BMW Business Directions
07-29-2010, 12:40 PM
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I agree that they are still best in class, though I do have real concern for the coming decade. A company that can develop the S85 has me on the bandwagon for as long as I can see ahead, but still, the future is uncertain, hopefully they adapt in a way that doesn't alienate their core...luckily the Gran Coupe will save my faith in bmw, I just hope they make internal mgt changes to reflect what a 2012 model should be and present the total package that looks forward and not back. 
07-29-2010, 02:54 PM
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My Ride: 2011 BMW 550i; Dark Graphite Metalliic/Oyster, 4.4 TT V8, 8-sp AT, Sports Package, Dynamic Handling, Premium Package 2, Cold Weather Package, HUD
BMW is nothing of the such and it certainly has an identity crisis. It has made poor decisions in the past few years that has caught them now behind the curve and following more than leading, that is not a position bmw is used to, and not what will make it best in class. As the oil crisis has heated up in the past few years, bmw should have caught on that the thrust of its future products needed to be more agile and efficient, which its new cars are neither. When you offer a product that your core purchasers want, there is no such debate as to what direction a company is taking. Europe is a leader in Environmental and Green movements, and is not the model for building larger cars that overstep each model size as the F10 certainly has done in basically being a marginally smaller 7 series. It is the opposite of the direction bmw should have taken, and they will pay dearly when the final tally is done at the end of the f10's run vs the e60.
It is the hard core enthusiasts that model the brands image, and most are balking at the new direction of bmw, whether in its line cars or its M cars. I understand you have an F10 and must protect your mindset and purchase, but in reality it is not the proper car and it is not the proper model size for a 5 series. If you were buying the same size car in 2001, you would have bought an E38 and it would have been the biggest thing to ever come out of BMW. The F10 got it wrong and all objective people can admit that the car is too big, too heavy and too bloated for a 5 series. If this was the 7er, Id probably feel very different and say that BMW actually led by offering a top model in this size class, but they completely missed the mark as nearly all the rest of us can admit, even though we are die-hard bmw fans.
Yes, bmw will be fine, but that doesnt mean that they are going to be more successful, and that they are well positioned as a company for the next 5-6 years. They are not GM, and should never need to appeal to the masses, that is not who they are and not who they can be, you cant make the Ultimate Driving Machine your motto at the same time you are working to appeal to the masses
I respect your opinion but you're wrong. Whether you like it or not, BMW is a global car company. (As are most major car companies these days). They don't make cars just in Germany anymore....this isn't the 80's. They have plants now in the US, China, Mexico, and subsidiaries in various other countries all over the world. They don't just market to the US and European audience either....they have to appeal to tastes now in Asia and South America. BMW is not some small niche sports car company like Porsche whose main support comes from the loyalty of hard-core enthusiasts. (And even Porsche is trying to appeal to a broader audience when they released the Cayenne and Panamera, so they are not the same company as they were before).
The F10 is no accident. It is the result of BMW spending thousands of hours, millions in R&D, and after carefully surveying what the global audience wanted in the new 5 series. BMW is not Ferrari....they are not in the business of pleasing to a niche market. We live in a very different world....economy is bad, competition is very fierce....if you put out a product to appeal to only a select group of individuals, you go out of business. In my opinion, BMW is still very much BMW.....the "sport" is still there but now, there's just more luxury and choices.....this is what the people want and you have to give it to them to be competitive.
BTW, some of you keep emphasizing how big the F10 is. The reality is that the Audi A6 and Infiniti M are just as long and just as wide as the F10 (go look at the spec sheets).....yet nobody here complains about them being "bloated." Go figure.
07-29-2010, 04:03 PM
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Yes, bmw will be fine, but that doesnt mean that they are going to be more successful, and that they are well positioned as a company for the next 5-6 years. They are not GM, and should never need to appeal to the masses, that is not who they are and not who they can be, you cant make the Ultimate Driving Machine your motto at the same time you are working to appeal to the masses
Here's the thing. BMW recently changed their tag line from "the Ultimate Driving Machine", a tag line that's been one of the most enduring and recognizable, to "Joy". This, while seemingly a small change in marketing, speaks volumes about the present direction of the company. In my opinion, this reflects BMW casting a broader net in the already crowded luxury automobile market. Is this reflected in the currently offered F10, a car born and developed during a global economic downturn? I think so. BMW can't afford to stand pat and appeal mainly to the sport-minded consumer and BMW diehard (as much as I would want it to). Thus, to me, the F10 is a car of the times, a car built to have the most appeal to the broadest spectrum of consumers that can afford it. Want a luxo-barge experience? Slot it in "comfort" mode. Want to handle back road twisties? Punch it into "sport".
One can't have everything, however. In its push to appeal to most, the F10's become larger and heavier. Now, I don't care what planet one is from, as long as the laws of physics apply, this combination kills performance. That cannot be debated by any e39, e60 or F10 apologist under the effects of cognitive dissonance.
With all that said, I think BMW is in great shape and I think the F10 will be the best selling 5er ever. Great for BMW, the Quandt family and stockholders, not so great for some purists. As a corporation with a bottom line focus, one can't blame them.
In the meantime, I'll wait and enjoy my e60 a little longer and wait for the F10 M5 ball to drop!
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