Have BMW devalued their brand?

They always made cars that drove nicely, that's why I bought 10+

What some bloke in housing estate land thinks about it doesn't bother me in the slightest.
 
Without even reading the thread at all, not even the OP. Yes. Will they care if they sell more cars and make more profit? Not in the slightest. No doubt said already though.
 
I think the cars have gotten generally better (despite being a tech fest) of late whilst the brand has to me diminished since becoming outwardly 'premium' in the early 90's.
 
In my life time i think i view BMW as slightly less prestige than say 10-15 years ago but i'd still put it comfortably above the 'normal' cars. Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota etc

The whole M-Sport trim level is interesting, a woman i used to car share with bought a fairly new 520d M-Sport. When she said she was getting it i must have said something about loving to own an M5, she replied with 'but it is an M that i'm getting'

I don't know what my point is, BMW have been clever to put out the M performance brand so people pick up on it and to the average diesel M-sport buyer they're one and the same. And i guess it doesn't really hurt the actual M3/5/6 drivers as they'll buy it anyway for what it is.

Well played BMW, well played.
 
Brands are the aspiration of the poor, ironically the very group that is less able to afford them. Middle-class people have now shunned brands compared to the 1980's when for example Kelloggs and Nescafé were considered the height of decadence. The exotic threshold is much higher these days and BMW, Audi et al have responded in their bottom-line's best interest.
 
sovietspybob said:
In my life time i think i view BMW as slightly less prestige than say 10-15 years ago but i'd still put it comfortably above the 'normal' cars. Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota etc

The whole M-Sport trim level is interesting, a woman i used to car share with bought a fairly new 520d M-Sport. When she said she was getting it i must have said something about loving to own an M5, she replied with 'but it is an M that i'm getting'

I don't know what my point is, BMW have been clever to put out the M performance brand so people pick up on it and to the average diesel M-sport buyer they're one and the same. And i guess it doesn't really hurt the actual M3/5/6 drivers as they'll buy it anyway for what it is.

Well played BMW, well played.
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This would **** me off if i had an M5 and people with a 520d with M written on it thought they had the same car as me.

Spending more than twice the amount of money on a car and people thinking they got the same car as me would make me feel so cheap lol.

The brand probably has been devalued but BMW are just moving with the times really. Global recession and the car industry is growing every day they have to offer cars for the lower end market.

The original 1 series was a terrible car for the money u were spending on it but BMW still sold plenty of them because people could afford a BMW now when they couldn't before.

My dream is still an E46 M3, one of the best cars ever made imo and it still looks like sex on wheels 14 years later. It has aged really well and will always be a desirable car in the future imo.

Also BMW make the best engines out of all the competition they have, they have always made the best driving cars in that category that they were in with mercedes and now Audi.

Still think the E60 5 series with the M pack looks fantastic 10 years later. Another car that will age very well imo.
 
I've been doing some contract work in Leeds for the past few weeks and its bizzare how many 'M' badged cars across models and ages there are in this city.

120Ds with an M badge ffs!
 
rare said:
If anything it is still as desirable as it has ever been? If not more so, since it is now more easily attainable, which heightens its desirability.
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I strongly disagree with this. I do not believe that something being more easily attainable heightens the desirability of it.
 
I think All brands are devalued these days because of the amount of them that look the same but sound like tractors. It hurts me when I see a lovely looking car & then hear the clatter of a derv lump rattle away under its hood.
When I walk the streets with my dog these days I hardly lift my head for a Beema or anything else for that matter, If I hear a nice Burble from a decent petrol lump then I'll lift my head & smile as it rips past me.
As for the BMW brand itself I do feel it has been devalued by the amount of them you see on the road that are bobby basic German Taxis. The "proper" Beemas still look fat to me but they just get lost in a sea of German taxis. :(
 
Wouldn't swap my six for a derv even though I have an audi diesel.
You can't beat the six cylinder petrol engine for everyday use.
 
Been thinking the same thing recently about BMW's. I think it's just the amount you see on the roads these days. Most are pretty boring with a poor spec and just not anything special. Same goes for AUDI (never really rated them) but for me personally I think Mercs have held up pretty well against them. I still love driving my facelift E46 M.Sport even though its only only the 320Ci. Its certainly nothing special but still brings smile to my face and I think its held its looks pretty well. The only Beemers that get my attention these days are M3/5 or a nice petrol 5 or 6 series. Audi's to me are the same, boring motorway taxis.
 
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