Quote:
Originally Posted by The HACK
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.
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i agree with everything, except the last part. I think building a car that please everyone is a huge challenge and bmw hits the nail on the head with the m3. none done it better than bmw in this case and all the mag reviews proved it.