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I found Doug's commentary on BMW's circa 2001 lineup compelling. There were legitimately multiple desirable cars in that lineup. BMW had a special lineup of cars contributing to the intrinsic value of a special brand. Tough to argue against that being the peak. BMW has since sold more cars, but that is a result of dramatically expanding the product line and leveraging brand equity.
Today, the brand no longer feels special. But, in fairness, special is now defined in new ways. If the old tag line was "the ultimate driving machine", what is it in the future?
I am 52 and have owned 9 BMWs. Life's been good and I like to think that my wife and I have 15 cars ahead of us. Going forward, I may keep an old BMW in the garage, but BMW is no longer the default choice when shopping new.
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