440i review by Car Throttle

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by Rooster23

Most of us agree with this sentiment, but the question is why is BMW going this way? Is it simply dollars and cents to try and appeal to the most amount of people possible? Or something else?

It's a combination of things.

No specific order

-Tesla
-No clear vision for the future
-Attempting to appeal to everyone that wants a Roundel (German Toyota?)
-Losing Key People from the design and performance areas
-Ridiculous Euro Govt Enviromental regulations which put pressure on the company and effect many things
-Losing sight of BMWs heritage for driving pleasure (See Above)


I'm sure I missed some things. It's sad really. This is going to be a bad few years for the guys from Munich.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by Rooster23

Most of us agree with this sentiment, but the question is why is BMW going this way? Is it simply dollars and cents to try and appeal to the most amount of people possible? Or something else?

To appeal to the people who responded in their BMW surveys "less steering effort."

BMW is going after clout chasers, people who think BMW's use V6's or have never heard of the terms Hofmeister Kink or steering feel and simply want the badge and "the look" and sadly that has extended into Motorsport as well it seems.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by CT_M3

If you think about it, SP has more 1M subs whereas others like SG and TH trail (in SG's case, they're not even at 1/2 M). That should inform us of how the crowd and general public thinks about what's important in their cars lol

From what I know about SG, he reviews cars given/donated from the users most of the time. Could be wrong on this though. He has gotten better since he more or less has a co-caster with him.

Some stuff about just the general youtuber/car reviewer bunch I will always find a bit annoying/obnoxious. That's just me though.

[Rooster23]

Originally Posted by jpy1980

On a more serious note, what happens now? The grills and the car itself hasn’t gotten much praise and seems like the whole new line of BMW products is universally disliked. What would a company like BMW do to salvage their rep or are we all being that OBTUSE to not see what’s really good? I’m sure the mere exposure effect would apply here in due time, but come on. I just don’t see the vision.

As sad as it is, BMW knows what they're doing. They know that people will get used to the new design language. When the Bangled E60 came out people were aghast but they ended up selling tons of them anyway. People will overlook a lot in exchange for driving 'the ultimate driving machine'. Doesn't matter that its not an overly handsome car - they're driving a fine German automobile and for a lot of people that's all that matters.

BMW used to be an exclusive club now nearly everyone can have one - its diluted the brand but that only matters to the enthusiasts, that 5% of the population that won't drive its stock price up.

[CT_M3]

Originally Posted by Arcades

From what I know about SG, he reviews cars given/donated from the users most of the time. Could be wrong on this though. He has gotten better since he more or less has a co-caster with him.

Some stuff about just the general youtuber/car reviewer bunch I will always find a bit annoying/obnoxious. That's just me though.

Yes he generally mentions that the cars come from users most of the time. He had complained that no one sends cars to the Midwest to be reviewed and he had to move to the coasts to get attention from the car manufacturers. He’s been getting some different content recently with track day content.

[2011ninja]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

I agree, Straight Pipes are definitely annoying. But those guys at Throttle House are ligit and one of two guys is a fairly decent driver (which cannot be said of most Youtubers).

I see you edited your post, but not sure why you say "not nearly as annoying" though, implying that they still are annoying

One of the drivers is a track day instructor. One with beard and dark hair

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by 2011ninja

One of the drivers is a track day instructor. One with beard and dark hair

Yup. Not a pro, but a decent driver nonetheless.

[2011ninja]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Yup. Not a pro, but a decent driver nonetheless.

Instructors get paid for teaching the Class; by definition it makes them pro's aka professional.

Not famous but professionals.

I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night 😩

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by 2011ninja

Instructors get paid for teaching the Class; by definition it makes them pro's aka professional.

Not famous but professionals.

I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night ��

I've also been a "track day instructor" for well over ten years. I don't consider myself a pro driver... Anyhow, when I mentioned "pro", I had pro racer in mind. These guys are in a different league.

[2011ninja]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

I've also been a "track day instructor" for well over ten years. I don't consider myself a pro driver... Anyhow, when I mentioned "pro", I had pro racer in mind. These guys are in a different league.

Agreed!

"Pro-racer" is a higher level of driving/ridding skill.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

First Car & Driver and now these guys. The M340 has generally been well received by the press (not glaring, but decent reviews), I'm surprised the coupe version is getting shat on. On a side note, this 440 looks like trash in that tumbnail.

The M340 is a little boring to me just twiddling around town, but when you start pushing it at the limits its pretty good.

They use lap times as metrics for street cars to show how they fall short, then use pretty much the same track times to show how good they are despite being street cars. It all depends on how they want to spin it.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by jmg

They use lap times as metrics for street cars to show how they fall short, then use pretty much the same track times to show how good they are despite being street cars. It all depends on how they want to spin it.

It's a sign of the times. Media people make up their minds, then find a narrative to push, then spin the facts/data to suit that narrative.