R&T- It's Time to Face the Facts: We Aren't BMW's Target Market Anymore

[mikeavelli]

It's Time to Face the Facts: We Aren't BMW's Target Market Anymore

The most compelling examples of “old BMW” are paywalled, behind a greatest hits-esque limited production scope and limited to halo models like the M4 CSL.

www.roadandtrack.com

I can’t argue with this at all. While I never owned a BMW, in the past I greatly greatly admired them. I think for like 2 decades they rarely lost a competition. They always offered the best driving experience and manuals. I never really had an issue with the styling at all, I thought they were handsome until the “Bangle” years. Today the cars make the Bangle years look beautiful.

Hell I even modified my Lexus vehicles to handle better like a BMW, I’ve considered owning them and today as Ive stated the current M5 makes me drool. Outside that I
have zero want for a BMW. There is no desirability. The coolness of offering manuals is mostly gone. The looks are atrocious and the interiors are meh.

Their crossover lineup is so meh. Sells to the masses in droves tho. Probably the downfall of things. The original X5 was the badass SAV. Today it’s a fluffy. Yeah they offer a ton of power but most sold are not sport models and they drive like an old Lexus. Weird flex.

Crazy turn of events. I believe BMW was arguably the most influential brand in the 80s,90s and early 2000s. Everyone targeted them. They had youth on their side. Today I’m just not sure what to think anymore about them. Expect I simply have no desire outside the M5/5 series.

Imagine being the “Ultimate Driving Machine” and then deciding to target people who hate driving. Sigh…….

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

I still like a lot of modern BMWs.

As a brand, they appeal a lot more to me than Lexus with their current products.

 

[LexusBoss]

BMW's are automobiles for limp-wristed effeminate men.

 

[LS500-18]

BMW's are automobiles for limp-wristed effeminate men.

Thanks for the wisdom LexusBoss LOL

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

BMW's are automobiles for limp-wristed effeminate men.

Hmmm... how oddly specific.

I guess a metric ton of men worldwide are limp-wristed effeminate men then!

My wrist is of average size though, so you should project your insecurities somewhere else.

 

[Sulu]

Hmmm... how oddly specific.

I guess a metric ton of men worldwide are limp-wristed effeminate men then!

My wrist is of average size though, so you should project your insecurities somewhere else.

What about all the women I see driving BMWs? Are they all wives or daughters (maybe not?), or sisters of these male owners and just borrowing the cars out of convenience (perhaps blocking the women's Hyundais or Kias or Miatas)?

 

[Levi]

As a brand, they appeal a lot more to me than Lexus with their current products.

While there are some good BMWs, it is specifically their brand appeal that is totally unappealing.


As for the article posted, I am of the opinion it applies to the whole car industry, not only BMW. And I would go further, it applies basically to every other consumer oriented industry. The worst thing is that the professionally oriented industry is progressively turning into a "prosumer" oriented industry.

 

[Och]

I didn't read the article, but it's not just BMW, nobody is building pure enthusiast cars anymore, and its only going to get worse with all the tech gimmicks and push to EVs.

 

[Gor134]

As for the article posted, I am of the opinion it applies to the whole car industry, not only BMW.

Agreed 100%.

 

[Gor134]

I didn't read the article, but it's not just BMW, nobody is building pure enthusiast cars anymore.

There's still a few out there! Like the GR86 and Corolla GR and other SpoComs. But in general everything else youre right.

Gone are the days of getting an exceptional handling and involving performance coupes and sedans, as most become more "digital" with more assists, electrical steering, and higher focus on putting down fast track numbers as opposed to pure driving joy.

 

[Och]

There's still a few out there! Like the GR86 and Corolla GR and other SpoComs. But in general everything else youre right.

Gone are the days of getting an exceptional handling and involving performance coupes and sedans, as most become more "digital" with more assists, electrical steering, and higher focus on putting down fast track numbers as opposed to pure driving joy.

There is also the technology overload that has been getting absolutely offensive.

 

[ssun30]

Lexus is the new BMW minus competent powertrains. Their latest products are incredibly good to drive at the cost of ride quality and general NVH. They all handle like one size class smaller but the powertrains are also one class smaller. E.g. the NX really needs the 500h, the RX needs a 550h+, the LS/LX needs the iForce Max.

