Quote:
Originally Posted by premier3is
+1. Read this and thought to myself what a joke of a review. Extremely biased and totally subjective. Everything you mentioned on this post is exactly what I thought. They cant even do basic math lol.
Sounds like the writer of this article cannot afford himself a BMW... I mean who compares a Volvo to a BMW?
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People do compare BMWs and Volvos though, especially since they've been under Geely's ownership. While you or I wouldn't because they aren't sporty vehicles and don't cater towards the enthusiast, that doesn't matter in today's society, as the common buyer of a BMW 3 series is a middle aged man or woman who couldn't possibly even know or care what the 30, in 330i stands for, and doesn't care about sports cars what so ever, they care more for comfort, style, and brand prestige.
In the past, Volvos may have been seen as Sweedish Buicks, as they weren't very pretty or luxurious, but very safe and boat like in handling, but since Geely, now everyone adores the styling inside and out, and considers them to be more of a luxury competitor more now than ever. Trust me, there are people who compare Volvos and BMWs, they just aren't enthusiasts.
I'm a middle aged man and drove a 3 series in my late 30's and 40's, and I don't see many 20 something's being able to afford a brand new 3 series or BMW that costs well over $50k. If you look at the drivers of 3 series, most of them range from being 35+, and have a family, the typical buyer of luxury cars in general is typically middle aged. Of course there are some owners who are younger, but they aren't a large demographic of owners and represent a smaller group in compared to the general age group of owners.
The simple fact is that "older/middle aged" (as in 35+) are one of the larger demographics of luxury cars.
Most BMW buyers don't know what they buy, in today's society the badge on a front of a car is what a good portion of people care about hence why cars like the CLA exist (there's also examples of it on this forum with how some of the members here view the Genesis G70 with no actual experience behind the wheel, they just see it as "HyundaiJunk").
It's a real conversation I've had with multiple BMW owners. Here's one of the few. When I was at the dealer looking at the M340i, someone came up to me and asked how much I paid for my CLS, he said it looks really good and expensive and that it would impress a bunch of people and even quote on quote "get bitches". While accepting the compliments I asked what he drove. He said a 740iL, to which I said thats a nice car. He told me, he doesn't like it simply because the S class looks more expensive and would look more impressive to his friends. I asked, well don't you like parts of your car, like the nice engine, the Inline 6 is really smooth and has a good amount of power. He then asked me what an inline 6 was. He said he just assumed he had some type of V8 under the hood because of the "40i" badge, and didn't even know that the "L" in the badging referred to long-wheelbase. This is one of many similar conversations, from people thinking their 335i has a 3.5L V6, to people not even knowing their cars have turbos in them, or people thinking that German cars are the most reliable.
These people couldn't care less about sports cars nor care about what engine their car actually has, in today's world, having the kidney grills, 4 rings, or 3 pointed star on the front of your car, is something to aspire to, and have to feel/look more impressive. Its like the people who buy 5 year old S-Classes with a shit ton of problems to look cool when instead they could just buy a new and reliable accord. The accord is the better car, but not the more impressive looking and cooler car.