Dealers Say BMW Has Lost It's Way - What Made You Choose Something Other Than A Beemer?

"Dealers say they need fresher products, a better car-truck mix, competitive lease rates and a return to the days when BMW's "Ultimate Driving Machine" tag line resonated wholeheartedly with consumers. They're looking at Bernhard Kuhnt, CEO of BMW of North America as of March 1, for help."

It comes down to the products BMW sells failing to live up to what rivals are offering. Dealers are realizing what many, including myself, have stated for a long, long time.

Fresher products? Sorry, good luck seeing the difference between a previous generation BMW and an all-new one.

Return to the Ultimate Driving Machine tagline? Nope. This is model-proliferation 2.0 where BMW makes up model niches it believes there is a market for but in reality the sales and profits from those models fail to meet its targets.

Please tell us what Audi looks so different from a previous generation model that you tell it's an all-new one?

You've been going on about Audi's new SUVs due in 2018 and 2019. Both are Coupe SUVs following BMW into niches it created.

Audi doesn't need to change its styling because its sales growth proves that Audi's designs are increasingly capable of attracting new customers and growing sales, which can't be said for BMW.

BMW needs a major design change to turn around its slumping U.S. sales but it refuses to make those changes. It's U.S. sales growth will suffer because of it.

Audi's total sales figures prove otherwise, in the US and globally. #4th

At least Audi is gaining market share and getting closer to the competition. Can't say that about BMW in the U.S. Regarding Audi's global position, it's third, not fourth. Also, not sure if you heard but Audi resolved its China dealer problem and June will be the first full month without the dealer dispute.

I replied to you at the bottom there :)

2011 247,907 13 1
2012 281,460 14 1
2013 309,280 9.9 2
2014 339,738 9.8 1
2015 346,023 1.9 1
2016 313,174 -9.5 3
2017* 120,124 -3.6 2

The chart says it all. BMW is failing to match its rivals sales growth in the United States.

Yes, it's difficult to match growth rates of brands that have been 2nd, or 3rd or 4th for 10 years or more

I got my first BMW in 1997. Then I added a second to the garage in 1998. Then a third in 2000. #4 came in 2004. As you can tell, I was a serious BMW fan.

Flame Surface changed that. Their new styling language put me off, big-time. Around 7 years later when they retreated from Flame Surface, I had lost the sharp "only BMW" focus, and I had looked elsewhere.

When it came to get a new vehicle, BMW was a contender! But when I compared what I *could* get (e.g., certain colors or features available ONLY as part of an expensive package that I didn't want), and when I compared what I got for the dollar, I found the competition presented a more compelling (to me) proposition. 2004 was my last BMW purchase. All four are now gone.

I still think of BMW as really nice vehicles. They just don't make anything at this time that appeals to me. Nothing offensive (although I dislike the i8's looks a lot). Just nothing that inspires me :-/

What DOES inspire me is my current ride (Audi Q5), and I'm smitten with the thought of getting a well-optioned 911 Carrera 4S (love the classic look, handling and feel) or Turbo S (same loves, plus being a super car).

Bangle killed it for me too. They took a little breather, and the cars aren't too bad now (better than most of the market), but there is something critically wrong with the bulging hoods and front ends. I guess it is because of pedestrian laws, but to me these front ends all look like they've been in a 15 mph collision.

At least Audi is gaining market share and getting closer to the competition. Can't say that about BMW in the U.S. Regarding Audi's global position, it's third, not fourth. Also, not sure if you heard but Audi resolved its China dealer problem and June will be the first full month without the dealer dispute.

Closer but so far away. Fourth for how long, Lexus / Jag - Land Rover has some great performers and increasing market share globally, how long will it be before Audi has a race for 3rd on its hands?

How is Audi fourth? Name the brand that is between Audi and Mercedes-Benz and BMW globally.

4th in the U.S. Your comment about declining BMW sales was about US sales right? Can't be globally? So comparing apples to apples #4th #3rd

How does it feel to go from first place in the U.S. to third and having dealers saying BMW has lost its way. Find me that article about Audi you read in Fortune.

It doesn't feel like anything to me, my personality isn't attached to a brand. Companies can do well, then they can do worse. C'est la vie.

Not sure you should be throwing comments around about dealer management, re: China. re: Global sales meltdown.

Only if you ask nicely :)

BMWs just aren't driver's cars anymore. They are the German Pontiacs to Audi's German Oldsmobiles.

Just look at them. Same look for over 10 years.
The interiors are far worse. They look almost the exact same over the past 25 years!

In regard to the topic of this article: I agree, BMW is trying to be everything to all people. Great brand but "The Ultimate Driving Machine" doesn't quite fit anymore.

