Autoextremist: Falling Brand Stars - How Low Will They Go?
12-02-2003, 10:13 PM
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Autoextremist: Falling Brand Stars - How Low Will They Go?
by Peter M. DeLorenzo
Falling Brand Stars - How Low Will They Go?
Detroit. Over the past four-and-one-half years of publishing Autoextremist.com, we have witnessed the most stunning brand blowups in automotive history. Some of the greatest, so-called "unimpeachable" automotive brands have either willfully committed brand suicide because of delusional notions about their place in the automotive world, and the belief that they're judgment is infallible, or because of flat-out, misguided stupidity. Others have just been caught out in a changing market that has demonstrated little sympathy for traditional automotive powerhouse brands. I thought we'd take a look at four notable examples today...
Following up on my column from last week, BMW went from being a company with an unwavering, single-minded focus on building the best "driving machines" they could possibly build, to becoming a car company more infatuated with sales records, finding new segments to mine gold with and continuing its long-standing obsession with surpassing Mercedes-Benz in the world order. Rather than building great cars that stayed true to BMW's raison d'etre - the company has begun a long, painful slide into brand oblivion. In typical fashion, however, BMW executives (led by Helmut Panke) not only don't believe they've lost a step, they refuse to listen to anybody who would deign to suggest such a thing. There is a distinct aura of invincibility hovering over the entire BMW enterprise, and it has the acrid odor of full-scale delusion. Blind arrogance in a car executive or a car company isn't an unusual thing. The car "biz" is littered with examples of it throughout its history. But BMW executives seem to have arrived at a point now where they actually believe they can do no wrong - and that their view of the automotive world is the only one that matters. Big mistake. BMW has lost more than a step - and they're by no means infallible (see this week's "On The Table" - ed.). Playing in segments they don't belong in, creating cars with gimmicky, overwrought exterior shapes burdened with vapid, frivolous design cues, plus the added (and dismal) dimension of rampant electronic overkill infesting each and every new vehicle they come out with - it's nothing short of a recipe for disaster. BMW has had a long, big-time successful run, but it is well on its way to blowing it - and in a big way.
We've talked about the free fall of Porsche for some time now, and while the troops in Zuffenhausen - led by Wendelin Wiedeking (he's a genius, just ask him) - are high-fiving and back-slapping each other over their current profitability numbers due to their self-proclaimed "brilliant" strategy of bringing out an SUV as their bread-and-butter vehicle - to carry them through the occasional downturns of the sports car market - their very essence is slowly but surely slipping away from them. Porsche 911 and Boxster sales are now officially in the dumper and have been for some time - which Porsche claims is due to the poor economic conditions here in the U.S. and around the world. But my contention is that Porsche is placing the blame on the wrong reason. Porsche's predicament is due, in large part, to their insatiable greed. Because of Porsche's nonsensical, ill-fated strategy of cranking out Boxsters as if they were popcorn to boost their short-term profitability, they have managed to dilute the brand's image, removing any of the specialness that was once such a part of the Porsche name. Which is laughable, when you really think about it, because Porsche did it once before during its infamous 924 chapter. Granted, the Boxster is a vastly superior car, but the net-net effect of cranking out too many units is still the same in the end.
Porsche management has proved that arrogance, talking to one's self and selective rationalization is a powerful potion that can blind an organization to the reality of its situation. While Porsche executives are busy insisting that because of cars like the Carrera GT and 911 GT-3, all is well with their newly formed dependence on the Cayenne, and that they're better than ever as a company, they will wake up one day to find that Cayenne sales have cooled. And then what? Will they mount a huge marketing/advertising effort designed to remind everyone in the world that they're once again a premier maker of sports cars? That's not going to work. Why? For one thing, the competition is getting too tough. GM is undercutting Porsche at the more affordable end with the superb new Corvette C6, which will offer better performance in its standard trim (400H.P.) than 911s costing $40,000 to $50,000 more. And Porsche won't have an answer for it - at least not an answer that will come in for less than $100,000, because Porsche has pissed away five years on developing the Cayenne, instead of working on a true, back-to-basics sports car that they so badly need. The Boxster was to be that car, remember? But because of Porsche's usurious pricing policies, the Boxster stopped being affordable literally five minutes after it was introduced.
Make no mistake about this: Porsche has alienated its hardcore enthusiast constituency with the Cayenne. These are the true-blue enthusiasts - people who have been spreading the gospel according to Porsche for years. But now these same Porsche loyalists don't even recognize the company anymore. It's no longer a manufacturer of lithe, light sports cars that can trace its roots back to its founder - a man who retains legendary status in the automotive world to this day. And it's no longer a sports car manufacturer that derives inspiration for its street cars from its exploits on the race track - and the lessons gleaned from competing in some of the most famous races in the world (because of the time and money it took to develop Cayenne, Porsche has not competed for the overall win at Le Mans for five years, and they've recently announced that they wouldn't be there in the near future, either).
