Originally Posted by AP Sales

Remember all the problems with the earlier years of the e60? Not as many problems, not as much to discuss.

Originally Posted by artc

Can any of you guy that are here since the introduction of the E60 draw any comparisons?

Even if the E60 interest is in decline, how does the F10 interest compare to when the E60 was just launched?

Originally Posted by EuroCarFan

I'm on this forum every single day but don't post as much anymore just cause there's not much left to say. Then again, most of the time when I do post, it's to answer questions that probably have been discussed many times over but instead of letting or telling those members to search, I actually like providing the answer right away. This is probably because I'm the type that wants a quick answer and figured I could help others from spending too much time searching. Also, if all topics have been discussed and you just expect people to search then forums are no longer interactive. They start to become lifeless libraries of sort for people to dig for their own info; quiet and boring.

Originally Posted by saf545

Very good question. I would love to know what the interest levels were back at that point.

Originally Posted by swajames

The forum is is decline, there is no question. It is simply nowhere near the place it once was. The level of posting appears to me to be significantly down, in terms of both volume and quality.

The are a number of possible explanations and drivers for this. I'll offer two.

Firstly, as the price of the prior E60 fell and it became a more widely accessible used car purchase, we saw a significant influx of a very different caliber of member, offering little more than childish trash talk and "text speak" in expletive-laden but otherwise unremarkable posts. There's a place for levity in the forum, but not to the degree we sometime see. In the past we used to see some great threads, with interesting discussion, different opinions with generally respectful disagreement and some pretty cool topics. We simply don't see this to the same degree we once did. I accept this is a subjective assessment - what I find mediocre others find interesting, but I am sure that the longer standing members, and many great members from the past who for reasons such as those I've just articulated rarely or no longer post here, would agree with me.

The other is perhaps equally subjective, and I offer the paucity and the quality of some of the threads and posts in the F10 forum as evidence. My own judgment is that fewer buyers of the F10 are enthusiasts who buy the car for reasons that appeal to the "car guys" amongst us but buy it because it is an expensive, luxury, premium car with a premium badge on the hood. This is not a slam on the F10, it is simply that these "badge-buyers", who are, after all just as likely to buy a Mercedes, Audi or Lexus when the F10 lease is up, are simply less inclined to register and post on a forum. My judgment is that the F10 speaks to these customers (and let us not forget, their money is just as good as just as important to BMW as those of us who like to think we're still from the old school) perhaps to a lesser degree than the E60 did.

Whether it is the forum that is moving on and leaving those of us from the old-school behind or whether it is the converse that is true is largely moot - the net result is the same. The forum just isn't the place that it once was.

Originally Posted by poleposition

Dead on Steven. The car is the same price as a Nissan Altima now. The crowd here has taken a few steps down. Unfortunate but true. It IS nice to see the older members post every once in a while. When I joined 6 yrs ago, there were but a couple thousand members. Quantity has gone up while quality has gone down. Guess it was inevitable.

Originally Posted by artc

Can any of you guy that are here since the introduction of the E60 draw any comparisons?

Even if the E60 interest is in decline, how does the F10 interest compare to when the E60 was just launched?