Thread: BRZ vs E46 M3
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Old 02-13-2012, 03:20 PM   #25
ZDan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SVTSHC View Post
But I'll add a little insight to this seeing as I've been working for the company for a while now. The current iteration of the BMW name/performance/driving feel, is that bread for competition.
"Bred" for competition? Not really. By and large they are luxury cars that put up stellar performance numbers, but they are further and further removed from being good track cars.

You can't even get a limited slip in a non-M BMW any more. Way back when you could get a clutch-type lsd in the lowliest 318i!

The E36 is really the last good BMW track car, IMO.

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Sure minimalist vehicles are FUN but miata drivers, old school CRX owners, RX8 owners, and future FRS owners will tell you they don't produce the best all around numbers. Not to mention your perception of what is "pure and more fun" is highly subjective, most people just enjoy the feeling of being put back into their seat and then taking a corner at an ungodly speed; which regardless of how much they way, new BMW's are VERY capable of doing.
Yeah, they put up good numbers. But 99% of the time on the street (unless your an ass), you're not going to be driving in any kind of way where you can appreciate the ultimate performance capability. Smaller lighter-weight cars just feel more fun *all* the time.

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Also, you need to consider the demographic BMW's are marketed to, and the competition that exists in that market demographic. Your typical M3 owner isn't your average joe making average joe money, that's just a fact; call them upper middle class at the very least. Now their reason for doing that is for the simple fact that luxury and prestige sell.
Not as much as economy/practicality does. Unfortunately BMW doesn't have the guts to do another 2002 type car.

IMO they could expand their market quite a bit if they'd simply do a car like the Mini, but rwd. Simple, small, lightweight, affordable, FUN. They've grown far too comfortable building high-$$$ luxury sedans and SUVs. Even the 1-series is a 3300 lb. boat!

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Now public image aside lets look at the M3's competitors, Audi RS4 / RS5, Mercedes C63 AMG, and the soon to be Cadillac ATS-V. All luxury sports coupe / sedans, all fairly costly, all not what you would call "minimalist". That's just the way things have turned out for the M3 and if they went back to the lightweight/moderate horsepower/maximum handling potential route, they would lose sales. Period. And BMW M "cash cow" wouldn't be their M cash cow anymore.
I don't think that they'd necessarily lose sales by doing something similar to the E30 M3 or FR-S/BRZ. It was not NECESSARY for the M3 to evolve the way it did, it could have continued to add performance without adding so much weight, power, and cost. They *chose* to evolve it in the superluxocar direction.
It is entirely possible that they *could* be selling a lot more smaller/lighter/cheaper cars than they are selling 3700 lb. 414hp M3s. They simply chose to go the maximalist luxoboat route.

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So like it or not, you're in the minority. Also, having driven many a e46/e92 M3 and a few e30's, I can confidently tell you they are PLENTY of fun and don't need to be as light as the e30 to stay that way.
I've driven my share, too. The bigger/heavier cars *always* feel bigger and heavier, and not at all like the E30.

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The only thing I'm saying is a world where manufacturers cater to enthusiasts with pre-existing platforms refusing to adapt to the needs/wants of present society is nothing short of fictitious. If they did, they'd all be belly up.
Of course manufacturers must do their best to serve up what the public wants. But the smaller/lighter-weight performance segment has been all but ignored save for the Miata, and I think that a LOT of opportunites to sell cars have been MISSED.

BMW *could* have built a much smaller, lighter-weight car with the same power/weight as the current M3. Such a car would have given the same real-world and track performance with a smaller, less powerful engine, smaller tires, smaller wheels, smaller brakes. I would be *cheaper*, and they would most likely sell a ton of them.

Here's hoping the FR-S/BRZ sell a ton and wake BMW and other manufacturers up to the idea of performance and driving enjoyment through minimalism rather than always "more more more".
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