Conclusion of the article: for some folks down at BMW a part of their long-term clients and
aficionados have become
'has beens'.
"BMW’s trajectory reminds me of one of the once-favorite bars that I frequented in college. I had been going to this place for years now, my way to decompress on a Thirsty Thursday when I was younger and would pretend like I didn’t have a Friday morning class at 8:50 AM. Over time, first slowly, then kind of all at once, the bar changed. The music changed from kitschy Nineties hits and Recession-era Britney Spears and Lady Gaga to some pop starlet I had never heard of called Olivia Rodrigo. The quality of food it served wasn’t the same, and some of the menu items had been removed. The bar was remodeled. My favorite bartenders had moved on to greener pastures. The bar I had come to know and love in college, and now as a young adult, just wasn’t the same.
Was it the right move for the bar? I don’t know their finances, but I do know that the new crowd it attracted knew every word to the Olivia Rodrigo songs even if they didn’t know too much about those 1990s hits that I had memorized note-for-note. The bar had pivoted, and either intentionally or not, it was very clear that I was no longer their primary client.
And that’s the case for BMW, no? I stood around the Ritz-Carlton, breathing in the Palm Springs air, looking at all the new cars BMW had brought a gaggle of assorted journalists to drive. They were nice, but I couldn’t deny that I was feeling the same way that I felt back at my old favorite bar. I, and people like me, weren’t really their clients anymore. The era of the 330i or 335i sitting as the untouchable pinnacle of driving luxury sedans doesn’t exist here. It’s not like the new 3-Series is bad, it's just not great. Even cars like the X1 or iX, well executed as they are, simply don’t have the same driving enthusiast focus that we got from BMWs not that long ago. The most compelling examples of “old BMW” are paywalled, behind a greatest hits-esque limited production scope and limited to halo models like the M4 CSL. These feel more like last-call editions BMW begrudgingly make for a tiny niche of people who have a lot of cash. They serve as a reminder of an era the brand would rather walk away from."