Why do 75% of discerning luxury car buyers pass up BMW?

The 25% that do look at it buy it.

Wow, what a surprise!

It's really a shock. You'd think BMW was a lot more accepted. I guess they sell to a distinct minority of people over and over.

I am glade 75% don't cause the ultimate driving machine is not for everyone.

So, lemme get this straight. If the 3-series is the most popular sport sedan, that's a sign that BMW is a great car. If 75% of luxury buyers ignore BMW, that's a sign it's exclusive. What a cool system!

See if something bad happens at BMW, like poor quality, then the car company is still good. If something good happens at BMW it is still good, unlike some Japanese companies where good or bad equals bad. So no matter what happens the system is still in favor of BMW. Not bad, huh?

Go BMW.

audiot-

BMW IS accepted, but everyone knows that it's mostly driven by yuppies and posers. Most of the M3s I've easily surpassed (and even a couple M5s, but mostly arrogant 330 owners) have had RAZR-holding, Bluetooth-cosetting yuppies who didn't know how to drive behind the wheel, giving BMW a terribly bad image. There's a huge difference between BMW's M/Mercedes' AMG and Audi's S/RS-- although M are the most "pure" and sporting of the three, M and AMG are mostly driven by people who don't deserve them. They're the people who go 55 in the fast lane because they drive a Mercedes, or the people who cut you off in the parking lot because they drive a BMW. While those exclusive Audi owners more often than not buy those cars because they truly enjoy driving. I am lucky to be part of that minority.

Did anyone else notice that the story is over four months old? Or that BMW recently scrambled to bring back its "Ultimate Driving Machine" slogan because the new one wasn't working?

Diablo,

In Europe, most Audi's are FWD. Quattro is an option on almost all models with the exception of a few higher end models which have Quattro as standard. Even the base Audi A8 V6 is FWD.

Mdalle agree with u.

Logical,if not better but still a strong competitor to the ULTIMATE BMW and MB.And they really came up with exiting cars lately,and still doing very fine.
So i think u should give them some respect if not any consideration.

JUGNU

There goes logical again...whining about Audi and how they are such the burden of the road.

What an eye sore they are! Gosh, I don't know why anyone would even think about owning such a miserable piece of crap.

So long cruel world....I'm off to end my life for buying an Audi.......

Go logical! lol. I drive an M5 and i DONT own a RAZR (i own a nokia E70) and i drive fast. So u dont make sense guys.

I didn't get a BMW mostly due to the fact that there are too many horror stories about them after the full maintenance warranty.

i don't know about you, but i like a car with a bit of exculsivity... there are TONS of M5's and M3's all over the road here in Dallas. i've seen MAYBE 2 RS6, and saw my first RS4 the other day. i'm not saying the M5 is a bad car, cause it's not...but give credit where credit is due. if it were my choice, i'd go with the one that no one else has.

logical,
you think you're better than audi drivers? jesus, maybe we'll have to start driving round your ego.
judging by your comments, you sound like a right arrogant b**tard. i think lots of people are better than you.

Logical I'm going to give you a personal ass kicking on your comment about Audi being the ultimate compromise.

YES, Audi is the ultimate compromise. It has something BMW doesn't. That would be a sporty AND ALSO luxurious image. BMW doesn't have a luxurious image. It is all about race car and speed and handling. BMW obviously missed the luxury aspect of their marketing.

Your an idiot. I'm going to kill your trolling instead of feeding it, post by post. mark my words.

Middle management.

Well I have something for you....

If the guy driving the $66K Audi RS4 is in middle management what would that make the guy driving a $55K M3?

That would make the M3 driver a rookie upstart with zero experience

If the guy driving a $119,350 Audi A8L 6.0 W12 was a middle manager what would that make the guy driving a $118,900 BMW 760Li?

That would make the 760Li owner a guy too concerned about his image and thinks he is better than the rest of the world. He also thinks his car costs more than the Audi, when in reality he is just a tyical BMW owner with the stigma up his ass.

If the guy driving a previous generation $86,000 RS6 was a middle manager what would that make the guy who drove your POS E39 M5 for $75,000 or even the new E60 M5 for $81,000.

If the guy driving the $120,000 Audi R8 was a middle manager what would that make the driver of the BMW M6?

An officially ass-kicked racer who got lapped by the R8 on the Ring and passed in a 1/4 mile race.

P.S. the Driving habits of Audi owners are to go 100 m.p.h. in a civilized manner (by not cutting other motorists off)

If I get an R8, it will be because I want to feel like I drive a more expensive car than any BMW driver (because I do) and also because I want to say that I can accelerate faster and lap a track faster than any BMW can (I can also do that).

BMWs are subsidized so that the yuppy, uneducated fools such as yourself can afford them.

Audis have the wealthiest, best educated consumers out of any mainstream luxury brand.

I know that one REALLY hurts inside Logical. BMW drivers just aren't as wealthy or as knowledgeable in general.

C'mon fire back with all your wrath, cause I'm going to take you down post by post, hot shot.

I know the BMW image makes you feel all warm inside.

I know you want to kill someone, Logical, when you realize that people driving your so-called Volkswagens have more money and have a higher level of education than people driving BMWs.

Ouch, god that has go to hurt big time.

So many bias statements on this post, its makin me hate Audi and BMW, even tho I preffer BMW over anything.


