Originally Posted by simianspeedster
I truly appreciate the brutal honesty of this article. In the current era of media coziness with their subjects and constant advertising revenue pressures, I'm pleasantly surprised to see R&T drop BMW to the mat in this fashion. It's direct but completely fair.
I am profoundly disappointed with the F30 and I can't reasonably be accused of slagging the latest 3 Series just because it's new and I have an old one. I still have my E92 and my wife has an F30. We both regret getting the F30 (long story) but it only has two more years left on the lease and, while it's no fun at all, it's not exactly waterboarding either so what's done is done.
This article really nails all the issues: the F30 is soft, floppy, dull, lifeless, overwhelmed with technology and eco-garbage and, perhaps most importantly, it no longer differentiates itself from the many cars that have been gunning for the 3 Series for years on end.
When I bought my current 335i, I test drove an A4 and A5 among other cars. They felt like slightly upscale Accords to me -- toy-like steering feel, no "spark" in the chassis, nothing that reminded me that I was in a supposed German sports sedan or coupe. I think we can all see how Audi has been chasing BMW and making great strides -- many people think the A6 is a better overall car than the 5 Series -- but as much as Audi deserves some credit, BMW deserves even more blame. I would have never guessed that the F30 would drive more like the now ancient A4 than the E9X, but that's my experience. It feels like regression and it came as a total surprise to me.
I was talking this over with my wife and she asked the obvious question: "If people like you no longer like new BMWs, aren't they worried about losing their base?" As much as I wish BMW really cared about enthusiasts first, I'm not dumb and I do understand the new "luxury for every niche" business model. BMW built their brand around people like me, but now it's so much bigger than people like me. BMW has the badge and they can sell it attached to just about anything no matter how it drives.
Consider: just 10 years ago, BMW's U.S. line-up (sans M cars) consisted solely of the 3, 5, 7, the recently introduced X5 and the Z3 -- unless I missed something, I believe that was it! Today, there's the 1, 3, 3GT (coming soon), 5, 5GT, 6, 6 Gran Coupe, 7, X1, X3, X5 and Z4. And there's talk of several more variants that will split hairs further, plus the "i" line of eco-cars in the pipeline. But will they leave room for a relatively light, simple car like the current 1 that prioritizes driving pleasure above gadgets and fuel economy? Unlikely.
Die hard last model year E82/E88 buyers like us (my 128i is on order) are a blip on the map, but at least we still have the opportunity to take one last ride into the BMW sunset. I'm excited for the new car, but I'm almost equally bummed that BMW is no longer making new cars that appeal to me because they were the last hold-out in their respective market. 5 years from now, I may be looking for a car again, and it will probably be a struggle to find a car that I like better than the current 1 -- that was never a concern before BMW's current direction.
I'm sure BMW will continue to thrive economically, but subjectively -- especially from an enthusiast's point of view -- I believe they're losing the plot. I can't say whether that will eventually dilute the mighty BMW brand and cause them to become reflective about their change in direction, but if so, I hope someone back at HQ digs up this article and reads it over and over until it sinks in.
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