Quote:
Originally Posted by Viffermike
I quit reading this thread at the beginning of Page 2. Most of you are so off-base about how the magazine industry works, how a critical review is conceived and written, and the part bias plays in anything with an opinion attached, it's viscerally sickening.
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Bra. F**king. Vo. Fantastic take.
As a marketing executive that has worked on both sides, and in a few short stints in the automotive aftermarket buying media, as well as having lived a few stints on the MEDIA side of the automotive publishing industry pitching editorial content, I have UNIQUE insights into this matter.
There's nothing to read between the lines. The reason why BMW is no longer on the C&D top 10 list, is they don't make a car worthy of inclusion now. Be it competition has caught up and surpassed, BMW has regressed, or the tastes and criteria for judging has slowly evolved over time to no longer favor BMWs, or a combination of all three. It has nothing to do with advertising budget, since BMW had a long streak of appearing on the top 10 list for decades, and budgets change year over year yet during the lean years BMW still made the top 10.
All I will add is this. Where there's smoke there's fire. No matter how you slice it, BMW has missed the mark in either gauging competitive performance of the market, their own infallibility, or the American market in general. Be that due to bigger fish to fry (Chinese market), complacency (you can only lead for so long), no longer care, or combination of all three, there's no denying that the car that made the C&D top 10 list 2x years in a row, no longer makes a car worthy of inclusion.