BMW confirms 7 passenger MPV

[jrt67ss350]

Don't take this the wrong way, but if this is true then your perception/view of the whole SUV/SAV/Minivan is a bit one sided. The people who will buy these types of vehicles are the looking in that market. Just like Emile stated, many of the people who didn't like the concept of BMW building the SUV (X5 etc..) are the same one purchasing them today. I think it is good to be well rounded as a car company as long as it is a wise endeavor. BMW has a pretty good track record when it comes to diversifying its car line and I trust them to make the right decision(s)...

I understand your point. However, it just seems like the BMW SUVs and now the MPV are just responses by the company to jump on the bandwagon of what every other car manufacturer is doing. Yeah, I guess you could label that as product line diversification, but BMW didn't used to be about "doing what everyone else is doing because it is profitable." The introduction of the 3 series certainly wasnt about "doing what everyone else is doing," and that is why that car has been so extremely successful and copied by every OTHER manufacturer on the face of the planet to varying degrees of success. BMW used to be about building great sporty cars for the sake of building great sporty cars - everyone else be damned. That's how BMW built its great reputation - by building extremely durable, trailblazing cars that focused on the sharply-honed and well-engineered mechanics of driving. BMW used to blaze their own path and others tried to follow. Now they are just about following the market, although seemingly a couple of years behind everyone else.

I don't think most of those people buying vehicles like the X5 and X3 buy it because it's a great performer or whatever - most of them buy it because they think they need an SUV for numerous reasons (mostly because it's the "hot" thing and because everyone else has one) and because this particular SUV also says BMW on the hood and liftgate. While this is profitable for the company, the company's philosophy wasn't built on that.

A BMW MPV? It doesn't fit into the philosophy that made the company such a success. It's just a market response to capitalize on all those upper-middle class and upper-class wives who now drive Honda Odysseys but would rather have a BMW emblem on the hood and liftgate so they can look rich and high-class in front of their friends. That demographic doesn't care so much about razor-sharp handling, nice flat torque bands (what's a torque band??), or manual transmissions that are an extension of your mind (Manual transmission? Why would I want to shift my own gears? What a pain...). That's not the philosophy that built this company and made it a success in the automotive world. It seems that BMW is now all about capitalizing on the clout that accompanies the BMW badge. It's distressing to me.

That's my opinion on the matter.

 

[///M SPEED]

I agree with a lot of your post, but many of the buyers of the BMW SUV etc..are previous owners now growing up, getting married, having kids, and are in need of an SUV or Minivan. Having owned a BMW in the past and still wanting to have some of the sporty feel, good driving characteristics, good exterior/interior build quality, and still have a resemblance of performance (being able to pass a semi on 30% grade etc..) like having the option of staying with BMW for this type of purchase. BMW believes they can build these and still keep there distinguished reputation they have built on their sport sedan platforms.

I think it keeps BMW people with BMW's when father time is nipping at the heels. With today’s market it is hard for many families to have a sports sedan/car and still be able to purchase a SUV/Minivan for family needs. If forced to choose many of these would be BMW customers would have to look else where to fill their needs when all they have to do is purchase a BMW built vehicle that fits the bill for the family. It's nice to have that option when your family grows, believe me I know. I am fortunate enough to have the ability to have both. A car for "my" needs/wants and an SUV for the family needs. I know there are a lot of households that are not as fortunate....

This is just another perspective, that’s all

 

[jrt67ss350]

I agree with a lot of your post, but many of the buyers of the BMW SUV etc..are previous owners now growing up, getting married, having kids, and are in need of an SUV or Minivan. Having owned a BMW in the past and still wanting to have some of the sporty feel, good driving characteristics, good exterior/interior build quality, and still have a resemblance of performance (being able to pass a semi on 30% grade etc..) like having the option of staying with BMW for this type of purchase. BMW believes they can build these and still keep there distinguished reputation they have built on their sport sedan platforms.

I think it keeps BMW people with BMW's when father time is nipping at the heels. With today’s market it is hard for many families to have a sports sedan/car and still be able to purchase a SUV/Minivan for family needs. If forced to choose many of these would be BMW customers would have to look else where to fill their needs when all they have to do is purchase a BMW built vehicle that fits the bill for the family. It's nice to have that option when your family grows, believe me I know. I am fortunate enough to have the ability to have both. A car for "my" needs/wants and an SUV for the family needs. I know there are a lot of households that are not as fortunate....

This is just another perspective, that’s all

Scott, that's a good post, and I definitely understand where you are coming from. I guess my position on BMW building SUVs and minivans begins from a more generic viewpoint - I just don't understand why people think they need an SUV or minivan if they have a family. Families got along perfectly fine long before big truck-based SUVs were around, and back then, families were also typically much larger than they are now.

I come from a family of four, and we have never had an SUV or a minivan. We have always had large 4-door sedans since I was a toddler. Our vehicles have always been fine for both around town and for frequent long (10+ hour) trips and whatnot. We have never felt the need to buy an SUV. In fact, most of the SUVs and especially minivans that I've seen (unless you go with mammoth things like an Excursion) don't really have a whole lot more usable space than a four door car with a good sized trunk anyways. I mean, the X5 and X3 certainly don't have a ton of usable utility space. If you have a minivan with three rows of seats, unless you remove that third row, you have basically no utility space.

I definitely understand the need for a vehicle with three rows of seating if you have a family large enough to make that much seating a necessity. But, the reality of the matter is that most families aren't that large anymore, and people buy these vehicles because it's the "in" thing to do. Why doesn't Europe share the same obsession with the SUV and minivan that the US does? Their families are not on the whole any smaller than ours are in today's day in age. They seem to make do with cars, and typically smaller ones than your average sized car here in the US.

I always find it interesting to visit my extended family in the midwest (Ohio) because I see significantly less SUVs and minivans in that area of the country than I do down here in the South where life absolutely revolves around vanity and "keeping up appearances." In this area of the country, every other vehicle on the road is an SUV or a Honda Odyssey. For the most part, those types of vehicles are all about image, and BMW is now capitalizing on that. You take the "image" of an SUV/minivan and add it to the "image" of the BMW emblem, and you've got yourself a winner, especially around this area of the country.

It's just not what a BMW is supposed to be and used to be, in my opinion.