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      12-31-2013, 03:42 AM   #55
Dennis911
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Drives: e46 320td
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carlitosz View Post
Scott

You can adapt and survive while sticking to the roots that have kept
You alive for the past 100 years.

I don't mind BMW making a sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon, GT and GC of the same series since you need to expand your market share and compete. My problem comes when you take the M brand and you dilute it as part of your strategy. At this pace the ///M brand will not be the same it was 10 years ago. When I picked up my M3 at the Welt and visited the M Studio, talking about the M3 was like talking about Jordan at its prime. The respect for the car was astonishing. I fear in a few years it'll just be another car BMW makes. The gap between the M and the base models shrinks every year. I do not mind a 335 MSport like the E90 series had. My problem comes when you create an M3 using a standard 3-series N54/N55 engine with some upgrades and call it an M engine and then on top of that create vehicles like a M135, M235, etc and slap the M badge to its name. A naming like the 135is and 335is would have been more suitable. Perhaps BMW itself has lost respect for the most important letter in the world and now we see the results of that. Listen to your fan base before it's too late. If we express our opinion with so much emphasis is because we care.

You can expand and make as many BMW models are you think you might need, but when it comes to the M Brand please keep in mind a few of us still hold it as the holy grail and we would like it to stay that way.
The problem is: The "diluted M" stuff sells! And it sells good. From what I can see on Euro Forums and on the streets, the M135i is a massive success and gives the S3 a run for it's money (I am gonna exclude the AMG here since it is massively more expensive).
The fact is this: people (most of them anyways) who spend close to 50.000€ or even more for a car want to feel like they own something special. And since special means a lot of things to a lot of people, a lot of people just feel special when they can say they own an M135i or an S3 and not just any old BMW 1 series or Audi A3. People want to buy an experience that goes along with the product and the M name just suggests more of that experience. I can understand that sentiment, even if it is not at all my cup of tea.
Furthermore (and for now) it gives BMW or the M GmbH "light" the possibility to sell AWD cars under the M "umbrella" that are not SUVs/SAVs. (And it is another fact, that the marketplace is moving towards AWD cars. And, again just a feeling, the M135i x drive seems to sell GOOD)
I also do not like the fact that BMW sticks the M logo around like Audi does with it's S-Line badges, but again: people buy it and like it and if they don't, they have a nice option to throw out the M badges.
I am a diehard BMW fan (I even had a job interview at the promised land, the M GmbH; sadly did not make it) and I definitely agree with your statement that the M is being diluted to a certain extent, but, to say it plainly: you have to milk the cow! (without overdoing it, of course. But I believe that, for now, BMW is doing a good job at not overdoing it)