Great article.
I'm reminded of a conversation I had with an old lady in Palm Beach about ten years ago. She said how different things were from when she moved there in the 60s. It all looks the same, but the people, the soul is different. And it is no lesser, no greater, just different -- "It's not my Palm Beach anymore, but I suppose it is someone's Palm Beach..."
Looking at both BMW and Mercedes, I think I can see the same thing. The buyer is starting to change. The aesthetic is different. The impression is different. The author mentions staying at the Ritz-Carlton there in Palm Springs. It was before my time, but people say the same about them -- pre and post-Marriot buyout, they're a very different company. From *THE* standard in luxury, to just another nice hotel. Perhaps Mandarin Oriental or something is more akin to ye olde Ritz. BMW is unique amongst German car companies in that they are a bit more like the Japanese companies where the clientele does a lot of work for them for free, or at least they did. Mercedes never had such people, or if they did, they were chased away by dogmatic puritans. BMW owners always sought to push the envelope, make their car better and better. I mean, look at the variety of E9s on this forum, or the extreme variety of 02s out there. There are similar people out there trying to always develop the ultimate RX7, Supra, GTR, you name it -- figuring out what works and what doesn't. It seems BMW isn't so much after those free-thinking people anymore, rather, it's just an appliance.
In the car world, I suppose this has happened many times. Bentley once upon a time had a storied racing history, then became controlled competition for Rolls Royce... now they are just VW group's attempt at competing with them. The Chrysler and Cadillac buyer of history has moved on to the Germans and Lexus, too. But look at Alfa Romeo, they're nothing like how they were. Land Rover, likewise, some time ago turned their back on the more utilitarian market that underpinned their brand, and now they're just a pretentious SUV company like everybody else. Packard alienated their core customers in the 50s by starting to make these ugly boats, then poof. Just like Brooks Brothers, honestly, alienating their core buyers -- guys who want suits -- by going in the direction some VC guy who doesn't even buy their products wants them to go towards. Lancia perhaps is one of the most tragic stories... look at where they were, and where they are, they look like some Chinese domestic market economy car.
But things change, I guess, and the Maserati buyer of 1970 is more like the 911 buyer now, and the 911 buyer of 1970 is more interested in... Lotus, maybe? Not so sure. It is too bad that it is just so difficult to start a car company now, otherwise you might see some competition from somebody somewhere, rather than pushing for the crowd-pleasing luxobarge trucks of today, just to satisfy the ever voracious appetite of shareholders.
www.roadandtrack.com
my Cayenne. I connect with another marque now, BMW lost me years ago.
