Has BMW lost its way?

A little while back, I was reading a study about prestige rankings in the US, in which Ferrari was 1st, BMW 2nd, Lexus 3rd, Mercedes-Benz 4th, Audi 5th, Jaguar 6th … and I can’t remember the rest. If you look around, you’ll quickly realize that BMW is the brand that everyone wants to own these days(I’m excluding Ferrari and other supercar manufacturers). BMW has been James Bond’s choice (not literally, a huge deal was signed for this to happen) in many of the new movies, and they’re doing well in racing, and of course the “M” cars draw unanimous praise. Yes, its not really difficult to see why they’re doing well – the cars excel in so many categories, where other manufacturers are struggling with just one. Mercedes-Benz for example has had identity crises for some time now. You see, M-B is kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. Ever since Lexus has been around, its been considered a pinnacle of luxury engineering – they’re very good at coddling their occupants. M-Bs don’t have that type of luxury or comfort, nor do they have the sport flavour inherently built into every BMW. They’re not doing style like Audi is (which is quite the success story, considering Audi had the same problem M-B did), and they’re not even doing imitation well like Infiniti is now. But those brands aren’t the focus of the discussion here, BMW is. BMW has been lucky in a way that it never had to suffer the identity problems other companies did. BMW invented the sports sedan segment, and has basically refined that idea since then. It used to be a very successful niche market manufacturer, but now they’ve moved into the mainstream because its “cool” to have a car thats sporty and more. I have to give them props for developing the cars in other areas while maintaining the essence of what has made BMWs fun. For example, all BMWs have a 50/50 weight distribution for optimum balance, and rear wheel drive for sharp handling. They’ve invented all kinds of systems that will prevent you from getting into trouble, and have been class-leading along with M-B and Lexus in safety. The safest vehicle ever tested by the NHSTA is the BMW X5. Somewhere around 1995, the 7-series surpassed the S-class MB as the top selling large luxury car worldwide, and made BMW realize that there is a huge market outside of their niche. With clever marketing and excellent product development, the entire BMW line became top sellers and then came a time for BMW execs to decide how to proceed. BMW styling was very popular and oft-imitated, but they felt that it was pushed as far as it could while being within the confines of their own styling box. They decided that it must go in another direction, and a promotion from within brought Chris Bangle to the head of the styling/design unit. At the same time, management wanted BMW to continue the high-tech trend that began with the 1995 model 7-series, and push it to another level. This thinking brought about the extremely controversial 2003 model 7-series. Controversial, because of its unusual styling and because of its new iDrive control system. Reviews of the car were mixed; that it was still a great car underneath, but the technology was overkill and difficult for many to use, and mostly the styling was just weird. People started calling the car “bangled” in a parody of the designer, Chris Bangle. This weird style and overkill technology was also found in the new 5-series, 6-series and now the 3-series, although since the 3-series is the major breadwinner in the BMW family, it has less of the Bangle influence. Even though the cars have received flak all over, sales have actually soared, and in a way have accomplished what BMW set out to do – attract new customers, thereby increasing market share. In doing so, they have threatened the loyalty of BMW fans which have been around for decades. Even though the cars are still built in a way that would satisfy enthusiasts and have what top reviewers call “soul,” BMW has sort of alienated its very own. And I personally wonder, was it really a good idea to begin this transformation with the 7-series? I understand it’s the flagship and the technology showcase for the company, but its also the line that is purchased mostly by older folk (well, as old as BMW buyers get … they’re statistically much younger than other brands – avg age of a BMW buyer is 47 vs. 69 for Cadillac! I think its safe to say that repeat buyers are out of the question for them!). Older people are not as comfortable with technology as young people, and something as advanced and potentially difficult as the iDrive system might put them off. 700+ functions of the car are controlled from a force-feedback nickel round knob that sits behind the shifter … Oops! My bad - the new 7 doesn’t have a shifter there, its actually mounted on the steering column, and doesn’t have detents but rather an LCD that shows gear and simulates movement along a plane. I love this kind of stuff, but a guy my dad’s age probably wouldn't. Still its selling like the proverbial hotcakes, and even government types have replaced their S-classes with it. Bollywood (HAH! read my post about this interesting industry) film star types prefer to be seen around in them, too. Back to the point, is the sales boom temporary or long-term, and is the as-good-as-it-can-be prestige position compromised? More importantly, with the increased focus on the loud styling (as compared to elegant previously; the previous-gen 5-series was voted the most elegant sedan) and super high-tech gizmos, is it possible BMW might even give up the characteristics that put them where they are today? Well, for the time being, things haven’t turned in that direction. BMW is still doing what it does best, and this can be seen in their engine development. This year, BMW has won SIX out of twelve awards! Engine of the year, best new engine, best performance engine, winner in the class exceeding 4.0 liters, winner in the 2.5-3.0 liter class, winner in the 3.0-4.0 liter class, and believe it or not, lots more in other subcategories. This is very normal for the company, as BMW is, from its roots, an engine company, and is now recognized as the winningest brand to take part in the competition. As long as they keep coming out with 507-hp V10 M5s that can take to a track like a supercar and seat 4 in ultimate luxury, and 3-series cars that accelerate 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds from an inline-6 engine (free of vibration but full of wonderful sounds) while doing combined fuel economy of more than 30 mpg (about the same as my 1.1 liter Proton Tiara), I think they’ll have continually increasing demand.