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      09-08-2019, 02:39 PM   #1
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CNBC 330i Review

Not sure if anyone cares, but CNBC released their review of the 330i several hours ago:

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/09/08/...not-great.html
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      09-08-2019, 03:02 PM   #2
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Thanks for putting it up... always good to see/hear other views.
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      09-08-2019, 03:57 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RJ11 View Post
Not sure if anyone cares, but CNBC released their review of the 330i several hours ago:

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/09/08/...not-great.html
I mostly share that reviewers sentiment.
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      09-08-2019, 06:22 PM   #4
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Biased review. BMW is simply held to a higher standard than other cars in its class. Not to mention the comparison is baseless and without merit, largely subjective and based on false premise...

"The C-Class has a knockout interior"- subjective, I prefer streamlined BMW interior, Mercedes is too busy for my taste.

"The A4 feels the most tech-forward" - Not even clear what this means? "Feels more tech forward" - The BMW has better and more advanced tech than the Audi.

"The Giulia is a riot on the road" - this car does drive well.

"The S60 is a styling masterpiece" - really?? Subjective. I disagree.

"G70 has been praised as the best value"- if you can't afford or don't want to spend the money on a BMW, ok. But what about for those of us that do?

The fact that the review takes 5 vehicles and points out ONE alleged quality in each of those vehicles which "betters" the 3 series does not make the BMW any less compelling and does not make either of these vehicles better than the BMW. It's not as though there is one vehicle out there that bests the BMW in each of these areas.

Nonsense review, based off a nonsense premise!

Finally, I won't trust a review from someone who cannot do simple mathematics..

Rating:

Exterior: 3
Interior: 3
Driving Experience: 3.5
Value: 2.5
Overall: 2.5???
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      09-08-2019, 08:33 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmzorba09 View Post
Biased review.
Agreed, propaganda review.
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      09-08-2019, 08:50 PM   #6
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None of these cars are a winner in every category. What more do they want from BMW, it can't be everything for everybody. All these cars appeal to a certain demographic and thus this review is pure BS. The Volvo buyer is not a BMW buyer. Alfa and BMW are the only two marques that are somewhat similar.The A4 is the most Vanilla followed by the Volvo. Comparing the Hyundai against the G20 is akin to comparing the Holiday Inn to a Four Seasons hotel. The Hyundai can only compete in this class on price, if they were to set their prices as that of the bimmer, nobody would buy them. Considering how cheap they are they're still not being bought by the masses.
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      09-08-2019, 08:52 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
None of these cars are a winner in every category. What more do they want from BMW, it can't be everything for everybody. All these cars appeal to a certain demographic and thus this review is pure BS. The Volvo buyer is not a BMW buyer. Alfa and BMW are the only two marques that are somewhat similar.The A4 is the most Vanilla followed by the Volvo. Comparing the Hyundai against the G20 is akin to comparing the Holiday Inn to a Four Seasons hotel.
Well said
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      09-08-2019, 09:02 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmzorba09 View Post
Biased review.
You're taking their review more personal than you should be. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions just as you are, and their subjective preferences hold as much merit as yours do. CNBC is/was not the first review to criticize the G-Series and consider other cars a better buy, and it sure won't be the last.
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      09-08-2019, 09:05 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
You're taking their review more personal than you should be. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions just as you are, and their subjective preferences hold as much merit as yours do. CNBC is/was not the first review to criticize the G-Series and consider other cars a better buy, and it sure won't be the last.
Have no respect for reviewers that praise inferior products.
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      09-08-2019, 09:14 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by 530iDriver View Post
Have no respect for reviewers that praise inferior products.
That's your own opinion though, and what you're using to determine inferiority may, and likely does, differ from theirs.
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      09-08-2019, 09:44 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
You're taking their review more personal than you should be. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions just as you are, and their subjective preferences hold as much merit as yours do. CNBC is/was not the first review to criticize the G-Series and consider other cars a better buy, and it sure won't be the last.
It's not personal to me. It's a vehicle. If there were something to take personally about this article it would be for its lack of good, professional grade journalism.

I simply don't see a logical persuasive case to be made and I don't see how that article constitutes an objective review. At best it can be called a lazy editorial or opinion piece, underscored by false premise- but it's not a review.
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      09-08-2019, 09:55 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmzorba09 View Post
It's not personal to me. It's a vehicle. If there were something to take personally about this article it would be for its lack of good, professional grade journalism.