 

[Och]

Lexus is the new BMW minus competent powertrains. Their latest products are incredibly good to drive at the cost of ride quality and general NVH. They all handle like one size class smaller but the powertrains are also one class smaller. E.g. the NX really needs the 500h, the RX needs a 550h+, the LS/LX needs the iForce Max.

No, more like BMW is the new Lexus.

 

[CRSKTN]

you should project your insecurities somewhere else.

My wrist is of average size though

This is a fun discussion.

BMW is trying to figure out where it lives in a world of (semi-)autonomy and oversized go-karts that all weigh at least 5 tons.

Everything is getting more expensive and BMW can't seem to beat Mercedes at the "look at this expensive boring ****" game, so they're going the "look at this expensive ridiculous ****" game.

They also can't edge in too much on Porsche's "we won't put self-driving in our cars" as they've lost the driving dynamics cachet to a large extent. Porsche itself risks becoming (Audi + Performance - Technology + Price) in the transition to EV. I imagine it's why they're pushing so hard for eFuels.

I think sustainable combustion could become a nice luxury niche.

What they're left with is chasing synergies with Rolls Royce.
They're differentiating it seems with the new split headlight design, to take the top rung higher.
The rest of the lineup seems disjointed.

 

[mmcartalk]

I wasn't a BMW poster-fan-boy, and I generally didn't like the BMW dealerships, but I thought extremely highly of the Pre-Bangle-era 335i AWD (E90, I think?)...so much so that, had the price tag (47K+) not been substantially more than I wanted to spend at the time, I would have seriously considered taking one home from the dealership with me. That was before my days at LE, but I did a glowing MM-Review of it in another forum. It combined almost Buick-like levels of cruise-comfort (even with the firmer Sport Package) with a level of tactile-road-feel and handling in the hydraulic power steering that was arguably the most perfect I have ever experienced.

Of course, however, these cars were less-than-perfect in reliability...that-generation of 335i left a lot of owners stranded with bad fuel pumps.

Since then, however, I agree that BMWs just aren't the same machines any more......materials, quality of construction, electric steering, lower driving satisfaction, although the M-models may be exceptions. I can't comment on them, since I have not sampled a recent M-version.

 

[mikeavelli]

I guess what I’m trying to say is even when I owned my SC, GS 400, IS 300 etc I still greatly greatly admired BMW. Today I should continue to be their target audience but the only thing they make I could see myself in is the 8 series gran coupe. In the past aj could see myself in nearly everything they made.

 

[mmcartalk]

I guess what I’m trying to say is even when I owned my SC, GS 400, IS 300 etc I still greatly greatly admired BMW. Today I should continue to be their target audience but the only thing they make I could see myself in is the 8 series gran coupe. In the past aj could see myself in nearly everything they made.

As long as you have deep enough pockets for one, fine, but Gran Coupes start at more than $85K....that's some serious money.

 

[CRSKTN]

The 8 series for me too is one of the only ones that still feels like a BMW to me.

Doesnt feel special like the LC, but probably the only car they make id consider.

 

[Och]

The 8 series sedan and the coupe are two completely different cars. My wife and I test drove the M8 coupe, its an ergonomic clusterpluck of biblical proportions, worse than the old 6 series, and it drives as numb as any of their "M" SUVs.

The only BMWs that still do it for me are the Supra and the 2 Series. The rest of their lineup may be good on the merit of luxury and tech, but not on the merit of traditional BMW driving prowess that catered to enthusiasts for decades.

 

[carguy420]

The 8 series sedan and the coupe are two completely different cars. My wife and I test drove the M8 coupe, its an ergonomic clusterpluck of biblical proportions, worse than the old 6 series, and it drives as numb as any of their "M" SUVs.

The only BMWs that still do it for me are the Supra and the 2 Series. The rest of their lineup may be good on the merit of luxury and tech, but not on the merit of traditional BMW driving prowess that catered to enthusiasts for decades.

Yep, out of all the non-super limited production BMWs right now, pretty much just the GR Supra and the 2 series can qualify as the "ultimate driving machines" that BMW is used to be known for, the rest are ugly looking, gimmick loaded land yachts on wheels.