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      06-05-2012, 12:03 AM   #73
Technic
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kmarei View Post
It's not as much about it being diluted as value
I pay a lot more for an M3 than a 335, because a lot of parts are custom made of the M3
The difference right now is about $15,000
If most of those parts are available on the future 335
Why should I pay the premium?
Especially since the performance difference between the 335 and M3 is getting smaller and smaller
Now they want to have 2 models between the 335 and M3?
I could just as easily get the entry level 335m or m335 or whatever the heck they decide to call it, and since it's turbocharged, like the M3
Give it a nice tune, and be up there with the M3 for a lot less money

I like the M, but I'm no fool for it
I won't just be paying the M tax when I can get 95% of the performance for a lot less money

Notice how porsche always limits what the boxster/cayman can do
So as not to step on the toes of the 911
Otherwise why would I pay $100,000 for a 911, when I can get similar performance in a 50,000 boxster?
Exactly.

See VW example with the GTI and the R32. It used to be two very distinctive performance models, until VW dropped the 2.0T in the GTI in 2006. That distinctive performance was gone and with it the reason to buy the R32. Any GTI with a $500 APR tune was blowing away the R32. By the time the second-gen R32 showed up in 2008 the demand was so weak that the limited, one-year run of 5000 unit took several years to be sold at up to $7000 discounts.

BMW tried to make the 335i somehow performance-limited vs the M3 but with a few tweaks the 335i can provide pretty much the same accelaration as an M3 up to triple digits... but still the M3 is a different vehicle altogether by virtue of the so many parts that are not shared that gives the M3 an edge in handling and overall character. The GTI and the R32 -much more in the latest generation- are almost identical with the exception of the R32 4WD.

I'm no corporate drone so all this "M-edification" of the brand should have a business purpose somewhere -whatever it is. Hopefully they will not dillute the brand to the level of just another fancy sticker in the trunk.
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