GermanNut - sorry to burst your bubble but as reported yesterday, things don't seem to be as amazing over at Audi as you continuously claim they are:

(REUTERS) Audi workers frustrated with 'disastrous' indecisiveness of top management - the executive board has shown no signals of a fresh start, change or readiness for the future.

To give AUDI as an example after criticizing the looks of BMW being always to similar seems a bit awkward. AUDI has the same exterior for the last 20 years. I agree their sales are increasing, but they were always last so, not very difficult to grow...
I can only agree with the critics when we talk about the BMW interiors. Although the materials are not worse than the ones at AUDI or Mercedes (many reporters like to say so) I feels the design needs to change. And it will! You can already see some changes when you look ate the interior shown on the 8Series. It's called the new "Formlanguage" and it is supposed to be the new interior Philosophy at BMW. I'm still not sure it will be the big jump into the future, but at least it is something new.
To be honest I saw the new A8 interior and, although it will no be user friendly (that has been the result of many analisys done with touch surfaces), it looks futuristic and people will love to look at it. Even if they won't have the car they will say it is very good. BMW is struggling on that right now...

I really do not believe that BMW - regardless of what it did - could have prevented its fall from the top of the sales rankings. This is simply how the high end sedan market works. While the sales are spread across a finite number of players - mostly the same ones - what happens is that ONE of them becomes the "IT" car that everybody must have. The magazines and reports further that. ANd soon - everyone has an "it" car. But this is precisely why they run in cycles. Soon EVERYBODY has the "it" car and people at the top end want some exclusivity - as a result the car is a victim of its success - and the market moves to another brand because it is somewhat more exclusive for those buying a new car.

The advantage in the USA - for years - fell to Cadillac and Lincoln - but only because they were the favorite of fleets. As they became more and more prevalent - people moved to other brands.

And now - having a BMW 3 series is not longer something "special" - they are in every neighborhood in the country - and the higher end buyer does not get that same exclusivity. That does not mean that BMW no longer makes a good car -it means it has run its course.

BMW tried to compete with Lexus and failed miserably. They turned their cars into German Lexuses. Not to mention the interiors. Just now they are redesigning the gauges. The M4 gauge cluster looks exactly like the gauges in my old 2001 300i. When everyone was painting their brake calipers it BMW years before they started doing it. BMW is now a company that follows. Always have been really. It's just now starting to catch up with them.

Yeah, cause Lexus haven't been trying to make their cars sportier or creating F models to compete with M cars from BMW, they came up with the whole "sports sedan and sports coupe" all by themselves.

BMW has been its own worst enemy.

I'd love an i-6 but as a daily the 2.0L turbo doesn't bother me. I have one of the last available in Canada, lightweight 3 series, the F30 328i 6sp manual RWD models. About 200lbs lighter than the 340i makes a material difference. I loose the aural sound of the engine, but propulsion is good, RWD is a blast and the handling is decent enough with upgraded M Performance suspension/brakes. Not to mentioning ditching run flats and going with regular Michelin Pilots. Setting up a car for an enthusiast made a huge difference. The enthusiast market is so small now and too cheap/poor to buy a factory set up car or have to go full out with a M3/4 to get it.

The dealer model in North America does skews model choices that get stock at the dealer level. When 95% are SUV/automatics, what incentive is there to have fun models that sell to a very small subset of the market? It's a business now and the original focus is gone for BMW.

If and when my BMW goes, I'd probably pick up a Subaru WRX or VW GTI. Having a fun daily always trumps the brand. I recently picked up a Cayman 6sp manual, so I have my forever fun car. The daily just has to be a step up from an appliance.

Ask a simple question get complicated responses...
What made BMW king of the hill... Distinctive interesting exciting cars/suv's
NOw we call a 3 series coupe a 4 series so they can jack the price, we have an all new X3 that is indistinguishable from the previous generation, and it is not on the roads yet.. BLIND Arrogant management at all levels of BMW that thinks the people outside of BMW are idiots to be tolerated and not listened to. The Future Luxury concept that was supposed to be the new 7 series got so watered down that BMW provided we idiots, the buying public, with a generic updates and hand gestures and call it a technological marvel... the all new 5 is again indistinguishable to a vast majority of the buying public. Boring ugly and mass produced product.. why bother... BMW, DOA... and the new 8 Series, that stunning concept... just that a stunning concept, you will never see... we will have an 8 series.. but it is nothing more than the updated 6 coupe with a higher price and styling that will look nothing like the concept... Munich has bigger issues than Tesla, they have themselves and all of that arrogance, surprising that the building does not take flight from all the hot air and ego packed so tightly in that space... Here is a plan, punch some BMW's so they can convince themselves that their generic, bland, near luxury cars are selling.