[Mdrei]

Well said!

Originally Posted by FogCityM3

You may not be aware of how the ///M division lost nearly all its autonomy, which led to the departure and turnover of execs and engineers. It is well documented throughout the threads and historical articles that the turbocharged engines are not what ///M wanted to build and many of the key people that advocated for normally aspirated continuation of the engines are essentially gone today. ///M used to be its own corporate entity more closely aligned with motorsport programs and the F-1 program...today it is a division of BMW GmBH with far fewer independent decision rights. Significant monetary and human capital was diverted over to the i-Division as ///M became the victim of cost rationalization and a desire to share as many parts with the base car as possible.

As far as the reviews, you only have to go back through history where ///M was almost universally the category and comparison leader with enthusiasts and the press. All the M3s, and the beloved E39 and E60 M5 were untouchable and all automakers strived to achieve the same balance between luxury and motorsport. Today, it is a far different story with comparisons being lost to Cadillacs, Camaros and Fords, which was unfathomable five years ago.

Also, I would say that BMW's design team has lost all of its cutting edge design cues once Chris Bangle departed. They now produce extremely conservative and look-alike designs that make it difficult to distinguish the cars from the competition and within their own lineup. Think people realize now that while controversial at the time, his designs have aged extremely well over time and many automotive critics now admit that he was ahead of his time and manufacturers today are emulating BMW design features from 10-12 years ago. He was another big loss to BMW.