No, Porsche has now dumbed itself down to the point that it has become just another car company, hell bent on becoming a dreaded "full-line manufacturer" - a company whose latest effort is an SUV powered by a VW V-6 engine, of all things. And whose next effort is rumored to be a four-door sedan based on VW Group's Phaeton/Bentley Continental GT/Audi A8 platform. I guess it would be more accurate to say that Porsche has become just another truck company - as they're now officially producing and selling more trucks than cars.
Another brand that was once one of the most revered brands in the wheeled world is Jeep, but it finds itself in the midst of a crisis brought on by a number of factors, including complacency, a painful lack of new product spending and the onslaught of GM's Hummer H2. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Jeep became mired in the very thing that it has stood for all these years - it's go anywhere, do anything capability. In the old days, that image was great for Jeep - and it gave it an unequaled platform to stand clearly head and shoulders above everybody else. But those days have long been gone. Now fierce, cutthroat competitors are chipping away at Jeep's long-standing advantages, or in some cases, like with GM's H2, they're taking huge chunks out of Jeeps formerly impenetrable hide.
Jeep isn't the only game in the off-road town anymore, and unfortunately for the Chrysler Group, the timing of their revamped Jeep lineup is long overdue (new Jeeps are rolling out over the next 18 months). And while waiting for its new product, Jeep basically had to sit back and watch as lesser, boulevardier-type, "cute utes" gobbled up huge amounts of the four-wheel-drive market in the low, medium and luxury segments - pushing Jeep to the "do not call" list.
To make matters even worse for Jeep, GM came out of nowhere to steal Jeep's thunder with the H2. Not only did GM encroach on Jeep's territory with the H2, they captured an attitude, a look and a feel - both on the road and in their advertising - that blew Jeep right off of the map.
Now, Jeep is scrambling to fight back, promoting its "Trail Rated" designation as if to reaffirm its badge of authenticity - but that isn't going to be nearly enough.
Jeep will have to use every bit of what's left of its accumulated brand equity to relaunch itself in the market, and it can't - and won't - be able to be picky in terms of sorting out "authentic" buyers from the rest. Jeep needs back in, and if that means going after the suburban "cute ute" market, then that's what DaimlerChrysler will have to do - and that's what it's planning to do. A lot of hardcore Jeep aficionados are up in arms over this, insisting that unless a Jeep is able to traverse the Rubicon, it can't be a Jeep. But as a savvy, long-time Florida Jeep dealer pointed out in this week's Automotive News, 90 percent of the Jeeps he sells are rear-wheel drive - and Jeep dealers desperately need a full line of Jeep vehicles to sell if the brand ever has a shot at thriving again.
And last, but certainly not least, one of the most, if not the most, egregious examples of a former brand star going down in flames is Mercedes-Benz. What has happened to this once majestic brand over the last ten years in the U.S. market is simply unconscionable. Abandoning one of the greatest ad themes of all time - "Engineered Like No Other Car in the World" - Mercedes-Benz traded its lofty, technical superiority positioning in favor of a more "approachable" persona in the U.S. market, in order to sell more volume in the face of intense competitive pressure from Lexus and BMW. And this strategy has flat-out backfired. Selling C-class Coupes against VWs on one end, and then refusing to call its $300,000 uber-luxury car a Mercedes at the other - Mercedes-Benz has squandered years of accrued brand equity in a market that absolutely demands it. Add horrendous quality problems caused by overly complicated electronic systems, and you have a huge mess.
Mercedes is not only playing in segments that it has no business being in - it finds itself grinding it out against lesser marques in a cutthroat arena that it's woefully ill-suited to compete in. In short, Mercedes-Benz has irrevocably cheapened its brand in its quest to become "all things to all people" in this market - and the brand may never recover from it. Yes, the new AMG cars qualify as worthy Mercedes of the "old school" variety, but virtually everything else they're doing - from their scattered model lineup, to their questionable marketing and puzzling advertising strategies - is off target. Talk about losing specialness - Mercedes-Benz is a textbook example of how not to do it if you're in the auto business.
There are other bad actors in this current auto market who are on the cusp of going down in flames, like the VW group, which may never overcome the strategic "vision" of the King of Delusion himself, ex-chairman Ferdinand Piech, and his plan for VW to rule the world, but the bottom line of this discussion is clear...
It doesn't matter how long an automobile company has enjoyed a run at the top - if they waver from their mission for even an instant, it can all be gone in a few quarters. For some people out there, it is hard to imagine that the same companies who are piling up big sales numbers now (like Porsche) are the same ones who will be struggling to retain their place in the market in a matter of months.
But that's how fragile this brand image stuff can be.
The smart car companies are the ones who can keep their heads up just enough to avoid being dragged down by the usual assortment of internally created tunnel vision gremlins. Yet they're also smart enough not to let their occasional giddy delusions get the better of them - in other words, they allow themselves a healthy dose of blue sky thinking, without losing their heads in the delusional stratosphere.
It's the toughest thing to do in this business. But suffice to say, by the time the consumer starts to get a whiff that a brand is "played out" or "over" - it's way too late, and it might take years for that company to recover. And frankly they may never get back to their previous heights.
