Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnMan
Of course it's unfair to stereotype BMWs, but the average human isn't that intelligent to distinguish the car from the driver. It's just like back in the 80's when BMW was associated with young American yuppies, only in Mainland China the negative connotation seems to be worse. I have to say, having been to the Mainland on countless occasions, the bimmer drivers there are much much worse then in the States, Canada or UK.
In Hong Kong it's a different matter, every other car is a BMW here, so no stereotypes...at least not to the degree you get in Mainland China.
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First, there's definitely some (warranted) negative stereotypes about BMW drivers. On the whole they are in my observation more aggressive - hell, it IS a driving machine. And they are more expensive than the median household can afford unless they own their home etc.
The classic image until maybe last 3-4 yrs was of a blue-tooth earpiece-wearing aggressive young professional; or a bureaucrat / snr prof'l at higher end (say 7er). Now, for e.g. in the UK, it's the Audi - see Top Gear ep, BMW M3 vs The Rest, then BMW vs IS-F.
Last, your statement re HK and BMWs' frequency @ 1 in 2 is
pure hyperbole: yes, it's a very wealthy city which also means BMWs are relatively expensive, but are more widely owned as a % of cars on the road.
Also, as you probably know, it's expensive - like Singapore - to be able to afford the vehicle permit, so relatively skewed sample vs, say the USA or Australia or Canada where the right to drive a vehicle in the city is so much less (registration and insurance, no 'plate' permit,
per se.) Relative to population the frequency of BMW ownership is less than SoCal or Munich.
