Quote:
Originally Posted by geddylee
The problem and difference is price point. The M340 and M3 are at price points where the differentiation makes sense. When you are pushing 130k for an M850 in some cases, which already aren't selling well mind you - releasing an Mcar at the 160k price point which doesn't perform at mind blowingly higher levels just doesn't make sense.
Does it look like 160k car? No! Does it drive like one? No! Does the interior take the car to new heights? No! Does it sound amazing? Again, no it does not.
The M3 at the 80k price point is a compelling package which is why they are popular. In my opinion Bmw just put this out because they could - not because they should which is how your brand gets devalued in the first place!
Keep in mind, this is just one persons opinion as an ambassador of the brand for nearly two decades. I could be wrong and maybe this turns out as a large success but I kind of doubt it.
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Price point is in the eye of the beholder. Higher price equals smaller audience.
BMW didn't make money with the 6 series and they were eying MB's S-Class coupe which was highly regarded and sold well at much higher price points at the time.
I recall that BMW stated at the time that if they already sell low volume cars, they might as well make money on them.
Hence the 8 series was resurrected while the 6 series was slowly killed off.
With the S-Class perspective, having the M8 made total sense S550/S560 vs M850 and M8 vs S63.
In the meantime, the market has changed and MB is killing off the coupe due to slow sales of a very niche car.
I agree that BMW could have made the car more special and have made that point as well related to sales, but I think the car looks good. I like big coupes and really enjoy this car. BMW's big grilles on the other hand are much more offensive to me
Point is that BMW build a competitive high-end coupe but doesn't have the best of timing and will cater to a small audience as anticipated.
It is also the brands highest performing car - not sure what kind of mind blowing performance you are expecting - plus it not really expensive compared to its competitors.
It's very easy to spend $200k on an AMG or Porsche. Impossible with a BMW...
Either way the 8 series in whichever flavor can under NO circumstances devalue the brand. Non-sensical IMO. That would happen at the low end of the scale...