wich company lost its way? (jalopnik review)

[oliver.r]

in my opnion BMW %100 deserves the #1 spot it got on this list.
it has removed its self from its heritage for profit but that is understanable since it is a business after all...
i thought my e46 was soulless but when i drove a f30 it just felt like a camry to me...
toughts?

http://jalopnik.com/5971749/which-car-company-lost-its-way-in-2012?tag=question-of-the-day

This will be the last of these end-of-the-year lists because we're almost out of end-of-the-year, so let's make it a good one. Companies rise and fall for various reasons, though a leading cause in any automaker's descent is their own terrible decision making.
Toyota managed to climb back from the abyss (which, for them, is still selling more cars than almost anyone else) with a more refined product line, an actual sports car, and a realization that beige can kill. Last year they'd have made the list, but this year I'm giving them a break. I don't think Toyota lost its way. I think it found a beacon and is crawling, slowly, through the fog towards a more solid future.
Whose future isn't so bright?
(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of the Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

[Wschnitz]

Id say BMW is starting to annoy me but they are not doing as bad as honda and GM. Honda doesn't have an actual car designer, looks as if the janitor does it, same with GM but GM's problem is more that they overproduce and undersell.

BMW just has to stop making new models, we didnt need a four series, 3 series was fine, we dont even need these suv/hatch/crossover dohickeys. And by golly please do not make a FWD hatch. the 1 series RWD hatch is fine you failures.

[oliver.r]

the 4 series really made me go " thats it! what the fuck!"

[Cabriolet]

the 4 series really made me go " thats it! what the fuck!"

so true.

[Herr Faust Schinken]

Bmw should never make anything front wheel drive , rear wheel drive is what BMW stands for

[Northern]

I agree with the fwd and 4 series comments. What the fuck is an m4

[bastianshaw]

all started downhill after the e46 m3 and the e39 m5...to me those were the last bmws w a soul

[oliver.r]

they are after the dollar, it makes sense, it is all about profits but it leaves people like us hanging out to dry

[Kershaw]

the m3 used to a street legal homologation race car.

it is anything but, now a days. it's now equivalent of a porky mercedes sl500. gigantic with a gigantic v8. it's bad ass, but it's not a race car anymore.

[oliver.r]

^^^^
exactly
makes me sad

[Kershaw]

I really believe that if a company wants to put "sports" on their car's description, especially if it's a coupe, it needs to weigh at or under 3000lbs.

rx8, brz, miata, s2000, elise, cayman, corvette, etc. these are sports cars. m3? it's now a muscle car.

[oliver.r]

to me the M series cars have become the "sports car" for the rich business guy.
it is the most expensive of any series so they want the "top" 3 series or the "top 5 series.
it seriously got watered down for the masses with money

[MonkeyMan]

I can't stand how modern cars just keep getting bigger and bigger.
Add to this the fact that more people are buying more cars (which are bigger), and you have
a recipe for dreaded traffic congestion, which means there are fewer opportunities to enjoy horsepower and more emphasis on boring-ass MPG, and just getting from A to B.
If we keep in mind the dimensions of the original 80's BMW 3, 5, and 7 Series cars, a modern 3 series is about the size of the E28 5-series, and the "1" is pretty much a modern E30 3-series, etc..
If BMW stuck to it's roots, the current BMW lineup should go something like this:

- 3 series = current 1 series (with the 2 door coupe and the euro 4 dr hatch, 330i & 330i Turbo < yes, based again on the actual displacement and harking back to the 2002 Turbo)
- M3 = current 1 Series M (I can't stand that name) in 2 door 6spd MANUAL only

- 5 series = current 3 series sedan (with the 4 dr sedan and the wagon, 530i & 530i Turbo)
- M5 = current 4 door M3 (the near 4000lb porker with a V8)

- 6 series = current 3 series coupe (630i & 630i Turbo)
- M6 = current 2 door M3

- 7 series = current 5 series (750i & 750i Turbo < yes, the tt V8 of the current M5)

As far as their actual lineup:

- dump the hideous and bulbous 7 series
- dump the overweight, overstated, overcomplicated 6 series
- dump the useless X6 and forget it ever happened (the space of a sedan and handling of an SUV which is recipe for I don't know what)
- 6 series Grand Coupe. BMW, really guys? wtf...
- dump either the X3 or X5, but for God's sakes no auto maker needs to offer more than 1 type of SUV to clog up our roads.

And of course, since they would all be 1 size smaller (and lighter), their gas mileage ratings would also be better when compared to their current rivals.

Has BMW lost it's soul?
Definitely.

But bearing in mind that most other automakers also have (example: Porsche has an SUV), I guess it's fair to say that BMW still offers a better driver's car than it's rivals.

Just sayin'..

[oliver.r]

the big cars have always been beasts, i have no problem with the excess of the 6 and 7 series, i just wish the 5 and 3 stayed true

[ELVA164]

they are after the dollar, it makes sense, it is all about profits but it leaves people like us hanging out to dry

Unfortunately, people like us are a small percentage of the population, and an expensive one to produce for. We expect a lot more out of our cars than most people, which means a lot more R&D and a lot less flexibility for sales. Although it would appear that flexibility doesn't really matter to BMW since they now produce, what, 9 models?