In the case of BMW and Porsche, they actually believe that it can't - and won't - happen to them. They're too smart and too right - and they know better than everyone else. In the case of Mercedes-Benz, they've been on such a long, drawn-out free fall into mediocrity for so long that they don't even sense it. Combine that with the fact that the smartest people they know are themselves - and it's no wonder they see monsters in their engine compartments. As for Jeep, to their credit they didn't waver from their kick-ass, "only in a Jeep" attitude - the only problem is that the market blew right by them, and now they're playing catch-up in a market that has little time for yesterday's success stories.
How low will these so-called brand stars fall? We'll be watching.
In the meantime, next week we'll talk about the brand stars on the rise.
Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.
Falling Brand Stars - How Low Will They Go?
Detroit. Over the past four-and-one-half years of publishing Autoextremist.com, we have witnessed the most stunning brand blowups in automotive history. Some of the greatest, so-called "unimpeachable" automotive brands have either willfully committed brand suicide because of delusional notions about their place in the automotive world, and the belief that they're judgment is infallible, or because of flat-out, misguided stupidity. Others have just been caught out in a changing market that has demonstrated little sympathy for traditional automotive powerhouse brands. I thought we'd take a look at four notable examples today...
Following up on my column from last week, BMW went from being a company with an unwavering, single-minded focus on building the best "driving machines" they could possibly build, to becoming a car company more infatuated with sales records, finding new segments to mine gold with and continuing its long-standing obsession with surpassing Mercedes-Benz in the world order. Rather than building great cars that stayed true to BMW's raison d'etre - the company has begun a long, painful slide into brand oblivion. In typical fashion, however, BMW executives (led by Helmut Panke) not only don't believe they've lost a step, they refuse to listen to anybody who would deign to suggest such a thing. There is a distinct aura of invincibility hovering over the entire BMW enterprise, and it has the acrid odor of full-scale delusion. Blind arrogance in a car executive or a car company isn't an unusual thing. The car "biz" is littered with examples of it throughout its history. But BMW executives seem to have arrived at a point now where they actually believe they can do no wrong - and that their view of the automotive world is the only one that matters. Big mistake. BMW has lost more than a step - and they're by no means infallible (see this week's "On The Table" - ed.). Playing in segments they don't belong in, creating cars with gimmicky, overwrought exterior shapes burdened with vapid, frivolous design cues, plus the added (and dismal) dimension of rampant electronic overkill infesting each and every new vehicle they come out with - it's nothing short of a recipe for disaster. BMW has had a long, big-time successful run, but it is well on its way to blowing it - and in a big way.
We've talked about the free fall of Porsche for some time now, and while the troops in Zuffenhausen - led by Wendelin Wiedeking (he's a genius, just ask him) - are high-fiving and back-slapping each other over their current profitability numbers due to their self-proclaimed "brilliant" strategy of bringing out an SUV as their bread-and-butter vehicle - to carry them through the occasional downturns of the sports car market - their very essence is slowly but surely slipping away from them. Porsche 911 and Boxster sales are now officially in the dumper and have been for some time - which Porsche claims is due to the poor economic conditions here in the U.S. and around the world. But my contention is that Porsche is placing the blame on the wrong reason. Porsche's predicament is due, in large part, to their insatiable greed. Because of Porsche's nonsensical, ill-fated strategy of cranking out Boxsters as if they were popcorn to boost their short-term profitability, they have managed to dilute the brand's image, removing any of the specialness that was once such a part of the Porsche name. Which is laughable, when you really think about it, because Porsche did it once before during its infamous 924 chapter. Granted, the Boxster is a vastly superior car, but the net-net effect of cranking out too many units is still the same in the end.
Porsche management has proved that arrogance, talking to one's self and selective rationalization is a powerful potion that can blind an organization to the reality of its situation. While Porsche executives are busy insisting that because of cars like the Carrera GT and 911 GT-3, all is well with their newly formed dependence on the Cayenne, and that they're better than ever as a company, they will wake up one day to find that Cayenne sales have cooled. And then what? Will they mount a huge marketing/advertising effort designed to remind everyone in the world that they're once again a premier maker of sports cars? That's not going to work. Why? For one thing, the competition is getting too tough. GM is undercutting Porsche at the more affordable end with the superb new Corvette C6, which will offer better performance in its standard trim (400H.P.) than 911s costing $40,000 to $50,000 more. And Porsche won't have an answer for it - at least not an answer that will come in for less than $100,000, because Porsche has pissed away five years on developing the Cayenne, instead of working on a true, back-to-basics sports car that they so badly need. The Boxster was to be that car, remember? But because of Porsche's usurious pricing policies, the Boxster stopped being affordable literally five minutes after it was introduced.
Make no mistake about this: Porsche has alienated its hardcore enthusiast constituency with the Cayenne. These are the true-blue enthusiasts - people who have been spreading the gospel according to Porsche for years. But now these same Porsche loyalists don't even recognize the company anymore. It's no longer a manufacturer of lithe, light sports cars that can trace its roots back to its founder - a man who retains legendary status in the automotive world to this day. And it's no longer a sports car manufacturer that derives inspiration for its street cars from its exploits on the race track - and the lessons gleaned from competing in some of the most famous races in the world (because of the time and money it took to develop Cayenne, Porsche has not competed for the overall win at Le Mans for five years, and they've recently announced that they wouldn't be there in the near future, either).
