BMW styling going downhill and SUV's?

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Tacoma

The problem with the 'record sales' defense is people are buying more and more vehicles across the board. Lexus has had record sales. So did Audi, Porsche, etc. Even Volvo and Hyundai have announced record sales. I have a friend who works in finance at Toyota and he said it's insane! It's not something that individual car manufacturers have done in particular but that people are buying more cars the world over in general.

Actually this logic doesn't hold up... because market share-wise BMW has overtaken its competitors to become the #1 selling luxury brand. It's not simply because "more people are buying more cars".

Originally Posted by Tacoma

And that tells you something! If so many people are seeing smoke, the odds are there's a fire.

Frankly, I've gotten used the the looks already and now they're no longer fugly but still not good looking cars IMO. Also, from some angles, it's still fugly.

People have been seeing smoke for over a decade. So no.. it doesn't tell me shit. Only thing it tells me is that people love to complain regardless of what comes out.

[Emily172013]

Never considered SUVs when talking about BMWs. Thought that way since the 80's.

[NervoS]

Originally Posted by Emily172013

Never considered SUVs when talking about BMWs. Thought that way since the 80's.

Well.... BMW didn't have any SUVs in 80's. If I am not mistaken their first SUV is E53 from beginning of 2000s.
I love performance + luxury SUVs, a combo of utility, sport and luxury. BMW is a significant player on this market arena.

Now, we can say, "never considered trucks or minivans when talking about BMWs" Let see in 10+ years if it holds.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Hit_Apex

Right? It's a weird narrative about BMW 'losing their way' by a despondent minority (see record sales). What has been missing from the conversation is what these souls are buying instead, what products out there resonate with them the way BMW 'used' to. A lot of complaining but no one offers a solution other than to say BMW should reverse course which ain't happening.

That’s pretty much the point. There isn’t another option, so as BMW steadily abandons their history it leaves those who bought BMWs for what they once were in the lurch and they are not happy about it. The only other option that offers similar driving dynamics and the experience BMW once did is Porsche, but Porsche sells very specific sports cars, not cars with broad utility. I would love to own a Porsche, but I am a one car person and I need something I can use for a wide variety of purposes and I don’t want to make the kind of financial commitment that owning a Porsche requires. I am a fan of the Macan and after reading all of the utterly glowing reviews by the car rags and its owners I went and tried one. I expected to be pretty pleased with it even though I am mostly opposed to SUVs. The handling of it was good, but the V6 and the PDK didn’t compare to my inline six and ZF8, so the overall driving dynamics were very disappointing. And that conclusion was absolutely cemented after I got back in my car and drove home. That ended my desire for a Macan right then and there.

[slilley]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

The irony is that the X series models have been the last ones that look good. X5 and pre LCI X7 still look good. X3 (until this newest version) looked good. X1 still looks good. 8 still looks good and F90 5 looked good. 4 looks like trash, new 5 is ok at best, and 3 looks good if you don't get an M3. Z4 still looks nice too.

I just saw the new X3 for the first time...wow, somehow they made it fugly! The front and (especially) rear are weird. And then you look inside, and they've used capacitive touch for the vents controls, door locks and mirror controls. Disappointing. I just hope they don't follow this styling direction on next X5.

[Ugly Kar]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

That’s pretty much the point. There isn’t another option, so as BMW steadily abandons their history it leaves those who bought BMWs for what they once were in the lurch and they are not happy about it. The only other option that offers similar driving dynamics and the experience BMW once did is Porsche, but Porsche sells very specific sports cars, not cars with broad utility. I would love to own a Porsche, but I am a one car person and I need something I can use for a wide variety of purposes and I don’t want to make the kind of financial commitment that owning a Porsche requires. I am a fan of the Macan and after reading all of the utterly glowing reviews by the car rags and its owners I went and tried one. I expected to be pretty pleased with it even though I am mostly opposed to SUVs. The handling of it was good, but the V6 and the PDK didn’t compare to my inline six and ZF8, so the overall driving dynamics were very disappointing. And that conclusion was absolutely cemented after I got back in my car and drove home. That ended my desire for a Macan right then and there.

My experience was almost like yours. I really wanted an SU drives like a sports sedan. After a test drive I was very disappointed.

And I agree the reason BMW is selling so many cars is not because anything great BMW is doing, but no one else is doing anything great either. Just take Cadillac for example. Their magnetic ride is 2nd to none, but to get performance equal to a mid level BMW you have to go to a top level full V version. Then it's not price competitive, has a cheapo interior, and lacks the refinement of the German brands.

And I could go on with the failures of other co's if I wanted to type a novel, but they all have flaws that keep them out of consideration for real driving enthusiasts.

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by Ugly Kar

My experience was almost like yours. I really wanted an SU drives like a sports sedan. After a test drive I was very disappointed.

And I agree the reason BMW is selling so many cars is not because anything great BMW is doing, but no one else is doing anything great either. Just take Cadillac for example. Their magnetic ride is 2nd to none, but to get performance equal to a mid level BMW you have to go to a top level full V version. Then it's not price competitive, has a cheapo interior, and lacks the refinement of the German brands.

And I could go on with the failures of other co's if I wanted to type a novel, but they all have flaws that keep them out of consideration for real driving enthusiasts.

Same here but it was the X3M. BMW can engineer bad handling out of an SUV but not all of it. I didn't hate it but for almost 50k I didn't love it either.

[reallymarkedup]

Originally Posted by Ugly Kar

My experience was almost like yours. I really wanted an SU drives like a sports sedan. After a test drive I was very disappointed.

This is the thing I just don't understand. I want a truck, with a high center of gravity and the ability to hold 17 people, to handle like a sports car, despite the geometry and weight being completely different, also it should be able to go off road, it never will but it needs to be able to, plus I need to help my friends move with it, I won't, but I need it to be able to. It should be comfortable, like sitting in a lazy boy, but I'm going to mount a four point harness in it because I may track it one day.

It's no wonder every single car is becoming homogenous with any other. Y'all don't know what you want so you want everything and they're obliging. Couple more years and the 5 series and the X will have fully merged into the same vehicle.

Cue the hordes of X owners coming to explain why this is perfectly reasonable.

[Hit_Apex]

A lot of hyperbole there but valid point. Look no further than the Mach-e, EV6, Iconic 5N. The trend driven by price increases as much as fickle shoppers, one car that does many things mediocrely. Yes, I drive an X5MC as a daily but also have an M4 for track/weekends, Jeep Wrangler for off road, etc. I am not the norm though and most have to compromise somehow - just not feasible to have multiple cars at todays prices.