Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBingoBalls
I agree with you on most but if it manual transmissions don't sell, it doesn't sell. I have accepted it and no longer going to harp on it like electric steering because the market has spoken.
As for The F3X being somewhat of a turning point, I do agree with you that it is a vehicle that BMW changed a lot relative to its history but overall, assuming it's spec'd to a certain point, it's still a 3 Series in a sense that it's still offers a great overall vehicle.
But with that said, this is where the "enthusiast" doesn't seem to know what they want. I can tell you of a dealership that has no less than 18 units of 340i's left in stock all decently spec'd or spec'd with all the M Performance bits. From what's available today, the so called enthusiasts are not even jumping on these 340i's that can be had at the old BMW pricing/rates and then some, instead they're jumping on G20 330i's and are happy to pay on average $750+/month. So if we're go by the notion that BMW are building less "driver" orientated cars, how are 340i's being overlooked by G20 330i's by so called "enthusiasts"? It has to be one of the following: the specific enthusiast market is so minuscule (which we already know is true), or they have gone with the masses and decided to go with what is newer is best. In either case, BMW is just following and giving what the market is asking.
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The US Market, BMW's biggest until recently, never asked for a smart, excellent handling sports sedan, BMW just brought it here and the enthusiasts loved it. BMWs got popular because of the new-found wealth in the 1980s economy, so non-enthusiasts started buying BMWs, not even appreciating the dynamics offered by the vehicle; it was the Roundel, yet BMW kept its 3-Series sports sedan. I put forth the proposition that Lexus changed BMW, not non-enthusiasts.
Ford and GM have two legacy marques, the Mustang and Camero. Both Ford and GM have improved those cars drastically in the last 15 years, yet both have retained the core of the
Pony Car (a moniker created by the Mustang). BMW should do the same IMO. Even the M3/M4 is an over-priced caricature of itself.