No, Porsche has now dumbed itself down to the point that it has become just another car company, hell bent on becoming a dreaded "full-line manufacturer" - a company whose latest effort is an SUV powered by a VW V-6 engine, of all things. And whose next effort is rumored to be a four-door sedan based on VW Group's Phaeton/Bentley Continental GT/Audi A8 platform. I guess it would be more accurate to say that Porsche has become just another truck company - as they're now officially producing and selling more trucks than cars.
Another brand that was once one of the most revered brands in the wheeled world is Jeep, but it finds itself in the midst of a crisis brought on by a number of factors, including complacency, a painful lack of new product spending and the onslaught of GM's Hummer H2. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Jeep became mired in the very thing that it has stood for all these years - it's go anywhere, do anything capability. In the old days, that image was great for Jeep - and it gave it an unequaled platform to stand clearly head and shoulders above everybody else. But those days have long been gone. Now fierce, cutthroat competitors are chipping away at Jeep's long-standing advantages, or in some cases, like with GM's H2, they're taking huge chunks out of Jeeps formerly impenetrable hide.
Jeep isn't the only game in the off-road town anymore, and unfortunately for the Chrysler Group, the timing of their revamped Jeep lineup is long overdue (new Jeeps are rolling out over the next 18 months). And while waiting for its new product, Jeep basically had to sit back and watch as lesser, boulevardier-type, "cute utes" gobbled up huge amounts of the four-wheel-drive market in the low, medium and luxury segments - pushing Jeep to the "do not call" list.
To make matters even worse for Jeep, GM came out of nowhere to steal Jeep's thunder with the H2. Not only did GM encroach on Jeep's territory with the H2, they captured an attitude, a look and a feel - both on the road and in their advertising - that blew Jeep right off of the map.
Now, Jeep is scrambling to fight back, promoting its "Trail Rated" designation as if to reaffirm its badge of authenticity - but that isn't going to be nearly enough.
Jeep will have to use every bit of what's left of its accumulated brand equity to relaunch itself in the market, and it can't - and won't - be able to be picky in terms of sorting out "authentic" buyers from the rest. Jeep needs back in, and if that means going after the suburban "cute ute" market, then that's what DaimlerChrysler will have to do - and that's what it's planning to do. A lot of hardcore Jeep aficionados are up in arms over this, insisting that unless a Jeep is able to traverse the Rubicon, it can't be a Jeep. But as a savvy, long-time Florida Jeep dealer pointed out in this week's Automotive News, 90 percent of the Jeeps he sells are rear-wheel drive - and Jeep dealers desperately need a full line of Jeep vehicles to sell if the brand ever has a shot at thriving again.
And last, but certainly not least, one of the most, if not the most, egregious examples of a former brand star going down in flames is Mercedes-Benz. What has happened to this once majestic brand over the last ten years in the U.S. market is simply unconscionable. Abandoning one of the greatest ad themes of all time - "Engineered Like No Other Car in the World" - Mercedes-Benz traded its lofty, technical superiority positioning in favor of a more "approachable" persona in the U.S. market, in order to sell more volume in the face of intense competitive pressure from Lexus and BMW. And this strategy has flat-out backfired. Selling C-class Coupes against VWs on one end, and then refusing to call its $300,000 uber-luxury car a Mercedes at the other - Mercedes-Benz has squandered years of accrued brand equity in a market that absolutely demands it. Add horrendous quality problems caused by overly complicated electronic systems, and you have a huge mess.
Mercedes is not only playing in segments that it has no business being in - it finds itself grinding it out against lesser marques in a cutthroat arena that it's woefully ill-suited to compete in. In short, Mercedes-Benz has irrevocably cheapened its brand in its quest to become "all things to all people" in this market - and the brand may never recover from it. Yes, the new AMG cars qualify as worthy Mercedes of the "old school" variety, but virtually everything else they're doing - from their scattered model lineup, to their questionable marketing and puzzling advertising strategies - is off target. Talk about losing specialness - Mercedes-Benz is a textbook example of how not to do it if you're in the auto business.
There are other bad actors in this current auto market who are on the cusp of going down in flames, like the VW group, which may never overcome the strategic "vision" of the King of Delusion himself, ex-chairman Ferdinand Piech, and his plan for VW to rule the world, but the bottom line of this discussion is clear...
It doesn't matter how long an automobile company has enjoyed a run at the top - if they waver from their mission for even an instant, it can all be gone in a few quarters. For some people out there, it is hard to imagine that the same companies who are piling up big sales numbers now (like Porsche) are the same ones who will be struggling to retain their place in the market in a matter of months.
But that's how fragile this brand image stuff can be.
The smart car companies are the ones who can keep their heads up just enough to avoid being dragged down by the usual assortment of internally created tunnel vision gremlins. Yet they're also smart enough not to let their occasional giddy delusions get the better of them - in other words, they allow themselves a healthy dose of blue sky thinking, without losing their heads in the delusional stratosphere.
