[ScottAndrew]

Originally Posted by Darth One

so to expound on my semi-flippant comment above, i think the premise of this thread is faulty. the cars BMW are building do not diverge from the needs and wants of most of its customers. their sales figures are the best proof of that.

Indeed, but the sales of 3 and to a lesser extent, the 5 are declining at an alarming pace in America and Americans are buying Tesla. That suggests they need something else. However, the area-specific approach has already worked well in part. The 1er hatch is popular in its segment (and the M140i generally considered the best, on the basis of its engine and unique-in-class layout), and the 1er sedan has been so popular in China that it's now to be sold elsewhere in SE Asia and Mexico, so I read.

Both cars that would have US BMW track enthusiasts spluttering with disgust into the their beer, it has to be said .

...sure, they'd like to keep as many of us as possible, and they will try to throw us a bone here and there like the M2 and the F8x CS and GTS...but they won't be maniacal about designing their products for us. that's truly why they keep missing the mark, in my opinion.

Not getting you - they throw you a bone with something you consider mild and not track-dedicated, such as the GTS, and keep missing the mark? So if they made basically racing cars that are track-ready but could be driven legally on the road (think KTM Crossbow or Noble), they'd really hit the mark?

right now they are attempting to play both sides of the fence, which is to try to keep their brand as "the ultimate driving machine" while in reality trying to sell tens of thousands of cars to people who really want a more luxe Nissan Altima or Maxima. and that's fair enough, although bitterly disappointing.

They are - but they have to, to stay in business. It's not a good place to be, to want a brand you like to build only cars that are so focused, so personal for you, that do to so would actually cause them to fail. If you will only ever feel bitter disappointment about something they have to do as an economic imperative, then isn't life too short to continue to follow them, haranguing them for building 1.5 litre hatchbacks and luxury sedans instead of, say, an ultra-extreme, laser-focused track weapon for production series racing?

I just wonder if people who liked the M1 when it came out all lined up to denigrate BMW for producing the 316. Actually I know they didn't because I just remembered, I was there...