First of all who threw you 'in the mix?' You did, that's who. Stack was making an observation. If you don't fit the observation why are you all hot and bothered?

Most people who buy any car treat it like an appliance. They want it to get them from place to place. And like appliances you have sub zeros and hot point. The law of diminishing returns applies to both which is one does 85% of the work of the other and costs 10X less. And most people who buy sub-zero fridges have no need for a fridge like that, but they like them...so good for them. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!! Some people really need a fridge of that quality(enthusiasts).

But, to argue that a majority of BMW owners actually know a lot about driving dynamics and that is why they chose their X5 or their 325 is insane. It would be hard to argue that about most Porsche or Ferrari owners let alone BMW owners.

Now as far as badge whoring that means different things to different people. Some people lump anyone who doesn't track their BMW as a badge whore. You aren't using the car the way it can be used, therefore you do not need the car, so you bought it for status reasons only. !BMWTrackTime == BadgeWhore (Read: ! as No, nerds know what i'm saying). It's pretty obvious that a nice Acura does pretty much everything a BMW does, plus some things it doesn't, and if you aren't driving it on a track why have the BMW? (rhetorical question) So if that is your definition of Badge Whore then pretty much 95% of the owners are badge whores.

I could personally see people liking the styling, history, and prestige of the BMW over the acura and I wouldn't call them a badge whore. Badge whore's to me are people who have to bring up they drive a BMW all the time and get butt-hurt if anyone says anything bad about their car.

That is the post that started this long twisted voyage into oblivion for you. What in that post was directed at you?

Are you someone who bought it only because of the badge?

You have worked on and owned a few BMW's which means you may know a select few who are enthusiasts so you may not like this generalizations, but you really aren't in an place to refute them. I'm not a fan of generalizations either, but I have two good friends who bought BMWs and both bought them used for the names. I would probably not call them badge whores as they don't throw it in your face or feel the need to defend the car in real-life or on the internutz. They just like the looks and prestige and they can afford them so live and let live. They don't buy a lot of nice things and to them a BMW is nice thing that they and (more importantly) their wives wanted.

I feel they are the typical BMW owner more so then the guy I met at the track with his stripped down E46 M3 with over 40k in modifications. Car was completely gutted, painted white inside, full cage, etc. He's not typical and I know he chose the M3 over the acura for lots of performance reasons.

Who gives a shit if someone is badge whore? Who gives a shit if someone says that a majority of people are badge whores? BMW has done a great job building a brand image that appeals to badge whores, people who like nice cars, and enthusiasts.

So in closing....
EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!
or don't...this is entertaining!

 

This point seems to fly in the face of people being status obsessed badge whores. They don't care if the car is dirty. I guess I'm a badge whore cuz my wheels are covered in brake dust and couldn't care less.

 

Your 40% is just as made up as my 95%.

As someone point out, 5% of the million BMWs sold in a year is 50k owners A YEAR who can be classified as enthusiasts. Now, say 10 years, you've got 500k enthusiasts (ignoring some who bought multiple cars in 10 years).

What's the total number of users registered on BMW internet boards (an imperfect measure, but hey, imperfect is better than nothing)? Is it 500k? More? Less? Can everyone on a message board be described as an enthusiast? Or are some just the fanbois?

Let's compare to 40%...that is 400k owners A YEAR, times 10 years...you mean there are 4 million raving BMW enthusiasts wandering the US? That's about 1.3% of the population! No ffing way.

 

sure there are.

but, are they raving fans of the roundel? or the car itself?

discuss.

 

crap....what's the big popcorn smilie called?

 

No, because then it would be called "the Ultimate Wandering Experience"....

 

That's 2 so far.

Someone owes me $17.00

 

no sir.

i snuck in my own....

if i had to pay 8.50 for popcorn, i couldn't afford my BMW M3.

 

[quote name='PLYRS 3' date='Mar 14 2007, 01:00 PM']sure there are.

but, are they raving fans of the roundel?

 

I don't feel like doing math right now. But it looks like, based on the numbers you used, about 3% of the population has a BMW. Now I know they are common these days, but I'm not so sure that 3% of garages have a beamer sitting in them.

Well, now that I think about it, it seems possible. But still not likely.