The Myth of the 'Real M Car'

[aussieinlondon]

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/the-myth-of-the-r...

Worth a read, especially those still stuck in the 80's/90's ///M time warp.......

[selym]

Everything has an 'M' on it now, the brand and it's ethos is diluted nearly to the point of ruin in my opinion.

[Helicopter123]

That's a cracking article and raised some interesting questions.

Is the current M range just a trim level?

In many ways, it is.

[selym]

Helicopter123 said:

That's a cracking article and raised some interesting questions.

Is the current M range just a trim level?

In many ways, it is.

M Sport has not helped them one bit. If I see another 320D M Sport I'll cry.

[Pistom]

Great article. What a shame it is correct.

[selym]

I was working with a few younger lads last week and listened to them talking about their cars. What we all yearned for up to very recently, a car that you can connect with, power, handling, have pretty much been cast aside.
The S-Line editions were the car of choice, how they looked in and out was paramount but a couple of the lads had fitted tuning boxes or had remaps. Yes, all these cars were diesel.

Perhaps we are living in the past. That's where I choose to remain though; one of the chaps almost shat himself when I told him I have to put my key in a hole in the door to open it, and didn't have power steering! It just didn't compute. They also told me my VX220 must be a gas guzzler, even though I got the same mpg on the 150 mile journey there as they did.

[kchika]

Wow, it pretty much sums up my current feelings about the M brand, and especially....

The article said:

"turbocharging would fundamentally change the character of the M brand."

[ady702]

For me it ended when things went Turbo-charged M..... the V10 is the last M car for me.

[skeeterm5]

ady702 said:

For me it ended when things went Turbo-charged M..... the V10 is the last M car for me.

Specifically why? I see this tat spouted by lots of people without ever seeing any underlying reason, probably because some motoring journo said it.

So, specifically why is turbocharging not "M". If the purpose of an "M" car is to be the ultimate expression of the range then means pace, real world ability etc. The perfect "M" car needs to balance extreme with conservative, after all they have to sell them or what is the point.

Turbocharging is a modern, fuel efficient way of power delivery.

Compared to the E60 the new F10 is;

- straight line faster
- more comfortable
- more fuel efficient
- stops faster
- laps faster

In every conceivable way it is a significant step forward.

So help me out, please explain your statement.

S

[wtdoom]

skeeterm5 said:

Specifically why? I see this tat spouted by lots of people without ever seeing any underlying reason, probably because some motoring journo said it.

So, specifically why is turbocharging not "M". If the purpose of an "M" car is to be the ultimate expression of the range then means pace, real world ability etc. The perfect "M" car needs to balance extreme with conservative, after all they have to sell them or what is the point.

Turbocharging is a modern, fuel efficient way of power delivery.

Compared to the E60 the new F10 is;

- straight line faster
- more comfortable
- more fuel efficient
- stops faster
- laps faster

In every conceivable way it is a significant step forward.

So help me out, please explain your statement.

S

If you can't see why some people prefer the older m cars , please look at your list of reasons why the new m5 is "better" than the old one .
No comment necessary really .

[aussieinlondon]

BMW have been getting this whole ///M thing wrong even before the start.....

Tri M colours and a turbo of all things

What was they thinking!

[Amirhussain]

skeeterm5 said:

ady702 said:

For me it ended when things went Turbo-charged M..... the V10 is the last M car for me.

Specifically why? I see this tat spouted by lots of people without ever seeing any underlying reason, probably because some motoring journo said it.

So, specifically why is turbocharging not "M". If the purpose of an "M" car is to be the ultimate expression of the range then means pace, real world ability etc. The perfect "M" car needs to balance extreme with conservative, after all they have to sell them or what is the point.

Turbocharging is a modern, fuel efficient way of power delivery.

Compared to the E60 the new F10 is;

- straight line faster
- more comfortable
- more fuel efficient
- stops faster
- laps faster

In every conceivable way it is a significant step forward.

So help me out, please explain your statement.

S

+1 I agree. I fking hate this bullst talks of 'dilution'

[RichardM5]

IMO the thing that diminishes the 'M' brand most is the addition of the silly M badges all over the place on the Sport version of just about every model. The 'M' logo should be reserved for 'proper' M cars and not just M Sport versions.

[Pixelpeep]

It's not BMW's fault - they make cars based on what sells.

Average joe wants Full ncap ratings with dual zone climate control, heated leather and full iphone integration in something that won't crack your teeth or dislodge major organs whilst driving to work but they also want something where they can brag about headline figures and play big man on the way home from the annual sales meeting with the other reps on the motorway.

there is a small percentage of purists which are the people that crave the old M experience. - Good job there is a classifieds section eh?

[stevesingo]

aussieinlondon said:

BMW have been getting this whole ///M thing wrong even before the start.....

Tri M colours and a turbo of all things

What was they thinking!

Exactly right. BMW "Motorsport" was a department for just that, Motorsport! Involved in lots of different racing disciplines and produced homologation cars long before the letter M ever adorned a road car; see E9 3.0CSL and the 2002 Turbo.

As the market has led BMW M cars away from the motor sport purity of the originals, the cars which are true to the originals are no longer badged BMW M cars as this would de-value the brand. Can anyone imagine an E90 320Si with an M3 badge. In concept it has much more in common that the originals than an E90 M3, but a 173hp M3? The marketing men would not allow it. The brand is owned by the marketing men, not the engineers.

Product planners and marketeers tell BMW Motorsport what to make. The products of BMW M are no longer the function of competitive necessity nor crazy ideas to put a big engine in a sedate saloon.

Does that make BMW M's bad products, no, but I think they have maybe overused it a little. Most punters just buy the M car because it is the best in the range and care little for the history of BMW M cars. The BMW Marketeers know this and milk it to death.

[Leins]

^^^^ Excellent post!

On a slight tangent, I want a Hartge, BMW with added madness

[MarkwG]

selym said:

M Sport has not helped them one bit.

Well, it has: they've sold more cars as a result, which is what they want to do. It hasn't helped those that prefer heritage & exclusivity - but that doesn't equal profits, which keeps the wheels turning. Clinging to heritage & exclusivity has done more damage to car manufacturers long term health than being too popular ever has...

[selym]

MarkwG said:

Well, it has: they've sold more cars as a result, which is what they want to do. It hasn't helped those that prefer heritage & exclusivity - but that doesn't equal profits, which keeps the wheels turning. Clinging to heritage & exclusivity has done more damage to car manufacturers long term health than being too popular ever has...

Oh well, if they'd prefer a bit more cash as opposed to a Motorsport marque that does what it says in the tin then fine. The long list of models that wear the 'M' is frankly laughable.

[MarkwG]

selym said:

Oh well, if they'd prefer a bit more cash as opposed to a Motorsport marque that does what it says in the tin then fine. The long list of models that wear the 'M' is frankly laughable.

I guess they do - except its a lot more cash, & they seem to be spending it on motor sport, more than ever before. http://www.bmw-motorsport.com/en/index.html - if an M badge on a truck gets Alex Zanardi back in a race car, I'm not going to complain. The cars on the track do the talking, the cars on the road pay for it, as always.

[selym]

I think BMW can afford to put Zanardi in a car without sullying the name. If you think the 320D MSport is 'right', I think you are in the minority.