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

((...I stood around the Ritz-Carlton, breathing in the Palm Springs air, looking at all the new cars BMW had brought a gaggle of assorted journalists to drive. They were nice, but I couldn’t deny that I was feeling the same way that I felt back at my old favorite bar. I, and people like me, weren’t really their clients anymore. The era of the 330i or 335i sitting as the untouchable pinnacle of driving luxury sedans doesn’t exist here. It’s not like the new 3-Series is bad, it's just not great. Even cars like the X1 or iX, well executed as they are, simply don’t have the same driving enthusiast focus that we got from BMWs not that long ago....


....New luxury buyers want tech-laden, computers with wheels, that can drive themselves, and maybe on some level, BMW is reacting to that. I’ve said that the Tesla Model 3 is the best BMW 3-Series that BMW never built, dynamically. But most of the pomp and circumstance behind the Model 3 tends to be focused on its straight-line performance and tech features. When faced with that information, why cater to a market that increasingly doesn’t care? Well, BMW is trying to court a new clientele, one much less interested in driving dynamics.

One that isn’t like us. ))))

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a42087296/we-arent-bmws-target-market-anymore/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rdt&utm_medium=email&date=120222&utm_campaign=nl29858335&user_email=4b4f7783d00565412b32663f35eb8a69c327d395fe58624329553b3a516e07e7&utm_term=AAA%20--%20High%20Minus%20Dormant%20and%2090%20Day%20Non%20Openers

 

Boy...Ain't that the truth! When the M4 is $100k and the 8 pass range rover is $200k and 812 is $400k, I'm glad those cars are so unappealing that I'm still loving my diesel pick-up truck and lowly 3 pedal 500 maranello.

 

Thoughtful article, and accurate.

I'd rather drive the 11-year old 128i (sport pkg/6MT) I recently picked up for $8500 than any of the techno-luxury yachts they currently produce for 10x the money. But as the article correctly points out, I'm not the target market.

 

You guys need to drive an M5 CS. I'm picking mine up this coming Saturday. Thing drives like a DTM car!

 

I will say the M2 CS does make my socks go up and down (I like the smaller cars, stick only please).

 

Good read. BMW has overdosed on technology since the original iDrive. Nothing exciting, even if the performance numbers are improved.

 

left the BMW fold after my E92 M3; the F80 was a disappointment to drive.

 

E90 years are likely the last I’d own of a BMW.

E36’s are my favorites.

Whatever is being built these days … ugh

 

M=Marketing these days.
When Erik Wensberg was the M Brand manager back in 95 you really had something going then; from corporate engagement with the enthusiasts to the actual M cars themselves

 

Biggest disappointment is new csl. This is supposed to be best they can do and its universal bad reviews. Very sad.

 

e90 M3 was the last for me as well.

 

wish I never got rid of it for the F80, got rid of the F80 for my Alfa QV couldn't be happier

 

Last BMW I owned was a real M, a euro M635csi. 90's styling and on killed it, reliability now is horrible and resale even worse. And although some will say the new M cars are so much faster I would say the new M cars are marketing ploys from BMW. Well, at least IMHO

 

Only bmw ill ever buy is for my wife

Currently still have an m5 e60
I love that car

 

Used to be the ultimate driving machine, became the ultimate machine that can be driven, and is also the ultimate leasing machine.

the older BVMWs were just so good, a revelation to drive, and the contrast with what else was out there was huge. Frankly these days hard to beat KIA for eps steering feel, and there are many good driving cars out there.

BMWs today, too heavy, too bloated, too numb, too islolated, faking "performance" with excess power. Cool highway cruisers though,

 

No interest, these are built for the deep in debt thousand-aires to lease out to keep up with their fellow idiots in the neighborhood.

And of course their jaws drop when my garage door opens…..

 

I adore my 1-series (E82) 6spd coupe with a clean dash (no iDrive). I have engine mods and sticky rubber which scoots well around the mountain roads where I live. The only replacement for it one day would be an M2 Comp 6spd which has the S55 which is a sweetheart of an engine.

 

That is THE only "real" post E90 era BMW to own and/or worth owning. In the humblest of opinions.

 

E36's are the best, but my incoming G80 ain't too shabby. Sure it's big and heavy, but it's still an awesome care with a manual transmission and tons of practicality.


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I still like the car, but dont like the new crowd.
I know modding is big money but it hurts the brand, not the bottom line, which is what matters for BMW.

I just got my ordered G82 M4 in 8 months. Its one of the best cars I have driven, and its a manual.

 

I would like one of those. My daily is a 2012 328 wagon, 6 speed, no iDrive. Would have something newer if I could buy something similarly simple.

 

I've owned many BMWs, but my current 2013 128i is a favorite - smooth inline 6, no turbo hassles, light weight, rwd, and only 172" long so that it fits nicely in my garage. I'm in love again.

 

This is my first BMW, and while not without its foibles - never disconnect the battery and shut the trunk! - it really does hit a sweet spot, doesn't it? In addition to the qualities you mention, it's also reasonably reliable as a daily, handles great, and is DIY-friendly with a good enthusiast community over at Bimmerpost.

It'd be great if they made a similar new car, but apparently this is the end of the line; if something happened to it, I'd look to replace it with another in similar spec (which might take patience and time). I recently ordered the Bilstein B12 kit from FPC Euro, just need to find the time to install it, looking forward to that for sure.

 

Saw Harry on the M3 CS today and even he couldn’t get past the car’s aesthetics. I’m a fan of the e30-e46 generations, but between the full-width digital dash and the cartoonish front end, I agree with him this would be low on my list for a $130,000+ car.





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I’m not interested in a car that necessitates leaning over to to see out under the raked roof line.

New BMW’s are notorious for it.