|
The biggest issue is that these types of vehicles are driven by market demand. BMW is simply doing what the market asks of it. The ugly designs, big grills, tacky add ons, M badges on everything, and everything else that's an affront to the traditional BMW aficionado is simply catering to the larger "market". The SUV's sales demonstrate all of this, as do the lack of sales of manually equipped cars and the Z4. Even the top end M8 isn't exactly a sales success by most standards. Those of us that truly love the brand, and get excited by the purist nature of rear wheel drive, manually equipped, sport coupes and roadsters, are not the majority of buyers. I'm fairly good friends with the sales associate that has looked after me for 10 years and he certainly confirms this. It is truly unfortunate that BMW can't cater to both markets, but the cost of development of a car loved by the purists makes it either unprofitable or way to expensive to be able to purchased by the "average" enthusiast buyer. BMW is likely going to sell a lot of second generation M2's, some of it represented by buyers (like me) who see this as the last of its kind. I have accepted that the G87 will be my last RWD 6 speed spontaneous combustion engine equipped factory ordered BMW I will ever have. It's why I've given some thought to buying 2 and putting one away along with the 1M I have safely tucked away.
|