I found this on the internet, lloks awesome http://www.autospies.com/images/users/Agent001/BMW X5 M X6 M April 4th 2009.pdf
A sport utility vehicle with an M badge? A shameful diminishing of a branding. The same company that wouldn't put an M badge on the 850 CSI seems to be willing to put it on anything that they can shove a bigger engine into. Too bad. They spent so much time, money, and marketing energy on the M moniker. Couldn't they have picked a different branding? My M6 and M3 will be the last BMWs I purchase.
One final thought on the M brand. This is the same management that won't put an M badge on the one series because they are 'saving' that M1 moniker for their super car. Which is more worthy? A one series or an SUV? I shake my head at the wasteful use of a high performance, track oriented, highly desirable branding. Just to get a few extra dollars at the expense of the image. They are lost, truly lost on this issue.
The reason is very simple. It is modern day MBA-think which is focused 100% on the short term while paying lip-service to the long term (i.e. see 2007-2008 for the results in the economy) -- whereby you are so desperate for short term gains as a corporation that you suck out the customer goodwill it took decades to create in a few short quarters. They aren't being driven by what made BMW great any longer. In fact, they are standing on that mound of customer goodwill even while it is shaking and moving like Jello under their feet. However, I think the majority of pure BMW enthusiasts, many of which are CCA club members, are NOT the market BMWNA has in mind for these "products" and many others. Thankfully they still do stuff like offer an manual tranny in much of the product line, but at the same time eliminate essentials like a limited slip diff option on non-M cars (well, at least I consider it an essential item) and even go so far as to eliminate the differential drain plug on these open diffs they're slapping on cars these days. Sigh...
M=Money Most of the buyers Of M branded Suvs are only Buying For The Status Symbol. Let BMW make some Dough Off People with more money than sense. 3 years down the Road they will have lost 50% in value. Then I can buy one and wring the snot out of It. Its not what you drive. Its how you drive it: 1995 E34 530iT .Dinan Chip. bilsteins eibachs 2001 Toyota Tacoma
They should have picked something other than "M" for that type of sporty SUV. Despite the monster engines that translate into quick acceleration, it is the diminishing of the brand from a race/track vehicle that bothers me.
It's sad when you look back at the wonderful E30 M3, the gorgeous E24 M635Csi and the stealthy E28 and E34 M5s and then see what M has become today. Not to knock the current M3, which is spectacular, and the wonderful M5 but thanks to the X6 Aztek M, it's clear that the direction they're taking is leaning towards ///Marketing. And funny how they said there would never be an M7 because it went against the Motorsports philosophy but now they're all too excited about taking the Aztek and slapping a huge engine and an ///M badge on it.
