, back in the day, given where the placement of the mirrors. Given how dear these were in Europe, it must have cost about the price of a well-optioned Toyota Crown over here.
That’s the magic of the BMW image, I guess. Maximum re-speck.
Related posts:
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: BMW 1602 – And There Was Also An 1802 And 1502, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1975 BMW 2002 – Freshly Squeezed, by T87
Curbside Classic: 1972 BMW 2002 Tii – Fifty Years Of Unbeatable Success, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1973 BMW 2002tii – In Need Of Rescue, by Perry Shoar
Curbside Classic: 1976 BMW 2002 – The Ultimate Big-Bumpered Driving Machine, by Tom Klockau
CC Twofer: 1974 BMW 2002 Automatic & 1970 BMW 2002 Ti – Right In The Kidneys, by T87
CC Capsule: BMW 2002 – Why Would You Use A Vintage BMW For A Home Depot Run?, by Jim Grey
CC Capsule: 1972 BMW 2002 Tii – Simplii Extraordinarii, by T87
CC For Sale: 1973 BMW 2002 tii – Beautiful, But Beware!, by Tom Klockau
Vintage Review: 1968 BMW 2002 – Car and Driver’s David E. Davis Picks Favorites, by GN
Road & Track Tested in Europe: 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo – “Watch Out!”, by PN
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1968 BMW 2002 – “But Where Did The Extra Horsepower Go?”, by PN
Vintage Review: BMW 1600 & 2002, by Yohai71
Neighborhood Outtake: BMW 2002 – Evergreen, by PN
Curbside Outtake: 1972 BMW 2002 – A Study in Grüne, by Ed Stembridge
Curbside Outtake: 1971-73 BMW 2002 tii – These Happy Golden Years, by Ed Stembridge
Curbside Outtake: 1975 BMW 2002 – Exactly Like The One Stephanie’s Mom Had, by PN
Cohort Sighting: BMW 2000-02 Touring – The Hatchback Version (and Cabrio) Never Sold In The US, by PN
QOTD: Why Wasn’t the BMW 2002 Touring Hatchback Sold in the US? Would It Have Been Popular?, by PN
COAL: 1974 BMW 2002 – Rust-Bucket Resurrected, by Matt Spencer
Ah, the Corvair.
Question is, was that hugely influential design ever actually good-looking – as opposed to striking, original – in its many, many iterative versions from just about everyone else? My instinct is “no”, but then the BMW E9 and the very lovely 4-door 2nd gen Corvair pop into mind.
The 2002-shape – and btw dear Prof 87, there’s no way that that shell is some 2-door Neu Klasse, other than thematically – is not a pretty car. The glasshouse is too tall, the edges all too severe, the wheels not fullsome enough, and it’s all, in short, just a plain gangly teen that’s about as sexy as a Brutalist letterbox. It’s all just a bit serious, to the point where “grim” isn’t an adjective that’s too far out of relevance.
That said, without that finger-slicing wraparound chrome trim on its middle, it does look a bit incomplete, (though likely that’s just a lack of familiarity). “Oh! You’re right, it IS Jim, but he’s shaved off his beard. Looks a bit….naked, now.” Poor naked Jim.
How on earth the company managed to lose dough on 72K of what has to have been a long-amortized thing is beyond me (as is accounting, or, indeed, maths, but I digress). Exchange rates, perhaps?
Despite all the foregoing, if, to employ the terms of Our Man in Tokyo, one had had to chose an older but still-tasty shaved stripper to go away with one for a hot go, one could do worse. And for sure, the only 02 I’ve driven was a mere 1600, and it was still quite exhilarating.
(For clarity, it was a car, despite rumours.
Yes, these are very much not a “2-door Neue Klasse”. It’s smaller all-round, meaning a completely new body.
As to the 1502 being a money-loser, folks on forums will come up with all sorts of gibberish, but this one is absurd. The -02 and the later 3-Series was by far the biggest source of profits at BMW. In the car business, volume trumps, and these were the first really significant scale BMWs.
The whole reason manufacturers sometimes keep an older model going after its replacement has arrived is to milk easy profits; the car is long since amortized, and production has been fine tuned for efficiency. They wouldn’t have kept it in production otherwise.
Eijeijei – a 1502. The secretary’s BMW. If they had at least given the car the nice styled steel rims of the 1602 model …
I owned three different 2002’s. I would take this in a heartbeat. It was never about how fast it could go. It was such a pleasure look at and cruise quickly on the back roads of New England.
