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jmg · 06-21-2021, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by advantage20

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmg

There are two main audiences for these mods: ourselves and others.

Others:

If we do it for others, then we must admit that it is the attention that it brings that gives that feeling of enjoyment. The attention from those who are unaware of the difference between a M Sport and an M car versus the attention from those who do will be very different. One will be of admiration, the other of contempt. Contempt isn't something we normally aspire to, so it must be the admiration we seek.

Therefore:

These mods are meant to gain the admiration of those who lack the knowledge or awareness.
By definition, ignorance is defined as lacking knowledge awareness.
Therefore these mods are meant the gain the admiration of the ignorant.
The argument that "it doesn't matter what others think" in this particular case is nonsense, since the audience is specifically "others".

Ourselves:

If we do it for "ourselves" one could make the argument that we enjoy seeing it when we look at the car, which is a valid argument. But why do we enjoy seeing an M badge? It must be for what it stands for. Again, we can apply the same logic as we did when the audience was "others". If we don't know the difference between an M Sport can an an M car then we might simply be ignorant. If we do know the difference but do it anyway, then we either are willfully ignoring facts, or are trying to fool ourselves. We also might disagree what qualifies a car to be worthy of the M badge.

Therefore:

We are ignorant through no fault of our own
We choose to be ignorant
We want to fool ourselves
We disagree with others

In reality though, I think we like to say it's for "ourselves" but then we feel offended when "others" have a negative opinion on it. If it truly was exclusively for "others" then this shouldn't bother us... but it does. Hence 10 pages of discussion and tying to plead our cases to others. Realistically, it probably a little bit of both, we just don't care to admit it, especially when one audience is giving more negative feedback than another. Our sense of pride pushes us towards the path of lease resistance, which is just human nature. We can further narrow our audience from "(all)others" to "select others" ie those who are like-minded, but that would simply be living in an echo chamber of self approval wouldn't it? There is little actual achievement in getting the approval of those who already think like us. I think we secretly crave the approval of others. When we get approval, it matters, but when we get disapproval, then "it doesn't matter what other people think". It's very convenient in the protection of our feelings. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm guilty of it to, but that's how we mature as people. The sooner we admit how flawed we are, the better we are as people relating to other people.

So in the end, get an M badge, don't get an M badge, it really is up to the individual, but here's what other people, including myself, have gone through in our journey through self expression through our vehicles. We've all been there, learn from what we have learned through our own mistakes and journey from ignorance.

Very well put together analysis. Here is a copy-paste of a previous posting of mine where I interpret M Sport as, yes, being a 'real M car' today.

It is in the normal order of things that features from the higher-end M vehicles eventually make their way down to the lesser ones, with M Motorsport actual racecars standing at the top end of the spectrum and M Sport production trim at the lower end. As previously released features are trickling down the ladder, all-new features keep being released higher up to feed the continuous improvement cycle. Hence why M mirrors, M grille, M hood with power dome, M carbon roof, M spoiler, M safety belts... either already have or eventually will make their way to lower-tier models. This cascading down of M features doesn't seem problematic per se as long as the hardcore M models higher up the ladder keep in turn gaining new race-derived features that keep them unmistakably sportier and more desirable than the lower-end versions (better aero, more carbon standard, lighter wheels with centerlock nuts, sportier seats, more alcantara, more M stitching, more red details, larger paddle shifters...?).

Having said that, I do agree that this X3/X4 refresh is perhaps demoting too many M features at a time (M double-slat grille, M grille badge, M color steering wheel...). But BMW is obviously keen on making its M lineup look like a continuum / color gradient / steady stairway, rather than a binary step function with 'real M models' on one side and 'fake M models' on the other: all M-branded models are the same breed, they just get more purebred the higher you go up the ladder (can't find that chart right now, but it's interesting they are now labeling the base M models 'M High Performance' as if to round off the angles and better relate to the 'M Performance' models, just like Competition already relates to CS and CSL):

[COLOR="Red"]M[/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"]M[/COLOR]otorsport
M [COLOR="Blue"]C[/COLOR]SL
M [COLOR="Blue"]C[/COLOR]S
M [COLOR="Blue"]C[/COLOR]ompetition
M High [COLOR="deepskyblue"]Performance[/COLOR]
M [COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]Performance[/COLOR]
M Sport

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Interesting analysis. There is some merit to what you are saying, but at what point does Kool-aid not qualify as Kool-aid as you add water? If you add a teaspoon of Kool-Aid to a swimming pool, can you honestly call it a pool of Kool-Aid? I think you call it a pool with a teaspoon of Kool-Aid in it.

Point being, there certainly is a spectrum in the M lineup, but the spectrum you described is by definition a dilution table. Dilution is what many people have a problem with. How diluted can we get for the sake of marketing? Why call an M Sport an M car other than for marketing? It is literally a dilution of the label. A teaspoon of M in a pool of passenger cars.