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Originally Posted by SportySpice
All of this "there was a time" and "BMW used to be" is boring. They're a mass market car, well vehicle, company in business to make a profit - not a niche brand. How many cars does Porsche sell in a year? Fine, point to them as a halo brand but the comparisons don't really seem to be apples to apples IMO. What's the Porsche version of a 3 series? An Audi.
Companies must evolve to stay relevant and the market has changed. Like it or not, Tesla has put pressure on the luxury car manufacturers. Vehicle sales in the US are down this year, even in the red hot SUV and pickup market. The Transportation sector is perhaps the largest producer of greenhouse gases in the US, and for more and more, particularly younger people, a car is a luxury not a necessity.
BMW could choose to become a niche player, building a limited set of heavy steering, manual cars with stiff suspensions that appeal to enthusiasts (only). Or they can try to figure out the right mix of models to remain a volume manufacturer. Regardless of what the end state will be, I applaud the willingness to make tough decisions to build a profitable portfolio.
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So much BS.
No one is denying that BMW is a public company whose end goal is to maximize shareholders' value. That doesn't mean you have to sell out the brand value and well-earned reputation of being "the ultimate driving machine" for short-term profit.
BMW wasn't a "niche player" before it decided it needed to quintuple its line of vehicles and slap on the ///M badge on pretty much anything they can their hands on. When you have grown your line-up beyond that of the mass market car makers like Toyota, you know you have gone too far. Toyota has 6 SUVs (C-HR, RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, Sequoia, Land Cruiser), and BMW has 7 (X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7). This is before counting all the drivetrain variants. Let that sink in.
What BMW needed to do was to stay faithful to its core brand value: the ultimate driving machine. Instead, it decided to cash in on its reputation by building watered down cars to mass market that couldn't tell the difference between RWD and FWD. No one believes in your hyperbolic and false choice between building cars that only a masochist can love and out-Lexusifying Lexus.
They could've evolved with time and expanded the lineup as needed, but what they've done in the last decade isn't that. It is undoing of what BMW of past stood for. They traded in their soul and loyal fan base for the mass market appeal and short-term profit.