BMW have gone too far

[Seesure]

mahoone said:

Mr2Mike said:

I thought all the Fords with an ST model designation were higher performance variants? Is this not the case?

I've seen one on auto trader. Looks like a Zetec S so what's the point of 'st line'

IIRC the original ST24 sported the same Duratec engine as the standard 2.5 Ghia or Ghia X at approx 170bhp, the subsequent ST200 was the one with a little higher performance (mine was 214bhp). The ST220 then followed but then to attract further customers Ford introduced the Mondeo ST Tdic !!! And then ST models on the Focus and Fiesta....

[AH33]

I'd be pissed off if I owned a proper M car and people were stealing my kudos by driving round in an "M" 114i

But then they're all at it. "AMG" 2.0 diesels. "S Line" Audis and "R Line" VWs where the "line" text is very small.

Next step, you'll be able to buy a £100k BMW "Supercar" with a 1.5 3cyl from a mini.... oh wait

[anonymous-user]

AH33 said:

I'd be pissed off if I owned a proper M car and people were stealing my kudos by driving round in an "M" 114i

Do you honestly think anyone thinks this way

[chrisb92]

Pesty said:

No.

What's wrong with wanting a nice looking car. Not everybody can afford to buy m4s but still want to have something nice looking on their drive. I've not even got a problem with Eco boost mustangs. Each to their own who fking cares.

Some strange people around

100% agree. If I were to buy a 3 series, but could only afford to run a 320d then I'd definitely want large wheels, M sport kit and all the trimmings so that my car at least looked the part! For me the looks of a car is a large factor in me wanting to buy it.

I can't understand why anyone can't comprehend why someone wouldn't want a nice looking car?

[Krikkit]

yonex said:

AH33 said:

I'd be pissed off if I owned a proper M car and people were stealing my kudos by driving round in an "M" 114i

Do you honestly think anyone thinks this way

I suspect the owner of the "M" 114i will. Not too bad of course, it's a simple indicator of people to not talk about cars with!

[David87]

Dave Hedgehog said:

at least Audi try to separate their performance marks with

RS
S
S-Line

Looks like there's a gap in the market there for an RS-Line.

[g3org3y]

nunpuncher said:

It's just too much BMW. You have killed the brand. It may have won some sales but it's really put me off BMWs

FWD

[Bennet]

The game has shifted. You can't be cool any more by buying a fast looking car, whether it's genuinely fast or not. Fast looking cars are no longer niche. Almost everything is designed to look aggressive.

If you want to stay ahead of the pack, you need something more extreme like a WRX STI, or you need to go in another direction. Go retro or buy something a gentleman would drive.

[Leins]

I like it myself, as it means the proper M/RS/AMG stuff doesn't stand out as much. Now if they just went back to having the exhausts on one side only...

[popeyewhite]

MikeTFSI said:

Audi S-line? Mercedes-Benz AMG? VW R line? Ford ST-line? I could go on. All the same.

What do non-AMG cars have other than than a cheeky dealer supplied badge?

[Mr2Mike]

Seesure said:

IIRC the original ST24 sported the same Duratec engine as the standard 2.5 Ghia or Ghia X at approx 170bhp, the subsequent ST200 was the one with a little higher performance (mine was 214bhp). The ST220 then followed but then to attract further customers Ford introduced the Mondeo ST Tdic !!! And then ST models on the Focus and Fiesta....

I see your point with the old Mondeo ST24 and TDCi, I'd forgotten about them. The Focus or Fiesta ST have always been higher performance models AFAIK.

[Vitorio]

Bennet said:

The game has shifted. You can't be cool any more by buying a fast looking car, whether it's genuinely fast or not. Fast looking cars are no longer niche. Almost everything is designed to look aggressive.

If you want to stay ahead of the pack, you need something more extreme like a WRX STI, or you need to go in another direction. Go retro or buy something a gentleman would drive.

Or you know, buy a car you like and enjoy driving, rather then worrying about whether it will make Nigel Repmobile nextdoor envious.