I simply don't see a logical persuasive case to be made and I don't see how that article constitutes an objective review. At best it can be called a lazy editorial or opinion piece - but it's not a review.
Hmmm! Isn't that the case with nearly all "reviews"? The only objective data points are measured performance numbers, but that is statistics absent nuance......and nuance is merely a fancy term for preference/opinion. It's like arguing over who's the hottest woman on television. There will never be a right answer.
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      09-08-2019, 10:09 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
Hmmm! Isn't that the case with nearly all "reviews"? The only objective data points are measured performance numbers, but that is statistics absent nuance......and nuance is merely a fancy term for preference/opinion. It's like arguing over who's the hottest woman on television. There will never be a right answer.
What you describe is not what this is. Road and Track, Car and Driver .. those are what I'd call classic reviews, with objective points. This is a pure opinion piece, vastly void of imperial data.
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      09-08-2019, 10:14 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmzorba09 View Post
What you describe is not what this is. Road and Track, Car and Driver .. those are what I'd call classic reviews, with objective points. This is a pure opinion piece, vastly void of imperial data.
I think you mean(t) empirical.
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      09-08-2019, 10:18 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
I think you mean empirical.
We cant all be spelling bee champions
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      09-08-2019, 10:19 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmzorba09 View Post
Biased review.
+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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      09-08-2019, 10:30 PM   #17
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We cant all be spelling bee champions
Bzzzzz!
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      09-08-2019, 10:45 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EXE46 View Post
None of these cars are a winner in every category. What more do they want from BMW, it can't be everything for everybody. All these cars appeal to a certain demographic and thus this review is pure BS. The Volvo buyer is not a BMW buyer. Alfa and BMW are the only two marques that are somewhat similar.The A4 is the most Vanilla followed by the Volvo. Comparing the Hyundai against the G20 is akin to comparing the Holiday Inn to a Four Seasons hotel. The Hyundai can only compete in this class on price, if they were to set their prices as that of the bimmer, nobody would buy them. Considering how cheap they are they're still not being bought by the masses.
A few U.S. sales figures from www.goodcarbadcar.net. 2d quarter sales - BMW 3 Series 12,933. That’s twice as many units as the Audi A4; almost four times more than the Genesis G70; and including the 4 Series to account for coupe sales about 4,000 more units than the Merc C Class which includes sedans and coupes. Apparently there are a lot of folks out there who are dead-set on a BMW making the 3er an objective winner in at least one category.
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      09-08-2019, 10:58 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tturedraider View Post
A few U.S. sales figures from www.goodcarbadcar.net. 2d quarter sales - BMW 3 Series 12,933. That's twice as many units as the Audi A4; almost four times more than the Genesis G70; and including the 4 Series to account for coupe sales about 4,000 more units than the Merc C Class which includes sedans and coupes. Apparently there are a lot of folks out there who are dead-set on a BMW making the 3er an objective winner in at least one category.
Overall BMW sales have improved a bit mostly because of the X3, X5 and X7. Mercedes had been running the pack for at least the last 3 years.
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      09-09-2019, 09:25 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by premier3is View Post
+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?
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.
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      09-09-2019, 11:07 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joshuastein55 View Post
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.
People on these forums tend to believe that they represent the larger buying market, but that is a misconception. The "enthusiast" is but a small percentage of the buying public, and if you take an honest look at how companies like BMW have shifted away from the raw, sporty, visceral driving experience, it's pretty clear. The general public wants what we've been getting; more premium, less sport. More automation, less engagement. More comfort, less firmness/road feedback. BMW and other companies have to change with the times. You're also correct about the general age demographic. Your average 3 Series driver is NOT some twenty-something. They are usually in the 30's or older and are working professionals.
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      09-09-2019, 11:19 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan View Post
People on these forums tend to believe that they represent the larger buying market, but that is a misconception. The "enthusiast" is but a small percentage of the buying public, and if you take an honest look at how companies like BMW have shifted away from the raw, sporty, visceral driving experience, it's pretty clear. The general public wants what we've been getting; more premium, less sport. More automation, less engagement. More comfort, less firmness/road feedback. BMW and other companies have to change with the times. You're also correct about the general age demographic. Your average 3 Series driver is NOT some twenty-something. They are usually in the 30's and are working professionals.
Exactly, even though I typically rant and rave about BMW's decisions, I do see the logic behind them, especially since what they're currently doing is working as sales are for the first time in a few years, ahead of Mercedes, who's been beating BMW in sales since the end of the Bangle Era.
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