Quote:
Originally Posted by Outlaw M3
Reading through this thread again today and there's several great comments. Yes, BMW is growing marketshare and yes, they're doing it in a way that's anathema to it's roots. Regulations are strangling the auto industry from C02, to Pedestrian safety and beyond.
Yet isn't the ///M brand supposed to fly in the face of all that? Isn't it the sub-brand where BMW lets loose FOR the enthusiast? Or is BMW selling just as many M versions of each model that it statistically skews things for them?
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Good points, agree that BMW is having to respond to more than what the enthusiast seems to want, all the regulatory stuff, plus customer demands. Getting that balance right won't please everyone. Do we want BMW 3-cylinder diesel/petrol engines over here in Europe? Of course we don't, but they give BMW more leeway for other models, allowing more folks to get into a BMW 'package' of their choice.
As to the M-car brand, I make an observation from the UK, even here BMW have to 'balance' the design brief to please the customer base. We often read comments that 'too hard core' and it turns the money off the cars. Many buy into the 'halo' models, but still want a practical daily driver. I often question in our UK market place, how many buy into the M-cars purely as a driving choice? I believe it is exactly the same reasons as to why folks desire to drive the BMW brand, certainly applies over here in the UK, where BMW is still an aspirational brand. Fickle it may be, but BMW are supplying the goods folks want.
Let's add a few more 'half-way' M-models like the M235i. I'm sure models like an M340i, M540i, etc., will sell like hotcakes, even if they aren't perfect for the BMW purists.