All this obsession with how cool or rare a car is..

[nickfrog]

I managed to buy a M135i in white and ticked all the boxes that said delete. So I ended up with a fridge on (relatively small) 18' wheels with no badging at all. Exactly like I wanted it, exactly like I a 114i apart from the added camber and the 4-pot Brembos that come with M Perf. Totally understated. So, OP, it can be done, at zero cost.
And what others do doesn't bother me.
BMW really go it right : the customer has a choice.

[nunpuncher]

You can have a nice looking car without having to pretend it's something it's not.

I have no issue with M Sport, S-line or AMG trim levels where it adds a more sporty body kit and some fancier wheels, even some discreet badges as long as they aren't making false claims (Adding an M to the boot of any BMW is just wrong). It's this "performance" option catalogue trend that's like a second aftermarket business that the dealers/manufacturers run. The dirty little book of chav bits they keep hidden under the counter. Massively over sized wheels with little bottle top brakes hiding underneath, fake carbon fibre front splitters and rear diffusers with little pea shooter exhausts poking out the back and those big side decals that BMW are doing.

Obviously it's good business but it just smacks of a shallow society that only care about looking flash (yes, I know i'm analysing this too much). Spend all that money you've wasted on tat on a better bloody engine.

[bigkeeko]

It's business at the end of the day and you guys are forgetting one thing. Most people on the roads have no idea about cars, engines, pedigree or performance, they just want bling on PCP. A stock 320d with some M badging is all that matters to the neighbours and sadly if it's `diesel` it has some sort of skewed kudos with the unread.

Back in the day an E30 M3 was unmistakable as an M car and the M cars stood alone and I'm guessing that is what the OP is getting at.

[Debaser]

AH33 said:

I'd be pissed off if I owned a proper M car and people were stealing my kudos by driving round in an "M" 114i

Really? I wouldn't care.

[vtecyo]

I agree. Prevent people from buying a much nicer looking model because they can't afford a performance engine and the associated running costs.

Bore off.

[s m]

bigkeeko said:

It's business at the end of the day and you guys are forgetting one thing. Most people on the roads have no idea about cars, engines, pedigree or performance, they just want bling on PCP. A stock 320d with some M badging is all that matters to the neighbours and sadly if it's `diesel` it has some sort of skewed kudos with the unread.

Back in the day an E30 M3 was unmistakable as an M car and the M cars stood alone and I'm guessing that is what the OP is getting at.

As stated above though, that wasn't the case with the E28 M5. You could wind up with a model that had 2/3rds the power that looker 'sportier' in terms of kit/M-badges etc ....whilst your 286bhp M5 looked barely more menacing than a 520i.
It's not altogether a new thing

[nunpuncher]

bigkeeko said:

It's business at the end of the day and you guys are forgetting one thing. Most people on the roads have no idea about cars, engines, pedigree or performance, they just want bling on PCP. A stock 320d with some M badging is all that matters to the neighbours and sadly if it's `diesel` it has some sort of skewed kudos with the unread.

Back in the day an E30 M3 was unmistakable as an M car and the M cars stood alone and I'm guessing that is what the OP is getting at.

Yes and no. Back then most people didn't really know what an M car was. For some reason, now a days everyone wants to have M all over their BMW without actually realising that doesn't mean it's an M car.

[Devil2575]

Vitorio said:

f1nn said:

I don't really see the issue.

If you want an M3/RS4 or similar buy one. If people want to buy a diesel 3 series/A4 or whatever with a nod to "sportiness" whatever that may be, then good luck to them.

I can't see that adding the what is to my eyes at least, terrible M performance logo, detracts from an M2/M3/M4/M5.

If people didn't want them, BMW and other manufacturers wouldn't make them.

The irony here is that OP cares just as much about having something special as the guy buying a 116i with a shedload of M-badges.

If he cared about how well an M2/M3 drives etc. primarily, he wouldnt give a fk about all those derv repmobiles with the same sticker, he'd know he has the real deal. But no..

This.