Quote:
Originally Posted by Matski
Honestly, I despair...
There is no 435i GT, there is a 335i GT, and there is a 435i Gran Coupe... You ask Why.. I ask Why Not? What is your point exactly.. you're afraid of choice...? What is so hard to understand?
X6 & X4, done to death... "Almost no Utility" why do they have to excel in utility? What don't you understand about people wanting some of the characteristics of a cross over, but not need the flat back shape?? Is it that hard to comprehend?
Lack of Awesome wagons?...'Muricans won't buy enough of them, blame your narrow minded countrymen.
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I have no issue with choice, but with dilution of brand. BMW is riding a fine line between being the BMW the current owners know and the mass market diluted BMW of the future. The same concern most have with the new FWD models and below 3-series slotting. Meanwhile, other brands like Porsche are unashamedly moving in the opposite direction - refusing to dilute or lower the brand for easier access of new buyers.
And the method isn't hard to understand either - if you want to move up in the global scale, you have to change something. However, unlike GM, Ford, and others, BMW doesn't have a lower, mainstream brand (other than Mini) to increase global consumption. So they are left with their only brand to do so, the Roundel. And the GT versus Gran Coupe denotes the confusing methodology being employed to note differences in models in the line up.
As for X4/X6 - I know they are love/hate vehicles. Those who own em, love em for the reason they bought them (whatever their reasons are). I just stated that I don't get them. For the price, there are so many other vehicles with more power, more style, more utility, etc etc, even in the BMW line up. But they appeal somewhere to someone. I do think that the fact that other auto-makers have not followed suit shows something lacking in market research. Either BMW knows something that no other maker does, or after researching, all the other automakers did not feel there was enough return on the investment to bother.
And I do blame my "narrow-minded countrymen" for the lack of wagon or estate options in the US. The US is FAR too fascinated with the SUV when 95% of our SUVs never see off road conditions beyond a dirt/gravel lot. But now its become a size / status problem that is far too out of control. SUVs raised the need for new safety standards as the vehicles are not driven the way they were intended. But this is a completely different discussion.