It's the toughest thing to do in this business. But suffice to say, by the time the consumer starts to get a whiff that a brand is "played out" or "over" - it's way too late, and it might take years for that company to recover. And frankly they may never get back to their previous heights.
In the case of BMW and Porsche, they actually believe that it can't - and won't - happen to them. They're too smart and too right - and they know better than everyone else. In the case of Mercedes-Benz, they've been on such a long, drawn-out free fall into mediocrity for so long that they don't even sense it. Combine that with the fact that the smartest people they know are themselves - and it's no wonder they see monsters in their engine compartments. As for Jeep, to their credit they didn't waver from their kick-ass, "only in a Jeep" attitude - the only problem is that the market blew right by them, and now they're playing catch-up in a market that has little time for yesterday's success stories.
How low will these so-called brand stars fall? We'll be watching.
In the meantime, next week we'll talk about the brand stars on the rise.
Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.
12-02-2003, 10:18 PM
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From the "on the table" section of this week's autoextremist:
BMW. Hard on the heels of last week's Rant, in which we took BMW to task for sticking with its ill-fated iDrive system, in spite of withering criticism from enthusiasts and the media alike, and for losing its focus after years of delivering cars that, for the most part, lived up to the moniker of "the ultimate driving machine" - comes a blistering attack from one of BMW's formerly most slavishly devoted boosters - none other than Car and Driver magazine. After including the 3-series in its annual "10 Best" issue (a perennial choice by the magazine's editors), Car and Driver set out to review the new 5-series, and the new X3 cute ute in the January 2004 issue. Though the new 5 was deemed in some ways an excellent car, the overriding thread throughout the review was that BMW had lost its way, that with the new 5 they had finally taken a step backwards from where they belonged. Editorial comments included this from Tony Swan, "In its bones, the new 5-series is perhaps a better car than the previous 5, a car that verged on sublime. But the new 5 doesn't look better than the old one, particularly the going away view. And its iDrive does not enhance the driving experience. BMW is drifting off mission." But C and D editors really took the gloves off when they sunk their teeth into the new X3. Judging by the road test, the new X3 is an unmitigated disaster - in concept and particularly in execution. A momentous misstep from BMW, which Car and Driver gleefully takes apart, mistake by mistake. Starting with the fact that the writer of the test, Aaron Robinson, labeled the 325xi sport wagon as a better vehicle in every respect than the new X3, it rapidly went downhill from there. While praising the X3 specs on paper, Robinson went on to say, "If the X3 never rose up from the paper, we'd be quaffing schnapps in its honor. The doubt creeps in out on the road...the X3's ride is hard-edged, concussive, and insufferable. Hit a craggy, undulating section of road, and the X3 bucks like a mare with Little Richard's pinky ring stuck under the saddle. Do it at speed, and the X3 is almost as good as a guillotine for testing your neck joints." The editors pile on from there. Patrick Bedard sums up the magazine's total disgust with the X3 with his "counterpoint" comment: "I've seen sillier cars...But this BMW X3 is the 21st-century record holder. Especially with the sport-suspension option and six-speed box, BMW seems to have combined the worst features of sports cars and SUVs - the jarring ride, fast-wearing tires, and dinky cargo area of the former with the excessive weight and precious pricing of the latter. For $41,000 you get a sports car on stilts. Mondo silly." This laser-accurate dismemberment of the previously unimpeachable enthusiast auto icon BMW is long overdue. Now that one of the major auto magazines finally has grown some cojones - at least for one month anyway - it will be interesting to see if any of the other automotive magazines follow suit and start presenting "the rest of the story" when it comes to BMW's ongoing off-course maneuvers, instead of dutifully genuflecting at the BMW altar with each and every model introduction.
BMW. Hard on the heels of last week's Rant, in which we took BMW to task for sticking with its ill-fated iDrive system, in spite of withering criticism from enthusiasts and the media alike, and for losing its focus after years of delivering cars that, for the most part, lived up to the moniker of "the ultimate driving machine" - comes a blistering attack from one of BMW's formerly most slavishly devoted boosters - none other than Car and Driver magazine. After including the 3-series in its annual "10 Best" issue (a perennial choice by the magazine's editors), Car and Driver set out to review the new 5-series, and the new X3 cute ute in the January 2004 issue. Though the new 5 was deemed in some ways an excellent car, the overriding thread throughout the review was that BMW had lost its way, that with the new 5 they had finally taken a step backwards from where they belonged. Editorial comments included this from Tony Swan, "In its bones, the new 5-series is perhaps a better car than the previous 5, a car that verged on sublime. But the new 5 doesn't look better than the old one, particularly the going away view. And its iDrive does not enhance the driving experience. BMW is drifting off mission." But C and D editors really took the gloves off when they sunk their teeth into the new X3. Judging by the road test, the new X3 is an unmitigated disaster - in concept and particularly in execution. A momentous misstep from BMW, which Car and Driver gleefully takes apart, mistake by mistake. Starting with the fact that the writer of the test, Aaron Robinson, labeled the 325xi sport wagon as a better vehicle in every respect than the new X3, it rapidly went downhill from there. While praising the X3 specs on paper, Robinson went on to say, "If the X3 never rose up from the paper, we'd be quaffing schnapps in its honor. The doubt creeps in out on the road...the X3's ride is hard-edged, concussive, and insufferable. Hit a craggy, undulating section of road, and the X3 bucks like a mare with Little Richard's pinky ring stuck under the saddle. Do it at speed, and the X3 is almost as good as a guillotine for testing your neck joints." The editors pile on from there. Patrick Bedard sums up the magazine's total disgust with the X3 with his "counterpoint" comment: "I've seen sillier cars...But this BMW X3 is the 21st-century record holder. Especially with the sport-suspension option and six-speed box, BMW seems to have combined the worst features of sports cars and SUVs - the jarring ride, fast-wearing tires, and dinky cargo area of the former with the excessive weight and precious pricing of the latter. For $41,000 you get a sports car on stilts. Mondo silly." This laser-accurate dismemberment of the previously unimpeachable enthusiast auto icon BMW is long overdue. Now that one of the major auto magazines finally has grown some cojones - at least for one month anyway - it will be interesting to see if any of the other automotive magazines follow suit and start presenting "the rest of the story" when it comes to BMW's ongoing off-course maneuvers, instead of dutifully genuflecting at the BMW altar with each and every model introduction.
