[lawgone]

Originally Posted by 宝马.e90

They don't care that the streets are flooded with BMW's. In the CNBC documentary, one of the guys said all they care about is that when a customer buys their cars, they know it's the car for them - BMW is and will always be considered a drivers car. Whether you choose to believe that or not, is up to you.

BMW is still a premium brand, but that doesn't mean they stop at what they have right now. I'll admit, some of their decisions lately are questionable but this new 1er compact, if BMW can get it right on all aspects (design, quality, driving dynamics, price), why shouldn't they go for it? How many cars do you know that are compact, good handling, highly fuel efficient also have a luxury or semi-luxury feel to it? Why can't someone who wants a compact also drive something that looks nice with good materials and not just have plastic thrown everywhere?

If someone can't differentiate this and a 3er and for which market, then that's on that person. As a driver, I hardly feel the need to help BMW with their marketing. Sure if someone comes up to me and asks me a simple question about my car, I'll answer them but I drive for my benefit and not anyone else.

I saw the documentary too and I cringed a little when they said that. I am a fan of BMW's and therefore hope to see them continue to do well. I've also studied a good deal of marketing and not many companies do well when eroding their brand equity. This is a total paradigm shift for BMW and as such it should not be taken so lightly. Of course, I'm on a 1er "addicts" board so I won't be heard by many here.