X6 M is Blasphemy!!

I just saw the link from Roundel News on the new X6 M. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVuhD2zLF0

Now call me a ludite or whatever you want. But a 5,000 lb AWD truck should never have an M/// on the trunk! Not to mention the multi turbo charged engine. I know M has stood for marketing for years now, but this to me is in just one word, Blasphemy!!!

Thanks for listening to my rant!

Yes, Satch, I agree there is a market for this kind of very fast tonnage! It is amazing what MB does with their AMG SUVs, particularly the G-Wagon version! However, can't BMW just call it an "is" like they did with the X5 4.6is and 4.8is. Those are both pretty cool trucks, I can admit that. But to call them an M? At least the M535i was at least a manual trans and RWD. But, yes that also was not a true M. I guess it was just a matter of time before the MX6 arrived. Although, didn't Mazda beat them to that model?

I think that shortly it will be very hard to buy a new BMW without turbocharging.

I know the end of truly fantastic naturally aspirated engines is approaching every day. The current M3, M5, & M6 are probably the last. May we have a moment of silence please.

How quickly people forget.
I can remember when people gasped at the notion of the X5.
A SUV???? BMW??? What has the world come to?

Yea, and I still don't like em.

Now BMW is coming out with a wagon/hatchback thing. Small Van? Not really sure what it is. These vehicles appeal to the mainstream. Which is obviously good for BMW's bottom line. I can't fault them for that, it is what keeps them going. But it in my mind it kind of dilutes the brand. They are trying to be everything to everybody. Look where that got other manufactures. It is important to stick to what you are good at and do that to the best of your capabilities.

Okay I will get off my soapbox now!

The X6 M can't be a true M vehicle, right? It must be an M sport or trim package with some software tuning of the AWD systems and engine management systems. The traditional lore is that no BMW gets the M designation unless BMW races a version of the vehicle in motorsport competition. So unless BMW has started racing SUVs (uhhh, I mean SAVs), this must be something less than a true M vehicle... I hope.

And I agree that BMW has muddied the market and devalued the M moniker by offering "M Sport Packages" on vehicles like the X5.

I am not so sure, but I hope you are right. In the UK BMW offers M branding on lesser cars. Kind of like Audi's S-line here. Again I think it dilutes the brands. Just look at Mercedes-Benz AMG. They diluted it so much that now they have to offer an AMG Black Series. I mean cut the marketing crap. If they would of just stuck to keeping AMG pure, then they wouldn't have had to come up with Black-Series. I mean what is that anyway? Since MB got black, I guess BMW will have to use Red-Series.

you can still snap up some S54s out there in the z4 Ms

Yes the Z4 Ms are truly great machines. European Car has had one as a project car for about a year now. Nothing to crazy, but I have enjoyed following the progress.

I would love to buy a new one, but it is just not in the cards.

"Now BMW is coming out with a wagon/hatchback thing."

I saw the press about the wagon/hatchback thing a.k.a. the "5 Series Gran Tourismo," but wagon/hatchback a better name. Unfortunately, Toyota brought that concept to market first when it released the Venza a couple months ago.

I will be first in line to buy the first $70k Venza from BMW. Anyone want to join me?

It's All Gloom and Doom!

You guys are still too funny. If it ain't like the 'Old' BMW, it's diluted or not a 'Real M' - Oh and the infamous, "Where's the manual." I am so glad we all know and heard the saying, "Opinions are like a$$holes, everyone has one!!"

This direction of BMW 2010 and beyond is not that all bad... Somehow I hear your disagreement and though you all talk about practicality, your older models you love and adore are practically dinosaurs and are being out paced (in every category) by Nissan's, Kia's, Hyndai's and Honda's but I guess you still prefer what you call 'Pure'.

It's really not that bad IMHO. See, I have an A$$hole just like you.

It's even funnier that you revived a thread that was over 20 months dead.

I get worried every time I see this kind of closed-minded thinking

What some people refuse to realize is that car companies have to make MONEY. It may not be what you or I would buy, but if an X3, X5, X6 buyer means that BMW can keep on making 1-series M's, M3's, M5's and what have you, God bless 'em.

Which would you rather have? A BMW that still keeps their doors open and people working by making, selling, and servicing these vehicles? Or would you rather own a car with a name like Duesenburg, Packard, Desoto, or Studebaker?

Not everyone has to buy what you do, but please stop trashing other people and other BMW vehicles that somebody else finds essential to their needs. Not everyone feels the need to try and stuff five or six people (or cargo) on the back of a Z4.

I find the X5 and X6 vehicles (M and non-M alike) attractive, well designed and innovative, even if it's not what I myself would park in my garage. I could just as well say the same about any other BMW produced after 2001.

BMW already has plenty of controversy (the run flat tire debate, the missing dipsticks, the x35's that keep eating fuel pumps) but that doesn't mean I want to see the company fail for making product decisions I disagree with.

It may not be what I would buy, but that doesn't mean I object to someone else having it.

Thank you Satch.

Even my 23 year old "relic" still has much more use for a viable BMW company than for one that has closed its doors.

If the price of MY car being supported (as well as everyone else's) means an X5/X5-M or X6/X6-M being in BMW's product portfolio, I wish the Roundel folks well.