12-03-2003, 07:20 AM
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Re: Autoextremist: Falling Brand Stars - How Low Will They Go?
Good reads. I like what they said about BMW in the first post. 
Originally posted by kansaiwalker1
BMW went from being a company with an unwavering, single-minded focus on building the best "driving machines" they could possibly build, to becoming a car company more infatuated with sales records, finding new segments to mine gold with and continuing its long-standing obsession with surpassing Mercedes-Benz in the world order.
BMW went from being a company with an unwavering, single-minded focus on building the best "driving machines" they could possibly build, to becoming a car company more infatuated with sales records, finding new segments to mine gold with and continuing its long-standing obsession with surpassing Mercedes-Benz in the world order.
12-03-2003, 09:19 AM
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Both great articles. Someday (hopefully soon) car makers will realize that they don't have to build an SUV at every price point imaginable in order to be considered a great marque.
12-03-2003, 02:02 PM
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Great article. I totally agree with all the points. It seems like every automaker is trying to be everything to everyone and in the end, it's starting to dilute what made some brands great
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12-10-2003, 05:41 PM
#8
Suzuka Master
I think Daimler-Chrysler has major problems down the road. The grille on their new 300C is too trucklike and too big for my tates (I was even thinking about buying one until I saw the pics) + Mercedes-Benz rep for quality is fast heading down the toilet. It's not looking good for any of their brands.:shakehd:
12-10-2003, 06:00 PM
#9
I Feel Too Old Here
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i think most companies are fine. Mercedes is doing great, i like pretty much everything they are doing. high horse power and comfy luxo's. what else could you ask for?
i also like BMW's direction. i hate it when people say the interior is too plain. its always been plain. bmw has never had a fancy shmancy interior and its always been fine. its like expecting the moon to be green tomorrow. why would you? also, the new bmw's are supposedly some of the best handling cars on the road. their new suspension systems and such are making the new 7 and new 5 killer handling cars. the design is new and different and i personally like the look of the 5 and the 7, as well as the Z and the various X's. i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
the main AG im worried about is VW. they have single handedly ruined Porsche and are overlapping VW and Audi so damn much its almost turning into a comedy of errors. they also are overlapping in supercars, last i heard there was a W12 VW supercar in the works, in addition to the lambo they make and the buggati. i just dont like what VW AG is doing.
btw, i hate how GM is pushing Hummer as a regular brand. its dumbing down one of the great vehicle names of our time. if they really are in need for more money how about using their "genius" to come up with something really revolutionary, not a hideous from every angle bastard son of a suv gang raped by cheap minivans and badging it twice over.
i also like BMW's direction. i hate it when people say the interior is too plain. its always been plain. bmw has never had a fancy shmancy interior and its always been fine. its like expecting the moon to be green tomorrow. why would you? also, the new bmw's are supposedly some of the best handling cars on the road. their new suspension systems and such are making the new 7 and new 5 killer handling cars. the design is new and different and i personally like the look of the 5 and the 7, as well as the Z and the various X's. i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
the main AG im worried about is VW. they have single handedly ruined Porsche and are overlapping VW and Audi so damn much its almost turning into a comedy of errors. they also are overlapping in supercars, last i heard there was a W12 VW supercar in the works, in addition to the lambo they make and the buggati. i just dont like what VW AG is doing.
btw, i hate how GM is pushing Hummer as a regular brand. its dumbing down one of the great vehicle names of our time. if they really are in need for more money how about using their "genius" to come up with something really revolutionary, not a hideous from every angle bastard son of a suv gang raped by cheap minivans and badging it twice over.
