Quote:
Originally Posted by ilikebmxbikes
We understand you love your m2. Its an awesome car and no one is trying to sway you or make you regret your decision.
But to take this outside of why own our personal cars and look at the brand as a whole and compare it to the market is really where you see the trends beyond our personal buying. BMW's values have changed a lot in the recent years and i admire that they are really planning for the future and long term growth and expansion into new markets but saddened that much of what many enthusiasts have loved about the brand is demising. M division has to work off a standard bmw car and BMW is giving them larger and heavier chassis to work with. Many fell in love with BMW because they drove like nothing else out. There was no substitute. today, you have options.
To discover BMW today would be a weird thing. I dont think the brand commands as much loyalty and awe as it once did with its current offerings. Its that loyalty and awe that the m2, gts, cs, still mildly inspires and it is that much of us today cling onto. But for new buyers who are not of our cut, who do not have that tradition, they are looking to other brands and creating that same bond (for the same acute reasons that brought us to BMW in the first place) with other marques.
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Agreed! Ive been driving BMW for 20 years and change doesnt come easy. I loved my '99 E36M3 however the american version with 240hp didnt wow me with HP so I quickly went the Dinan route allover. That became my first and only FBO car. That was followed up by an N55 135I which I really loved and kept stock, except for an M Power Performance tune.
When I drive dealer loaner cars during service, usually a 3 series 4 cylinder automatic, I find them competent but wholly unexciting. Are they any lesser than the older 6 cyl 328s? Not sure. As a brand, Id have to agree with most of what's been said here. Mostly, the competition has gotten way better, and there are so many good sport sedans/coupes out there now that Im not sure BMW knows how to distinguish itself anymore. Hopefully they'll find their way back soon, although their sales numbers have been so good, not sure I see where they'll find the motivation. Being an artistic success is not as important to them as being an economic one. As BMW 'pollutes' the line with M monikers, and MB does similar tricks with AMG badging, I see it turning into one big pot of homogenized sporty performers without a ton of difference between any of them as they all attack the same market with similar offerings. Honestly, I think the biggest distinguishing characteristic of recent BMWs is that, hey, you can order it with a stick (at least on some models) which has become a competitive advantage.