[Obioban]

Originally Posted by BimmerMat135

I agree that marketing can be a strange thing. If we consider that the E31 M8 never existed because it was considered too heavy for a M car. I think back then the M
meant something it doesn’t anymore.
Specially with the high numbers of suv in the line up.

For the F30 i did own a F31 for 8 years it was a good commuter car the handling was ok but i could never call this the ultimate driving machine. Even on base E91 the steering feel was mile ahead the straight six had a nice soundtrack and the car felt more nimble. Since the price delta was so little i went with the newer car for reliability reason. The F3X was never really about driving pleasure i felt but more about sale volume.

https://driving.ca/features/feature-...fe603ebf0/amp/

.

Back when BMW said, "there will never be an M SUV"?

Or, for that matter, ran these?

[MarkOK]

To me, the XM is silly, sure. But whatever, it's the M version of the X brand to me more than a X version of the M brand. I have zero interest in vehicles that large, but I don't care that they exist with XM brand.

The gate-keeping by nostalgic BMW fans about what "M" should mean is also silly. The M 'brand' has evolved over time and will keep evolving. And it should evolve. I think the old cars were ghastly ugly too (even for their era), got better in the 2010s, and BMW cars (and M cars) look dang good right now.

(i'll see myself out).

[fcman]

Originally Posted by omasou

This. M no longer means the BEST.

This is hilarious lol. When did it ever mean “the best”? The best what? M cars have always been luxury/sports hybrids other than the Z Ms (and the M1). They have always been compromised from a performance standpoint in ways that proper sports cars are not. If your definition of the best is “the best luxury sports hybrid” then yeah, they’re still the best. Well, for the most part

[heavyD^2]

Now speaking of a company that's really lost their way.

https://www.carscoops.com/2023/08/me...er-in-germany/

Based on information gathered from German dealers, MB Passion Blog reports that orders for the electrified performance sedan are currently hovering “close to zero”. Dealers are of the opinion that the subdued interest in the C63 S stems from the fact that its BMW rival offers superior value in terms of powertrain, pricing, and premium quality.

Ouch. No wonder they are scrambling to shoehorn the V8 back into them.