BMW is trying to make money for their shareholders? Oh, the horror!

IMO, widening the lineup is a good thing, as long as they continue to produce good vehicles (which I'd consider the X5 to be based on the ones I've driven). More profits = more money for R&D and product improvement, and it helps to ensure BMW's continued independence vs. if they remained a niche brand. It also means I can have the BMW feel in a wider array of vehicles to meet my family's needs.

I don't care about exclusivity or trying to impress anyone - I'm satisfied w/ merely getting a great car. If you want exclusivity, get a Ferrari, Lambo, or something similarly exotic in the six figure price range.

The above comments apply equally to my thoughts about Porsche w/ the Cayenne and Panamera.

 

its not your imagination, lol. thats going to be one of the many cars in my stable in the next few years.

 

What do you not understand?
There was a time when owning a M meant you were most likely a performance car enthusiast. As each generation was released they became more comfortable street cars and production numbers increased.

 

[QUOTE=Chris S,Aug 28 2009, 04:41 AM] BMW is trying to make money for their shareholders?

 

I know what you're trying to say, but I just want to point out the bad example you used. Rover failed miserably in the car market years ago and was forced to stick it out with trucks (this happened in the European market). Later, in order to sustain the brand, they became what I call a "trustee brand" that is owned or the rights are granted to a bigger manufacturer. Before the X5 was released BMW was the mark of trust for Land Rover, but BMW dropped it after they decided they could build SUV's themselves. This is around the time with Ford was buying up the English brands, so the timing worked out well.

As Porsche learned years ago that by expanding the number of areas of concentration more technology can be developed - more discoveries can be made. This is why Porsche dove so hard into AWD and 4WD systems very early on. They also got into turbo technology early, and the list goes on and on.

Germans are engineers at heart and to tinker in new engineering endeavors is just being a good German. Building SUVs, a boat, designing an airplane....there is a lot of learning to be done, that can cycle (maybe motorcycle) back into the main-stay passenger vehicle product lines later.

 

Most people I know who own BMWs do so for the image alone. They are NOT car people. The few BMW owners I know who are car people are rabid car people.

Then there are a few BMW owners I know who are rabid "I love German quality" people, and not really car people at all. One friend has a Boxster and puts on maybe 500 miles a year. What's the point? I put 4,000 miles on my Solstice GXP in the first 2 weeks.

The two I know who own M-series are the most narcissistic of image people -- pure snobs -- and they think that having a German vantity car with an "M" enhances their status more than not having one.

 

Very true, but at the same time it's not right to compare BMW with Porsche, we all know BMW is expanding their market way bigger that it was 10 years ago. and it's ok but it sad when because it gets too much for me and i think some people agree.

when you say Rover, that is not the Land Rover/Ranger Rover section, they completely run on their own and they were owned by Ford at the time Rover went out...Rover is a different company some people make that mistake.

and Land Rover/Range Rover is the pioneer in SUV and X5 and most car companies follow its path and technologies achivments...

 

Why would you not compare Porsche and BMW? You don't think Porsche isn't expanding their market too.....Cayenne, Panamera, Cayman....That's kinda like more than doubling their market!

Rover was the original marque for Land Rover (1948) and Range Rover (1978).

[QUOTE]In 1994, British Aerospace sold the Rover Group, including the Rover, Land Rover, Riley, Mini, Triumph, and Austin-Healey brands to BMW, who had begun to see Rover-branded cars as potential major competitors.

In 2000, BMW split up the Rover Group, selling Land Rover to the Ford Motor Company for an estimated sum of

 

Do you have any factual basis for that statement, or are you just posting out of your ass?

I'm puzzled trying to understand why the majority of BMW owners would pay a premium for their cars if they don't really care about them. Are millions of BMW owners that superficial?

 

Yep!