BMW previously made performance sedans; high end, high performance, great safety, good quality and somewhat exclusive. The M series has been around for many years which was preceded by Alpina limited run cars that were available through BMW dealers. M and Alpina set the stage for the companies products and their technology trickled down to the more pedestrian models. This is what made BMW become a premium brand. This led to prestige.

The cars traditionally sold to the performance crowd which differentiated themselves from the more staid Mercedes crowd. Basically the two premium brands that were still attainable by many buyers were BMW and Mercedes.

Now BMW trended towards the mainstream, trying to appeal to a broader market. This includes the people with the means to buy premium brands which are buying for prestige but don't like the tradeoffs that accompany the reason BMW is pretigious in the first place, which is real performance. With performance comes real gauges, engine sounds, harsher ride and lighter weight. So I believe BMW has become diluted. Not only because of the BMW going more mainstream, and I don't blame them for trying to grow the company, but also because MB has been trending towards performance.

The horsepower wars are always difficult and costly for manufactures. It also threatens government intervention to control what is put out on the streets. I hope BMW figures this out because I enjoy the brand. I think they need to spend much more time and money on drastically reducing the weight, this will bring the performance lead back into BMW's court.

 

BAH! last night I drove one of Mercedes flagship models the SL 500... The pickup on the car is quite good I will admit... but I also own a 745Li.. which on paper has the same 0-60 times as the SL500... now since it is a sports car you do feel more of a thrill with the acceleration.... but here is the dislikes of the car... yes it has a sports car feel and suckshin to the road.. but it did not fell like my BMW... honestly..I did not feel safe in the car, any bump I hit the sterring was very flimzy.. I tried taking it on some turns the I normally whip my 5er around and yes it did have suckshin to the road... but it just didn't handel as good as I thought it could do... meaning, lets say I never drove a BMW, I would have thought that its handeling would have been awsome... but heres the catch I have driven BMW's and it just doesn't compare...BMW will always be my choice

 

How can you reduce weight when customers want more luxury features, greater cabin and luggage space and greater safety features? Legislation is also affecting the size of cars due to crumple zones and pedestrian protection. Tougher emissions laws are adding extra weight through the addition of catalytic converters and the like. The E60 is now close in size to the original 7 series and the E65 7 has grown significantly in size. To keep weights comparable with previous generation models would require ditching luxury equipment - aircon, powered seats etc and most likely involve making the whole body out of aluminium which is costly and very expensive/difficult to repair in the event of accident damage.

BMW has done a fairly good job in keeping the weight of the E60 down by incorporating an aluminium front end. This has kept the kerb weight close to the outgoing E39 whilst the new car has grown larger. As for performance I don't think anyone could say the 545 is underpowered yet the 550 is just around the corner and will offer better performance. I'm certain that BMW also waited to introduce the new higher powered 6 cylinder engines in order that the E60 was not launched as a totaly new car. No doubt they were anticipating some teething problems with the new i-drive software following the initial problems experienced with the 7 and were reluctant to throw in a new drive train as well. The V8 in the 545 had already been introduced in the 745.

You say that Mercedes are trending towards performance. This true but they are still a long way off the handling properties of comparable BMW models and most road tests confirm this. In fact in a recent group test of the M5, E55 AMG and Maserati Quattroporte in Autocar magazine, the conclusion was that the Merc was fantastic until you hit a corner where it was comprehensively trounced by the M5. Mercedes are churning out high output engines in cars that don't handle well when pushed.

Perhaps you are more concerned with BMW's marketing strategy and don't like them selling the 525 and 530 models which "dilute" the appeal of the 545? I could understand that but BMW needs high volume sales to remain an independent auto manufacturer. They are now at a size where they need to cater for a much wider audience than just diehard performance fans as they did up to 5 to 10 years ago. Maybe they need to offer improved horsepower ratings in sport models to allow buyers to choose between luxury and performance as opposed to luxury and slightly better handling. Just my two cents.

 

I read in Autoweek that MB is adding a "Sports Package" which includes bigger brakes, stiffer springs, stiffer dampers, quicker steering, and staggard low profile wheels. on the E class. They are increasing the HP by 50 HP as well.
Listen, this is my third BMW and I really did not consider anything else when I got them so I'm not ragging on the brand I just don't like MB getting closer.
Maybe I love the car to much and am taking the MB assault personally.

 

I agree that performance has been the allure of the marque and has made it. But based on my test drives and those of many on this forum, they still have have it. I think what they have done with Active Suspension and the flat cornering with supple ride is absolute genius. If I want a really hard ride and a exhaust growl I will buy a Ferrari. I think the danger for BMW is not so much that they are changing their focus, but that other manufacturers are following their lead and tightening the gap. The Sports sedan was exclusive to BMW 25 years ago. Now every manufacture has an attempt at one in their line up.

 

What ISUK said! Maybe we should replace our seats with styrofoam replicas for the weight savings Pennetta craves.

 

MBs are still put together with spit and post-it notes, so lets not get beside ourselves with worry, shall we?

The new M5 will annihilate everything, just as the E39 M5 did. You cannot go faster, as comfortably. Even in the Jag XJ-R.

 

BMW will be just fine. There's enough of that market for both automakers to prosper.

 

I advise everyone on this forum to read the book .

There is something of interest in this book for the business man, the historian and the car enthusiast. A wonderful insight into the brand.

Clearly the biggest threat to the future of the identity of BMW is that for some reason the Quandt family decide they want out. This will make BMW ripe for acquistion and I think that will be the beginning of the end.

 

I haven't read this book yet.. but I guess I'll order it from Amazon along with a few other books quite soon.

IMHO I prefer BMW being owned by the Quandt family rather than VW or GM. GM would probably even rename BMWs "Chevrolet" before we'd know it