G

Germannut, your posts borders on idiocracy...

borders = border

BMW 530i please sit back, relax and watch me take down Logical, post by post. Go BMW and also Go Audi!

For that matter, go Germany.

I'm loving taking down this lack of logic poster who is hurting his favorite brand's reputation.

It's quite fun.....

BMW is lucky to get all those sales. They could easily lose ground to Honda (on performance) and to Lexus (on luxury), in addition to being pursued by Audi and MB. Lose the edge on performance by emphasizing luxury and they're in serious trouble. The market is getting more competitive.

I think Audi buyers are for the most part more driver-oriented than BMW buyers.

With BMW, although they are good performance cars, most buyers choose the brand for the snob appeal factor. Most BMW owners don't know what the letters "BMW" stand for let alone the history of the the company's propeller logo.

Audi on the other hand plays to a different mindset which is less concerned about impressing others and more so about the technology of the vehicle.

You have no idea how much fun it is to rip apart BMW owners' egos on the expressway. It's just that, I can't resist-- MY CAR IS FASTER THAN THEIRS. My baby is wonderful to me, and there hasn't been any BMW, EVER, that managed to beat me from a light. That includes M3s and M5s. This adds fuel to the fire that a majority of BMW owners are ego-maniacs who don't know how to drive-- YUPPIES! And that is exactly what logical is!!!

"Logical, you are the reason people consider BMW drivers "yuppies""

jcgct, you hit the nail on the head!

Logical, you're an idiot if you think Audi owners are ego-centric. It's completely the opposite. We have money, but we're not ostentatious about it and don't show off. My car is very subdued for having almost 350hp, so most people don't realize that I can smoke an M3. That's the difference between Audi and BMW owners.

And logical-

Audi owners don't have money? I'm considering a Porsche 911 C4S cabrio for my next purchase!

Maybe BMW is too good of a car so their drivers can easily get arrogant because of BMWs "magical feel"

arrogance kills, this is also goes to the BMW sales staff

the guy driving a $119,350 Audi A8L 6.0 W12 is really driving a "VW Phaeton-Olympic Version"
how bout them subsidized apples.

Bmw's are great cars, but one reason that they sell so well is the fact that a large amount of high line business is leasing and bmw lease's are very cheap, BMW financial subsidizes their lease programs aggressively

halfpast3, the phaeton and a8 are not related, which is actually quite suprising.
the a8 has an aluminium space frame, the phaeton a steel something or other.
no relation.
honest.

rupert, didn't know that...thanks. however, i'm not sure i would say they are not related based soley on the frame. they share beyond that for sure. W12 motor?

It's funny how everyone argues over BMW and Mercedes on this site....it's all about personal preference. In Europe, you see just as many Audi's and hell, they want american cars but they cost so much more. I own both...to me...one is for luxury (merc) and the other is for driving (bmw). They are both German but drive differently. I guess I don't truly care if you don't like my cars or not. I drive my Q45 more than the others.

i think just the w12 and 4.2.
really, they are quite different.

they don't look identical at all will!
nothing like eachother!
please will, you do dig yourself into holes far too often.

Will, the Phaeton has so many more buttons! Just because they both have horizontal designs does not mean they're identical by any means!

Sit in a Phaeton. Although elegant and somewhat distinctive, it will overwhelm with buttons. Sit in an A8, and it's refreshingly organic and almost button-free. Even the wood looks nicer.

And the answer to the title of this page:

Because logical owns one.

BMW's target audience has virtually always been the more youthful, performance-oriented crowd, while Mercedes-Benz targeted the slightly more affluent, and mature (by about 10 years) crowd.

With 1/3 of the population in North America being Baby Boomers, combined with economic factors, there was a massive surge of BMW's popularity as affluent Boomers got their dream-cars. Now, as the Boomer age, the youngest being around 42 and the eldest nearing 60, many Boomers are looking elsewhere for their cars.

By the way, BMW's current styling craze, that being "Flame Surfacing", was a direct response to the aging Boomer population, by a forward-looking leadership team at BMW: They knew their traditional customers would not continue to support them as their values changed, and BMW's didn't. So BMW "bet the farm" in order to "reinvent" the company with cars that would appeal to a, you guessed it, younger crowd of affluent, sport-minded drivers. And it has worked, as demonstrated by the unit sales figures and BMW's ongoing healthy profits.

Is there any doubt why the BMW brand is so closely associated with younger, affluent, consumeristic customers?

(PS: I am an aging Boomer, with 4 BMWs in his garage, all pre-Bangle, and I love 'em all. So no, I am not "anti-BMW")

I would be considered an ad agency's wet dream. Having succumbed to societal pressures to achieve the stereotypical yuppieness, I've owned BMW's since graduating from college. I confess that my purchase of an X5 a few years ago was purely for its agility and performance despite my indifference for its design. As I embark on my 40's, I constantly feel an image change is overdue. No longer does a 6 or 7 series BMW fit my persona. The rear-end designs of their vehicles are now so hideous, iDrive so inefficient, interiors over-minimalized; these deficiencies far out-weigh my once over-powering desire for an “ultimate driving machine”. BMW has finally fractured the balance between form and function. Her prowess can no longer compensate for her disfigurements. I now longingly lust for the streamline beauty of a Mercedes CLS550, and ignoring any concerns about her lineage, functionality, or performance. Sigh, my love at first sight, my WILF, or my “Wheels I Lust For.”