[snareman]

BMW is definitely not the enthusiast brand that it once was both in car design and customer service. I can't argue with what they are doing from a business perspective because sales seem to be going well for them, but they went from the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' to 'Cars for the People, Soccer Moms and Millennials'. I feel like the overall love for cars from the populace isn't what it once was so they have broadened their marketing and car design.

I think there are people that buy BMW's just for the Roundel and aren't an enthusiast for the brand at all. When I come across another BMW at a light or on the road the likelihood that they will recognize that I'm also in a BMW, even a fancy M8, is directly related to the number of tail pipes their car has. The overwhelming number of them just have 2 tail pipes on one side, and they almost never notice other BMWs. 1 tail pipe on each side there is a good chance they will notice and 4 pipes, they will 100% notice you in a BMW.

With this diffusion of the brand also comes less high end customer service. I remember being amazed back circa 2006 that the dealer sent a driver to see me at work just to have me sign a paper for the car I was buying. It was a 1min visit from him and he was off. My dealer would NEVER do that today, granted stuff is online now, but it's just a different level of service than it used to be. I feel like when my car was going in for service they used to lead with, "When can we come pick that up?" and now its, "When can you bring that in" and I have to ask them to come get it. It's just not the luxury brand experience that it used to be.