rctmthouse

I remember back around 3 years + ago when I first found this forum, there were so much chattering, daily including weekends. I learned so much about the 5 without asking any question.

Even more than a year ago when I decided to join the forum, there were still lots of opinions, questions and answers. Now it's just too quiet.

Did people just decided to move on to different brand or style? I always thought most BMW owners are very brand loyalty; well at least for me.

tonymac

I stop by everyday but i don't have much to say. If that is what most people are doing then I understand.

swajames

This was asked over in the F10 forum recently, there are lots of opinions and perspectives including my own in the thread and it's well worth a read.

https://5series.net/forums/topic/108...series-forums/

tonymac

I forgot about that thread... You did have a great point even though I did not want to say it.

craigm1841

For me... I lost interest in my car because I leased a lemon. I just cant wait to turn it in. My warranty is up, and yesterday my rear pass window wouldnt go more than halfway up, and today, half my speakers stopped working. This is in addition to the countless issues that have had the car in the shop prob 15-20 times. Because I am part of the community and like some of the members here, a peruse the lounge from time to time.

For the masses, its simple. The E60 has lost its appeal, it is old, but when it was newer, it was super sexy (still is IMO), and drew a crowd of enthusiasts. The first time I saw an E60 in person, I knew I wanted one. In 2008 when I landed my first professional job out of the military, i got one weeks later.

BMW played it safe with the F10. It appeals to the masses, but not as much to enthusiasts. The masses dont get on forums to discuss their cars, enthusiasts do. The F10 is not some cutting edge design from the mind of chris bangle, rather a fairly bland design that could easily pass as a premium rental car. With the decline of the 5 series appeal to enthusiasts, enthusiasts have turned to cars like the M3 or other brands offering designs that set them apart from the crowd. To be honest, as a car enthusiast, If I am paying 60-70K for a car, it sure as hell isnt going to look as plain as an F10, and I am the guy who is going to get on a forum and talk about cars.

E60s are appealing to a younger crowd looking for used vehicles they can mod, but E60 mods are still expensive in comparison to other comparable cars, and mods cost more, and again, enthusiasts still want to be on the cutting edge, they will downsize if the need to meet a budget. They can buy a 2005 E60 or a 2009 Lexus IS350. They will buy the newer car which costs the same and is cheaper to mod (and has all sorts of electronic technology the E60 doesnt)

I believe the E60 was a rare car. It was a high-end premium production luxury car that has a cult following, due to its design. Lexus GS350s, Audi A6s, Mercedes E Classes (Non AMG), Infiniti M37s. DO NOT have the following the E60 did. Its time has come and gone.

I still think the E60 is the sexiest BMW ever designed.

rctmthouse

When I owned the Boxster S, almost a decade ago, I was a member of the 986 forum, it was very active and when the 987 came out, it was still very active between the new style members and the old style members with meeting and scheduled DIY session but I cam see with the difference betwen pre-LCI, LCI and the all-new F10, it seems like people here just decided to go different route now. Of course this happens to all 5 series related forums, not just this one. Oh well, let's hope this forum lasts until when I decide to move onto something else. Love the DIYs and how willing to help the people are here.

DD_545i

As all these former E60 owners sell on their cars in search of something new (as mentioned above), new E60 owners are formed. Someone's buying up the E60s, and they're now lower down in the food chain if you like. Typically these people buying 5-10 year old cars are much more active in modding, albeit a poorer quality of mod. You only have to look at Jimmy540's site to see how 80% of the cars there are over 7 years old.

So I'd expect an increase in activity rather than a decrease. The only way the forum should be decreasing is if it's too elitist and doesn't tolerate the new lower class of owner and shames them for wanting to put horrendous ugly ass mods on.

rctmthouse

wow, those are some harsh comments there...actually even though the value of the car has depreciated so much that it's becoming more affordable, I still think there much more activity back then than now.

As for the "ugly ass mods" comment, I leave it to the eye of the beholder but it seems like there are only so much mods you can do to an E60 and most are still very tastefully done, not like a Honda where the mods can transform the car into a spaceship.

DD_545i

When I said ugly ass mods, I was referring to these kind of mods.

Gene

One thing I have noticed as of late is that there are far less meet and greets. A few years back the So Cal, Nor Cal, and NYC/Tri-state members were very good/active about having some sort of GTG (get together) bi-weekly/monthly/seasonally. While GTG's may seem irrelevant, they serve a few great purposes:

people get to meet in person rather than behind a keyboard (makes a difference), Thereby getting to know each other on a more personal level.

mods and modding ideas can be seen in person thereby stimulating more discussion here.

jokes, sarcasm, and tone is better understood and recognized after meeting in person

facilitates that feeling of "camaraderie" ..

(just my $0.02)