I wonder what the little round red reflectors on the rear are all about. After all, the taillights were factory fitted with retro-reflective segments (which also probably had a larger area than these subsequently installed cat’s eyes). Why are they doing so strange things ?
Maybe the original reflectors didn’t carry the necessary approval for the Japanese licensing authorities? Some countries can be amazingly picky over some things.
For me the ’02 series BMWs are without a doubt a design classic. Agreed they are a small tallish car but it’s a European design, for the strasse as well as the autobahn. If I’d had the money for one of these when I was in the market last year I would have bought one in a heartbeat, perfect for our narrow bendy Cornish roads.
Realistically, at least in Germany where the bulk of these were sold, the very handsome and well-handling Ascona B would have been the most likely to be cross-shopped with this.
That’s right. Not only in Germany, but all over north-western Europe I think. And for those who didn’t care for RWD/FWD, an Audi 80 might have been considered.
Yes, the Audi 80 would be right up there too.
Couldn’t find the 1976 price of the 2-dr Audi 80 in the UK, though it would have been a tad over £3000 for sure (so a bit more than the 1502).
The Ascona was sold in the UK, though it was far more popular as the Vauxhall Cavalier. The only 2-dr saloon in the range at the time was the 1.6 litre base model L (the higher-trim ones were Manta coupés) at £2249 — much cheaper than the BMW.
In the same vein, i.e. cheaper than the BMW (probably in Germany, certainly in the most of Western Europe), a slightly bigger Ford (Cortina or Taunus TC), a Triumph Dolomite or a Datsun Bluebird SSS were also pretty interesting propositions.
So why are you comparing these in the UK when the overwhelming majority were sold in Germany?
Dunno about “overwhelming majority” — you have any data?
I found complete 1976 price listings for the UK online. German price lists are much harder to come by.
I don’t have 1976 German prices readily at hand, but in 1975, Audi 80 prices ranged from DM 9,995 for a base model to DM 12,580 for an 80GT. An Ascona L was DM 11,130 for a two-door 1600, 11,945 for four-door 1900S.
Wonderful piece, beautifully illustrated, Tatra—thanks ! I was very happy with my FIAT 131 wagon, purchased used in California c. 1984. A real driver’s car, like the 124 Spyder I owned in Massachusetts in the early ‘seventies. Same drivetrain, essentially ? Comfortable, plenty fast enough for me, no-nonsense styling a la mode (lots of glass, straight and simple lines—for me, the best looking of the 12 cars chosen for comparison above, if not by much).
T87 great find and write up. From the comparison table, only the Escort would actually be seen in the UK in 2 door form where a 4 door was available. The Renault 17 and Lancia Beta coupe were seldom seen either, I’m not surprised with such ambitious pricing.
102mph in a Marina? I remember it being TC -for twin carburetor- here in it’s home market, whatever it was you would need to be brave to attempt a 3 figure speed.
My mother in law bought a new Lancia Beta Coupé in ’79 – it was felt LOT faster than her previous car, a 1600 Ford Capri and she punted it long before rust became an issue.
OK, I have a profound bias, I’m a longtime BMW nut. But you can’t boil cars down to such a simple chart as is suggested. Some of the cars may have been in the same market, some even nicer, but overall they were nice, cheap cars, instead of cheap versions of a nice car. Would one compare a RR to a Cadillac, or even worse a Ford LTD of the same era? On paper, perhaps, and I’m guessing it wouldn’t compare well, but in the real world it’s just an entirely different car. And I’m not even a RR fan!
Now, without even having seen one, the stripper 1502 may be severely lacking, but it’s still got a BMW drivetrain which will likely outlast most if not all on the list, some by at least a multiple of 2. Likely the interior and suspension too, even with a decontented interior. Think of a Ford Escort or Fiat 131 or Morris Marina 5 years in, then think of the 1502.
Now, even with my admitted bias I’m not saying it was a good or wise buy back in the day, there’s intangibles in cars that aren’t visible in a chart. As a new car, by the numbers, yes. There’s even at least 3 on that list I wouldn’t mind having. But drive each of them for a couple of months and I bet the stripper 1502 wouldn’t seem quite as much of a stripper.
I’m astonished at how expensive the VW Scirocco was at the time. I guess that Karmann bodywork and unique dash added a lot of costs.