Chris Harris laments the gradual erosion of the mighty M Power
06-21-09, 08:22 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Chris Harris laments the gradual erosion of the mighty M Power
http://www.drivers-republic.com/firs...82295a082b7347
I’m having some M worries. It’s been happening for some time – like the gradual estrangement that creeps up on a couple who just aren’t getting on the way they used to.
Recent developments over at BMW M GmbH have made me wonder if the people running the joint fully understand what it is people like me – and by that I mean M obsessives - want from one of its products. Because so many of my favourite car memories include M products, and because I’m still in awe of most of its current range, I’ve shied away from saying anything until now, but the latest M3 Edition has tipped the balance.
Trouble has been brewing for some time. The first vestiges are hard to pin-point, but the company’s refusal to fit decent brakes to its cars since, well, 2004 is perhaps symbolic of the slight shift in focus. Don’t get me wrong, the current M5 and M3 are exceptional cars, but I don’t think either of them will be remembered as the best examples to have worn the badge. The fastest, yes - but not the best.
I suppose before one deconstructs BMW M and attempts to pinpoint what might be wrong with its current approach, we need to outline what ‘M’ stands for. In its original form it denotes a ‘Motorsport’ connection, but this is not something on which any car company can base an entire range of cars.
Please excuse the pedantry, but the first M-car was the 1978 M1, which was a pukka homologation exercise. This fits nicely with the designated ‘M’ meaning, but the lineage was broken almost immediately by the launch of the E12 M535i (complete with dog-leg ‘box, slippy diff and catastrophic wet-surface behaviour). This was a street car, and it also carried the ‘M’ badge. Homologation purity didn’t return until the 1986 E30 M3. And since then very little of what BMW M has produced has had anything to do with motorsport.
That in itself doesn’t worry me, because I’m not a purist. If brands evolve and change over time, it doesn’t worry me, as long as the products remain engaging. Accordingly, it didn’t bother me when Porsche fitted cupholders to the 911, nor was I especially concerned when Subaru sacrificed some harshness for a supple-riding WRX. But the announcement of the X5M and X6M crimped my colon: it made me exhale and wince - the way a well-executed spear tackle makes me shudder with horror.
I don’t understand these cars, and because of that I’m probably not qualified to comment on them. Obscenely rapid SUVs were an amusing folly 12-months ago, but they are a nonsense right now. If you happen to already produce one, I can understand why you might continue to market it at those people rich and tasteless enough to still want one. But why launch such a vehicle now? With an M badge on it? The Americans don’t want it, neither do we Europeans and Russia is skint which means BMW must be banking on the Emirate states taking several thousand of the things.
I’m having some M worries. It’s been happening for some time – like the gradual estrangement that creeps up on a couple who just aren’t getting on the way they used to.
Recent developments over at BMW M GmbH have made me wonder if the people running the joint fully understand what it is people like me – and by that I mean M obsessives - want from one of its products. Because so many of my favourite car memories include M products, and because I’m still in awe of most of its current range, I’ve shied away from saying anything until now, but the latest M3 Edition has tipped the balance.
Trouble has been brewing for some time. The first vestiges are hard to pin-point, but the company’s refusal to fit decent brakes to its cars since, well, 2004 is perhaps symbolic of the slight shift in focus. Don’t get me wrong, the current M5 and M3 are exceptional cars, but I don’t think either of them will be remembered as the best examples to have worn the badge. The fastest, yes - but not the best.
I suppose before one deconstructs BMW M and attempts to pinpoint what might be wrong with its current approach, we need to outline what ‘M’ stands for. In its original form it denotes a ‘Motorsport’ connection, but this is not something on which any car company can base an entire range of cars.
Please excuse the pedantry, but the first M-car was the 1978 M1, which was a pukka homologation exercise. This fits nicely with the designated ‘M’ meaning, but the lineage was broken almost immediately by the launch of the E12 M535i (complete with dog-leg ‘box, slippy diff and catastrophic wet-surface behaviour). This was a street car, and it also carried the ‘M’ badge. Homologation purity didn’t return until the 1986 E30 M3. And since then very little of what BMW M has produced has had anything to do with motorsport.
That in itself doesn’t worry me, because I’m not a purist. If brands evolve and change over time, it doesn’t worry me, as long as the products remain engaging. Accordingly, it didn’t bother me when Porsche fitted cupholders to the 911, nor was I especially concerned when Subaru sacrificed some harshness for a supple-riding WRX. But the announcement of the X5M and X6M crimped my colon: it made me exhale and wince - the way a well-executed spear tackle makes me shudder with horror.
I don’t understand these cars, and because of that I’m probably not qualified to comment on them. Obscenely rapid SUVs were an amusing folly 12-months ago, but they are a nonsense right now. If you happen to already produce one, I can understand why you might continue to market it at those people rich and tasteless enough to still want one. But why launch such a vehicle now? With an M badge on it? The Americans don’t want it, neither do we Europeans and Russia is skint which means BMW must be banking on the Emirate states taking several thousand of the things.
06-22-09, 12:03 AM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
We have M badged SUV's and 4 door Porsches, Aston Martins, and even a 4 door Lamborghini in the works. Its the beginning of the end for the hardcore image of these manufacturers. I will bet that Ferrari never produces a "me too" sedan or a hybrid.
06-22-09, 03:46 AM
#5
Pole Position
As long as they are owned by the state they dont have to but if they go private one day...
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