Road and Track: "We Aren't BMW's Target Market Anymore"

[heavyD^2]

Originally Posted by Theruleslawyer

Yup.They could do better with epas if they tried. The fact that they dont, not even on M cars says something. The "Driving experience" is not what they're selling anymore. It might be faster around a track, but people who really care about feel are going to have to look elsewhere. The reality is even the average M driver just wants to go fast in a straight line and look cool. Hunting down that last bit of steering feel will probably be too much NVH for the normal buyer.

LOL. Just a few posts up someone mentioned this article.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...ing-explainer/

That brings us to a more fundamental argument about what is good steering? Is it feelsome, or is it safe? That's a big question, though. One for another day. (I also want to note that BMW steering feel has improved much in the EPAS era, especially in the latest M cars.)

I get that there's a lot of old men yelling at clouds here which is not specific to these forums as the population is aging and some simply have a more difficult time adapting but what bothers me more is how uninformed so many posters are sputing complete nonsense.

[Artemis]

Conclusion of the article: for some folks down at BMW a part of their long-term clients and aficionados have become 'has beens'.

"BMW’s trajectory reminds me of one of the once-favorite bars that I frequented in college. I had been going to this place for years now, my way to decompress on a Thirsty Thursday when I was younger and would pretend like I didn’t have a Friday morning class at 8:50 AM. Over time, first slowly, then kind of all at once, the bar changed. The music changed from kitschy Nineties hits and Recession-era Britney Spears and Lady Gaga to some pop starlet I had never heard of called Olivia Rodrigo. The quality of food it served wasn’t the same, and some of the menu items had been removed. The bar was remodeled. My favorite bartenders had moved on to greener pastures. The bar I had come to know and love in college, and now as a young adult, just wasn’t the same.

Was it the right move for the bar? I don’t know their finances, but I do know that the new crowd it attracted knew every word to the Olivia Rodrigo songs even if they didn’t know too much about those 1990s hits that I had memorized note-for-note. The bar had pivoted, and either intentionally or not, it was very clear that I was no longer their primary client.

And that’s the case for BMW, no? I stood around the Ritz-Carlton, breathing in the Palm Springs air, looking at all the new cars BMW had brought a gaggle of assorted journalists to drive. They were nice, but I couldn’t deny that I was feeling the same way that I felt back at my old favorite bar. I, and people like me, weren’t really their clients anymore. The era of the 330i or 335i sitting as the untouchable pinnacle of driving luxury sedans doesn’t exist here. It’s not like the new 3-Series is bad, it's just not great. Even cars like the X1 or iX, well executed as they are, simply don’t have the same driving enthusiast focus that we got from BMWs not that long ago. The most compelling examples of “old BMW” are paywalled, behind a greatest hits-esque limited production scope and limited to halo models like the M4 CSL. These feel more like last-call editions BMW begrudgingly make for a tiny niche of people who have a lot of cash. They serve as a reminder of an era the brand would rather walk away from."

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

LOL. Just a few posts up someone mentioned this article.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...ing-explainer/



I get that there's a lot of old men yelling at clouds here which is not specific to these forums as the population is aging and some simply have a more difficult time adapting but what bothers me more is how uninformed so many posters are sputing complete nonsense.

I feel like you're making my point for me. BMW may have improved since they introduced EPAS, but they have made decisions that make their epas solution not as good as Porsche. Its always a trade off and they are prioritizing other things than feel- steering speed according to the article. EPAS isn't inherently bad, but yes they could do better from an enthusiast perspective and choose not to.