What I found strange was that last year on this ng, I read British participants, it might even have been you, saying the demand for the new cars was so bad that dealers were heavily discounting them. Yet this article says last year BMW (GB) saw a 52% increase in sales and that BMW AG implied the cars were selling themselves so well that certain dealers had become complacent, neither of which point indicates there wasn't at least solid demand for the cars (unless all that increase was limited to e53's and e46's).
In any case it could be that US dealers will see the face the same scrutiny in the future. BMW dealerships in the US are nicer than those which sell domestic models, but many aren't up to Mercedes or Lexus quality...which really provide a nice buying and servicing experience. Lexus is probably the best of any full line manufacturer in this country.