12-10-2003, 07:00 PM
#10
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Originally posted by ItalianStallion
i think most companies are fine. Mercedes is doing great, i like pretty much everything they are doing. high horse power and comfy luxo's. what else could you ask for?
i also like BMW's direction. i hate it when people say the interior is too plain. its always been plain. bmw has never had a fancy shmancy interior and its always been fine. its like expecting the moon to be green tomorrow. why would you? also, the new bmw's are supposedly some of the best handling cars on the road. their new suspension systems and such are making the new 7 and new 5 killer handling cars. the design is new and different and i personally like the look of the 5 and the 7, as well as the Z and the various X's. i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
the main AG im worried about is VW. they have single handedly ruined Porsche and are overlapping VW and Audi so damn much its almost turning into a comedy of errors. they also are overlapping in supercars, last i heard there was a W12 VW supercar in the works, in addition to the lambo they make and the buggati. i just dont like what VW AG is doing.
btw, i hate how GM is pushing Hummer as a regular brand. its dumbing down one of the great vehicle names of our time. if they really are in need for more money how about using their "genius" to come up with something really revolutionary, not a hideous from every angle bastard son of a suv gang raped by cheap minivans and badging it twice over.
i think most companies are fine. Mercedes is doing great, i like pretty much everything they are doing. high horse power and comfy luxo's. what else could you ask for?
i also like BMW's direction. i hate it when people say the interior is too plain. its always been plain. bmw has never had a fancy shmancy interior and its always been fine. its like expecting the moon to be green tomorrow. why would you? also, the new bmw's are supposedly some of the best handling cars on the road. their new suspension systems and such are making the new 7 and new 5 killer handling cars. the design is new and different and i personally like the look of the 5 and the 7, as well as the Z and the various X's. i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
the main AG im worried about is VW. they have single handedly ruined Porsche and are overlapping VW and Audi so damn much its almost turning into a comedy of errors. they also are overlapping in supercars, last i heard there was a W12 VW supercar in the works, in addition to the lambo they make and the buggati. i just dont like what VW AG is doing.
btw, i hate how GM is pushing Hummer as a regular brand. its dumbing down one of the great vehicle names of our time. if they really are in need for more money how about using their "genius" to come up with something really revolutionary, not a hideous from every angle bastard son of a suv gang raped by cheap minivans and badging it twice over.
Mercedes is doing great, i like pretty much everything they are doing.
Have you seen the Kompressor? This car should not be made at any Mercedes plant...ever. It is a joke to behold.
i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
I suggest you read some more on BMW's "out of the box thinking" ala iDrive system...the 5 series WAS one of the best performance/luxo cars out there until this electronic farce was introduced.
the main AG im worried about is VW. they have single handedly ruined Porsche and are overlapping VW and Audi so damn much its almost turning into a comedy of errors.
Porche ruined itself with that Cayenne beastie. Can you imagine Ferrari ever making an SUV for the masses...probably not, right?,,,But Porsche USED to have a similar reputation...ala race car inspired, not any more...& VW hasn't done enough to stay on top of their game...they've always been pricey, but now the competition has caught them.
btw, i hate how GM is pushing Hummer as a regular brand. its dumbing down one of the great vehicle names of our time.
They are making the Hummer name more accessible to the masses...I agree they could've done it a bit better, but H1's are over $120K now & they've got to find some way to facilitate revenue. Just wait until you see the H3...
12-10-2003, 07:21 PM
#11
Suzuka Master
Mercedes-Benz Quality Surveys
Mercedes makes good cars but their reliability is unimpressive:
"Perhaps the study's most shocking results involve DaimlerChrysler. Since the 1998 merger, Daimler executives have contended that Mercedes-Benz's knowledge of how to build quality vehicles would be used to improve the Chrysler brands.
But Chrysler, Dodge and the now-defunct Plymouth brand all outranked Mercedes, which had 318 problems per 100 vehicles.
Ivers said Mercedes' troubles were concentrated in its M-Class sport utility vehicle and its E-Class sedans, which accounted for
roughly half its sales.
"The M-Class has had a lot of problems since its launch," Ivers said.
"The rate of deterioration on the E-Class is greater than on any other vehicle in the industry."
Long-term quality often translates into money won or lost for automakers."
http://www.baileycar.com/JDPsurvey_html.html
"A new survey places Mercedes-Benz 31st out of 35 brands for
quality"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...8/mercedes.htm
http://www.baileycar.com/mercedes_quality_html.html
http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e...e000108181.cfm
http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/08/pf/a...os.durability/
"
The most dramatic fall is Mercedes-Benz, which led all automakers in long-term quality fifteen years ago in Power’s first VDS, but fell to 25th this year, well behind its competition and with twice as many problems per 100 vehicles than Lexus. “The Mercedes E-Class and M-Class have had more than their fair share of complaints,” said Power’s Joe Ivers. Mercedes lost a lot of points on interior problems, switches and controls, window problems, and some faulty components including fuel pumps. It also lost on excessive brake dust on its wheels, a problem unique to German cars with big brakes designed for the autobahn. BMW and Porsche, though, scored much higher than Mercedes. Mercedes also posted the greatest degradation of quality between its 2000 Initial Quality Survey score to its three-year score for the same vehicles — 137 percent, which shows how misleading the IQS survey ranking can be for some brands." http://www.thecarforum.com/news.html
"Perhaps the study's most shocking results involve DaimlerChrysler. Since the 1998 merger, Daimler executives have contended that Mercedes-Benz's knowledge of how to build quality vehicles would be used to improve the Chrysler brands.
