10 Things Every Enthusiast Should Know About BMW M

[BMWILUVU]

Originally Posted by Wauly

Don`t forget the 1M . I think the 1M deserves to be on that list.

I should have included the 1M but it were built over a decade ago in limited. Wish I could have gotten one though.

[10"]

the decline of the M badge is sad to me.

AWD, torque converter automatics, heavier than they should be—I can’t count any of those as carrying the spirit of M cars.

I think the current M2 almost gets it right but it’s waaaaaay too heavy, but at least manual and RWD is something.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by 10"

the decline of the M badge is sad to me.

AWD, torque converter automatics, heavier than they should be—I can’t count any of those as carrying the spirit of M cars.

I think the current M2 almost gets it right but it’s waaaaaay too heavy, but at least manual and RWD is something.

I don't think it's about one specific thing... I think it's about how mass market the brand became and how it had to be everything to everyone... this started over 15 years ago when the m sport package and badging came on normal cars... like what is the value to this? none, except marketing

...now it's heavy cars, awd cars, automatic cars that share just about everything with the normal cars and here we are... are the cars still good? yes, they are... are they in anyway pure? well, not at all... the M car was supposed to be a niche car with certain qualities that put driver over everything else... you can't have that with a 4k curb weight, awd and completely numbed steering... its just not possible.

BMW could have easily had 3 seperate divisions... regular cars where they do whatever they want... EVs for the future and M for the enthusiasts... instead they blended it all and here we are.... mainly because M was desirable and easiest to market over the others.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

How about supporting your legacy M cars. Ask any E30 M3 driver how many NLA parts for their classic BMW and BMW Classic no longer make or support starting with the soul of the whole thing, Engines. We in North America can not buy a S14b25 because it does not comply with US specs and BMW will not make any 2.3L for the US market where the largest amount of them is present and on the road.

Cosign, I'd love to have an M dead pedal for my E30 and not have to sell a kidney for a used one.

[baron95]

There are the things we say we want - hard core/firm suspension, hard core brake pads, lightweight seats, manual transmissions, no large screen displays, no cup-holders, low weight (skipping double pane glass, sound deadening, etc)....

Then, there are the things we buy - sophisticated sports cars, composed suspension with electronic dampers, large screens for Waze and Spotify, cup-holders, 8-speed+ fast shifting auto transmissions, well insulated ride, that enables us to have a business call on the move, beautifully appointed interiors, powerful engines, that often require AWD to put the power down effectively, large wheels and tires, ....

M, correctly, gives us the latter, with...

... a few checkbox items throw in so the whiners (and jounos) can't squeal too loud: barely adequate M6, the ridiculous CS/CSL center console delete, etc

[snareman]

Originally Posted by Bc2005

BMW continues to make a clear model distinction between M cars and M Performance cars. If it has anything more than M and a single digit (M3, M5, etc.) in the model number it is not an M car. This can be confusing to those who don’t have a lot of interest in BMWs, but for those who follow this forum I would think it quite clear.

For example, I have an M340i and it it not an M car. It’s also not a fake M, since it’s a factory M performance model. X3Ms and other SUVs fall into the same category. It’s really not that complicated.

More and more in the name only. The actual difference between cars themselves are getting much more blurred. I have an X3 M40. It is not an M. It used to be to get M stuff you had to get an M car, but my M40 has M wing mirrors and double slat M kidney grilles. My X3M friend and I compared them side by side. The visual differences are pretty minimal and the 0-60 time is only 0.5s different (3.7 - 4.2s).

Now that said, this is a BMW purists point of view. I love the mirrors and double slat grilles. The purist in me says I don't deserve them because I didn't buy an actual M, but the non-purist in me says I'm glad to have them.

And as others have alluded to here, you can see by my sig and post count that I'm dyed in the wool BMW, but alas, their recent offerings are pushing me away and I'm now on a 911 allocation list.