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      09-18-2010, 09:29 PM   #73
HBspeed
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Drives: 05 M3, 00 Z3MC, Boxster Spyder
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Originally Posted by The HACK View Post
BMW has two types of customers. Buyers who wants a sports car, and any luxury on top is just cherry. And buyers who wants a luxury car, and any sports on top is just cherry.

They are the two opposing forces at work here. On one hand, the Sporty buyers are the vocal buyers. The influencers. The elitist who all think what they want should be what everyone else gets. They're the type to write to BMW NA in a mass email campaign threatening to boycott BMW if they don't bring the E36 M3 over. They're the ones that tell all their friends and families that they must buy BMWs regardless of their situation and need.

However they're the MINORITY. There's probably one sporty buyer for every 10 luxury buyers out there. And BMW knows it. So what do you do, when the VAST majority of your customer base probably don't know what an apex is from a hole in the ground? Simple. You build cars that are bigger, heavier, more luxurious, but with better engine and more technology crammed into the suspension and chassis than anyone has a right to shake a stick at. That way, the sporty buyers are happy that they get a car that handles like no other sedan does, while the luxury buyers get a car with dual comfort climate control that massages your back and shakes your d*ck when you pee.

But that formula is not sustainable. With every feature added, and every inch increased and every pound heavier, it takes double the amount of horse power and suspension wizardry to keep the same "performance." So what do you do, again, if you're BMW? Well, formula is simple. You build bigger, faster, and more luxurious cars with more features, and come up with this "magical" entry level 1 series that weighs 200 lbs more than the last generation 3 series and call it the "sportier, lighter" alternative.

Unfortunately that hasn't worked as well to BMW's advantage. And the last lightweight, sporty BMW built, BMW sold all but 1,700 units in 3 years, with a $10,000 incentive on top. They just couldn't give it away. So what does that say about BMW's customers again?

So for those of you who wish BMW would go back to the "golden" age of building what made BMWs BMWs, those days are long gone. You're better off buying a Porsche. Or a Subaru if you need more practicality. Because BMW stopped building BMWs long time ago. They're now intent on building Lexuses that sort of drive like BMWs.
I agree with everything you are saying, and like you I am one of the lucky few to buy the Z4M Coupe.

I loved that car for a year and a half but after it was totaled I replaced it with an E46 M3 ZCP w/ no sunroof. The problem with the Z4M was that while it was probably the best car BMW could have made at the time with the available platforms/engines, it was still not enough to compete with the competition. The car was too heavy for something so small and cramped, weighing in around 3250-3300 lbs. It was a unique experience to own and I loved every second of it, but it was not a rational purchase in any way. I only bought it because of the $10,000 off like many others.

It makes little rational sense to use the S54 engine in such a small car in 2006 when its the S54's power output is so poor in relation to its huge size and weight. While the S54 is a legend for its characteristics, everyone knows the iron block is not the pinnacle of power/weight for an engine. It seems to me to better suit the character of the E46 M3 and the time period it came from. Therefore I came to the conclusion that the S54 was an odd choice for what was supposedly one of the most focused BMW sports car ever.

The problem is BMW has never been all that great at 2 seaters, and I don't think they have any desire to actually compete with the likes of Porsche or even Chevy in this arena. What they are legendary for are their 2 door sedans. The 2002 and E30 M3 are really the essence of BMW, and define what they do better than anyone else. The spiritual successors in the E36 M3 and E46 M3 have become like you have said Hack, increasingly about luxury and catering to the majority of their consumer base.

BMW has basically admitted that the E92 3 series is so far from the spirit of the 2002 and E30 M3 that they had to create an entire new series. The 1 series has inherited this legacy, the 3 series is now just another Lexus wannabe. We can only hope that some version of the 1 series will be able recapture the purity of BMW's old self.
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