But Chrysler, Dodge and the now-defunct Plymouth brand all outranked Mercedes, which had 318 problems per 100 vehicles.
Ivers said Mercedes' troubles were concentrated in its M-Class sport utility vehicle and its E-Class sedans, which accounted for
roughly half its sales.
"The M-Class has had a lot of problems since its launch," Ivers said.
"The rate of deterioration on the E-Class is greater than on any other vehicle in the industry."
Long-term quality often translates into money won or lost for automakers."
http://www.baileycar.com/JDPsurvey_html.html
"A new survey places Mercedes-Benz 31st out of 35 brands for
quality"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...8/mercedes.htm
http://www.baileycar.com/mercedes_quality_html.html
http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e...e000108181.cfm
http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/08/pf/a...os.durability/
"
The most dramatic fall is Mercedes-Benz, which led all automakers in long-term quality fifteen years ago in Power’s first VDS, but fell to 25th this year, well behind its competition and with twice as many problems per 100 vehicles than Lexus. “The Mercedes E-Class and M-Class have had more than their fair share of complaints,” said Power’s Joe Ivers. Mercedes lost a lot of points on interior problems, switches and controls, window problems, and some faulty components including fuel pumps. It also lost on excessive brake dust on its wheels, a problem unique to German cars with big brakes designed for the autobahn. BMW and Porsche, though, scored much higher than Mercedes. Mercedes also posted the greatest degradation of quality between its 2000 Initial Quality Survey score to its three-year score for the same vehicles — 137 percent, which shows how misleading the IQS survey ranking can be for some brands." http://www.thecarforum.com/news.html
12-10-2003, 11:27 PM
#12
I love my G sedan
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Originally posted by ItalianStallion
i also like BMW's direction. i hate it when people say the interior is too plain. its always been plain. bmw has never had a fancy shmancy interior and its always been fine. its like expecting the moon to be green tomorrow. why would you? also, the new bmw's are supposedly some of the best handling cars on the road. their new suspension systems and such are making the new 7 and new 5 killer handling cars. the design is new and different and i personally like the look of the 5 and the 7, as well as the Z and the various X's. i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
i also like BMW's direction. i hate it when people say the interior is too plain. its always been plain. bmw has never had a fancy shmancy interior and its always been fine. its like expecting the moon to be green tomorrow. why would you? also, the new bmw's are supposedly some of the best handling cars on the road. their new suspension systems and such are making the new 7 and new 5 killer handling cars. the design is new and different and i personally like the look of the 5 and the 7, as well as the Z and the various X's. i think its a good direction. very cutting edge, maybe you old timers might not like it, but for christs sake, lighten up. think outside of the box....
12-11-2003, 04:47 AM
#13
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Originally posted by SilverCL225hp
What is the good of this cutting-edge I-Drive system? What is wrong with the old way that one button for one function? Why do the driver have to use a computer in a car? The only reason I could think of is that BMW wants to be ahead of other competitors, and they want to have something that others don't have. Being special isn't always better though. Actually I think BMW should not concentrate on these little electronic advancements that buyers don't even care, they should continue to pay attention on maintaining its best handling sport sedan position.
What is the good of this cutting-edge I-Drive system? What is wrong with the old way that one button for one function? Why do the driver have to use a computer in a car? The only reason I could think of is that BMW wants to be ahead of other competitors, and they want to have something that others don't have. Being special isn't always better though. Actually I think BMW should not concentrate on these little electronic advancements that buyers don't even care, they should continue to pay attention on maintaining its best handling sport sedan position.
When you make a kick-ass car like the 5 series, you shouldn't try & re-invent the wheel(iDrive).
Every independent review I have seen states BMW immasculated the car with the new electronics...No feel...very sterile experience=big mistake.
12-12-2003, 09:46 AM
#15
Suzuka Master
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I used to be a HUGE BMW fan, but recently their designs have turned me away. My dad had a 98 740iL, which was an amazing looking car. The new 745i is a step back from the car it replaces. The interior and exterior of the 745 look like garbage. All of these luxury cars are getting bloated. BMW needs to go back to it's "ultimate driving machine" image and not to the cutting edge technology direction it currently is trying to promote.
BTW...Has anyone driven a new 5 with the electric steering? IMO thats a horrible move for BMW. You will lose a lot of the feeling of what the car is doing.
BTW...Has anyone driven a new 5 with the electric steering? IMO thats a horrible move for BMW. You will lose a lot of the feeling of what the car is doing.
12-14-2003, 02:38 AM
#16
hail to the victors
i still don't understand why people don't like new BMW's.. i understand the exterior.. i love them to death, but i see why some people don't like them.. but more i look at new bmws, i get to love them even more.. old ones are just too plain and boring.. i loved old 7 series, but now it is just another old school car, like 95 MB 600.. nothing special.. anyway, hate the interior? why? i'm a architecture/design student, and i thought they did an awesome job on interior.. when i first saw the new 7 series in detroit auto show 2 years ago, i was blown away.. i thought it was at least 5 times better than old ones!!
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