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With any new BMW release, it is the norm that people on the forums disapprove, then they slowly warm up to the car only to lease it for the next three years until the LCI comes out... rinse repeat.
However, I don't remember a backlash of this level, so it is quite apparent that the styling, the increase in weight and lack of certain elements, i.e. DCT have made people very disappointed.
On top of that, you've got the head of BMW design, Mr. Demagogue, basically shitting on everything in Munich because they're hungry for brand new customers and more sales in Asia where things are just different. 13% sales increase in China in 2019 while Europe and America were hovering around the 0% mark. BMW would rather piss off the more traditional group of buyers than to miss out on extra sales in China and other emerging markets where traditions and brand heritage are not seen as important.
Forums represent only a fraction of real-world buyers of brand new BMWs, though they are THE enthusiasts that also should not be dismissed. But, a man whose last job was at Peugeot Citroen, brands known for their disruptive designs that change every five years, could not care less about that. I bet you that this dude would rather drive a beige 218d Active Tourer than an E46 m3 CSL on sunny Sunday mornings.
By the way, anyone remember Car of the Month threads? Members creating actual build threads that had tens of pages of updates?
Now we've got life-long BMW customers and fans getting banned, strange-looking and overweight M3s, and forum members who would rather plug their Instagrams than anything else.
Times are strange, times are changing, and 2020 sucks.
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