Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinGS
BMW is luxury. It's a sportier version of a Lexus. But it's still a luxury-based vehicle.
So, when you that great steering feel is "preferable", it's preferable to who? Most BMW owners aren't longing for the days of excellent feedback through the steering wheel. It's a select few. Us.
Do you think most BMW owners want to 'feel the road' as they're driving around town running errands? I'd venture to guess that most simply want an isolated, luxurious experience (just like a Lexus), but they bought the BMW because of prestige and aesthetics and some semblance of a more sporty driving experience when they occasionally want it.
The future is electric-assisted steering, and it's going to take a few model generations before it's perfected...hec, Porsche is still tinkering and tweaking their's too.
In the meantime, BMW is in the business of selling and/or leasing as many cars as possible. The few customers they lose because of the loss of steering feel pales in comparison to the ones they gain because of all their advanced technology giving way to a more "luxurious" experience (more luxurious than even Lexus at times).
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As they said, possibly a good business decision as a whole but from the enthusiast standpoint they don't like it. Also tough to go away from what made you great and towards what everyone else does and still remain different and premium. I see less reason to select their product over others as they remove the reasons I used to buy it and once it drives like a Lexus I might as well buy a Lexus as the price and reliability are better.
Pretty much what happens to most major chain restaurants, spicy food isn't very spicy, most flavors are muted, they don't worry about the fringe consumer and just focus on the overall population and selling to the masses. This is essentially what you end up with when you survey a large number of people, very few really like very spicy food so take it off the menu (get hot wings at Applebee's and realize most don't want them hot).
Seems like the correct "packages" could provide everything to everyone. Magazines would only be provided with the "Sport" package, they would love the steering feel, weight of the steering and firmer suspension, enthusiasts would buy it and mainstream buyers could get the standard car.