No BMW at New York Auto Show

[Aleman]

WTF BMW? I took a day off work and journeyed up to the bigtime NYC auto show this year, and you weren't there! No Mini either. Everyone else showed up but you. Mercedes, Jag, Porsche, Audi, VW... I overheard other attendees asking the same thing, where is the BMW display? Then I saw this...

https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/02/27/bmw-pulls-out-of-the-2019-new-york-auto-show/

Do you guys think BMW is making a mistake with this new exclusivist approach? Are they kicking car fans in the nuts... AGAIN?

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[venerated]

I’d rather be able to drive the cars than stare at them.

[Aleman]

I’d rather be able to drive the cars than stare at them.

I wouldn't go to some BMW-only special event for that. They need to pique my interest first, and seeing cars mostly in print isn't getting me there.

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[lukeADE335i]

You can always just pop down to your local dealer?

Then you can take them for a quick spin too, or ask for an extended test drive over night?

I saw an article a earlier this year that claimed that car shows are almost dead. Have to admit that I haven't been to one since the late 90s.

[kickinindian]

I'm not gonna go look at cars that I'll probably never buy and most people actually can't buy new plus new cars all look similar anyway.

Swoopy sedan check
Swoopy cuv check
Quirky blocky thing with wheels check
Full size truck that's 80k check
Nerdy journalist's check
Models that don't wanna be there check
Bootlicker executives "posturing" check

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[325e '87]

I don’t know if “exclusivist” is the right word. That implies a snobby kind of elitism and the article you linked reads more like “car shows aren’t worthwhile anymore from a marketing standpoint”.

I like the idea of bmw having their own touring show as long as they keep it hands on driving oriented.

I know Greenville/Spartanburg is a far cry from NYC but our show this year only had domestics, Lexus, Suburu. We go because its fun for the wife and kids.

[nrubenstein]

Hardly anybody bothers going to car shows anyway. Attendance has been trending down for years and will continue to do so. What’s the point of showing up? It’s not like you were going to buy one.

[Stanley Rockafella]

I agree, not much point in showing up to these events as most of the material/objective reviews can be "experienced" online.

Back in the 80s when there was only two or three publications and maybe one or two car review shows, there were many vehicles left out.

These days there's countless reviewers on Youtube with their own channel, who can save you from wasting your precious Saturday afternoons with high-pressure salespeople.

[djjerme]

Not to mention most everything BMW is pushing for the future is not "geared" to us. Or drivers in general. They've completely bought in to the autonomous hype and that's going to be their path it would seem.

It's going to be Minority Report soon enough with round transportation blobs that you just lounge in surfing the web until you reach your destination, the only difference is it'll maybe have a Roundel on the door.

[laidback93]

Not to mention most everything BMW is pushing for the future is not "geared" to us. Or drivers in general. They've completely bought in to the autonomous hype and that's going to be their path it would seem.

It's going to be Minority Report soon enough with round transportation blobs that you just lounge in surfing the web until you reach your destination, the only difference is it'll maybe have a Roundel on the door.

I agree with most of what you're saying. I do believe we're all headed to a "Minority Report" future. That or full on Wall-E where we ride on personal hover vehicles getting fat and super lazy while we order crap we don't need from Amazon.

BUT...

BMW had a humble display at Barrett Jackson Scottsdale that I sure as hell enjoyed.

They had the:

G20 330i
760il (super expensive luxo exec package or whatever it is)
M5 Competition (in an Individual color - British Racing Green)

The workers had to wipe my drool off the M5.

I don't even remember seeing any SUV or CUV on their show space.

[Aleman]

Well I got into BMW's at the point I sat in an M5 at a big car show when I was in high school. I shifted thru the gears, read the performance stats and checked out the engine. I was impressed. Never gave BMWs a thought before that. Soon after, the M5 poster was on my wall.

Fast forward a few years. I bought an E39 525i, 5 speed sport package. The rest is history.

Will a high school kid or anyone with aspirations for financial success go to a dealer if they can't currently afford to take one home? Hell no.

That's why I say it's elitist for BMW not to attend the auto show circuit, because if you can't afford a car now, you're not getting to sit in one.

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[dmanb2b]

I was there on Sunday and had no problem finding the BMW display ;>)

[Staszek]

I went to the Chicago Auto show 2 years ago, I had not been to one in years, we use to go to the NYC one all the time. I was so excited to go, kind of reliving how I felt as a child when I went.

It was a huge letdown, I mean it was ok, but nothing special, and the BMW display was kind of a joke.

That being said the UDE events are a ton of fun. Plus I got $1000 toward the purchase of a new car just for showing up and autocrossing some 3 series. We used it to buy my wife's X5.

As much as I dont think they should skip them, I can completely see why they do. The personal events are more fun and the Auto Show seemed a bit empty to me.

[djjerme]

I was there on Sunday and had no problem finding the BMW display ;>)

I see what you did there.

I still like the Bim-yota with the hardtop, and it sounds like the after market is going to support it.




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[nando]

99% of the population lives where 'auto shows' aren't a thing. They're held in what, 3 cities in the whole US?

Plus, who really cares about the G20, I'll probably see a hundred of them every day in a couple months. :p