Chinese Problem-plagued BMW vehicle.........

[kmacleod]

CHINA: Problem-plagued BMW turned into three donkey-power version by angry owner
07 Sep 2004
Source: just-auto.com editorial team

Outraged by a problematic BMW luxury car, the owner tied three donkeys to the vehicle and attempted to drag it thousands of kilometres from Beijing to Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

A report carried by the Hindustan Times said the donkey train started its trek trailed by the BMW 760i sedan as well as several people walking and carrying white banners that read: "Who can solve quality flaws with BMWs?"

Traffic police halted the donkey team, which drew a large crowd of onlookers, after only 40 minutes.

Lin reportedly said he decided to arrange the donkey drive as it seemed the cheapest way to get the car to Hangzhou, and secondly, he wanted to draw public attention to "how BMW treats customers."

Full article here:

just-auto.com

Ken

[someguy]

Oh Man. That is so sad, this guy has problems with it BMW.
I Own a 2002 BMW 540i and has been completely falwless, since the day I bought it.

Well, I Guess every car line has its lemons.

[SmallBlock]

Just what BMW needs as it's trying to establish it's identity in China.

I guess the Chinese just aren't smart enough to figure out the new BMW electronic stuff either.

But in the words of some BMW Suit: "We're just going to have to get used to it."

And the fall of BMW continues...

[SUPERBADD75]

Just what BMW needs as it's trying to establish it's identity in China.

I guess the Chinese just aren't smart enough to figure out the new BMW electronic stuff either.

But in the words of some BMW Suit: "We're just going to have to get used to it."

And the fall of BMW continues...

exactly how is BMW falling. the X3 is quite popular, as the 7 series has been, despite mixed reviews on the styling and i-Drive. that's stupid to say BMW is falling. they are just as popular as they have been.

[BigAls87Z28]

I dunno... I have talked to many unhappy BMW owners. I like the 7 and the Z4, and the 5 could use some work on thoes headlights, but outside of the X3, BMW hasnt had any huge success. They dont want to talk abouta ll teh 7 series they had to buy back. Reviews of teh car seem to get worse. Recently, the 7 took LAST place in a comparo. I was very surprised.

And in China, which will be come the largest car market in the world, BMW getting a bad image now is not a good idea.

[zaxxis]

Originally posted by SUPERBADD75@Sep 8 2004, 03:28 PM
exactly how is BMW falling. the X3 is quite popular, as the 7 series has been, despite mixed reviews on the styling and i-Drive. that's stupid to say BMW is falling. they are just as popular as they have been.

It really helps when your buyers are mindless sheep and happily drink the BMW Kool-Aid.

A co-worker of mine traded in his _sweet_ M3 in for a run of the mill 5-Series. His reason? The M3 was several years old and he wanted a new car, but didn't want to buy a 2004 3-series based on the same platform as his M3. (After seeing the new 3, he's already planning on getting it)

He HATES the I-Drive. He HATES both the exterior and interior, yet he still bought one? WHY? He's a sheep. "It's a BMW". The only thing he enjoyed was doing the "pick up the car at the factory, drive it for a week and wait 3 months for overseas delivery" thing BMW has going.

As for sales, the CARS have been down. I don't have latest figures, but as of May 04 cars were down by 3500 from 2003 and the ONLY reason sales overall where up was due to the release of the X3. [source: www.autospies.com]

-Z

[crazywop112]

Donkeys LOL. They don't have the blind love for german cars that some americans have. Just because it is German doesn't make it a good car.

[mbukukanyau]

Originally posted by zaxxis+Sep 8 2004, 03:51 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (zaxxis @ Sep 8 2004, 03:51 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-SUPERBADD75@Sep 8 2004, 03:28 PM
exactly how is BMW falling. the X3 is quite popular, as the 7 series has been, despite mixed reviews on the styling and i-Drive. that's stupid to say BMW is falling. they are just as popular as they have been.

It really helps when your buyers are mindless sheep and happily drink the BMW Kool-Aid.

A co-worker of mine traded in his _sweet_ M3 in for a run of the mill 5-Series. His reason? The M3 was several years old and he wanted a new car, but didn't want to buy a 2004 3-series based on the same platform as his M3. (After seeing the new 3, he's already planning on getting it)

He HATES the I-Drive. He HATES both the exterior and interior, yet he still bought one? WHY? He's a sheep. "It's a BMW". The only thing he enjoyed was doing the "pick up the car at the factory, drive it for a week and wait 3 months for overseas delivery" thing BMW has going.

As for sales, the CARS have been down. I don't have latest figures, but as of May 04 cars were down by 3500 from 2003 and the ONLY reason sales overall where up was due to the release of the X3. [source: www.autospies.com]

-Z [/b][/quote]
I respect BMW for being daring and copying the Aztek. That is not easy. GM was condemned for the Aztek, now is BMW’s turn.
People still buy the Aztek




Do you see the similarity in design, especially headlights?

[SmallBlock]

exactly how is BMW falling. the X3 is quite popular, as the 7 series has been, despite mixed reviews on the styling and i-Drive. that's stupid to say BMW is falling. they are just as popular as they have been.

Okay, let's see how "stupid" my assertion is.

BMW portrays itself as making the Ultimate Driving Machine. Its core products are dynamically engaging sedans and coupes that are supposedly without peer. They've always been lauded for making cars that seem to "read your mind". The latest round of vehicles from BMW, in my driving opnion, have lost a fair amount of that same feeling that made BMW's so special. They used to be visceral. They used to be more about the act of driving, and less about the comforts.

They are now less about "reading your mind", and more about "telling your mind what to think".

And this is being borne out in the latest sales figures for its core products (sedans and coupes).

3-series
2004 YTD 63777
2003 YTD 68924
Drop of 8%

5 series
2004 YTD 25743
2003 YTD 28523
Drop of 10%

7 Series
2004 YTD 9652
2003 YTD 11530
Drop of 16%

Z4 (Brand New)
2004 YTD 8670
2003 YTD 11500
Drop of 25%

These are BMW's bread and butter vehicles. The Bangle styling is turning people off. The electronics are turning people away. The lack of service to fix the electronics is causing those that did buy a BMW to never do it again.

This is how you start to erode market share. Thus, my "stupid" assertion that BMW is declining.

[khanhdom]

Originally posted by mbukukanyau@Sep 8 2004, 11:25 AM

Do you see the similarity in design, especially headlights?

GASP!

[jro4566]

Aren't BMW sales up though? I mean if they're falling, how can they still be selling well???

Anyways, more good news for Cadillac in China!

[usa1]

Good post Smallblock!

I agree wholeheartedly that BMW has lost it. It's just starting to show up in its sales. The word is getting out that the new cars are ugly and the iDrive is a pain in the a$$ with no value add. The new 7, 6, 5, and 4 are all odd looking in their own way. None of them are pretty IMO. The new 3 looks OK from the outside, but the iDrive lurks inside to annoy owners.

The fact that BMW seemed unconcerned with what people are saying about these things tells you A LOT about BMWs future prospects. Pride goeth before a fall as they say.

Mark

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Whatever happened to the good BMW. The BMW that everone at least could respect.

The BMW's that were well constructed and reliable, and were known as the essence of "l'agrement de conduite".

Whatever happened to the M6?

[72lemanscvbl]

You ever tried to control 3 donkeys with I-Drive?

[benjamin]

Thats pretty funny about the donkeys. Its a shame, too; the 760Li is a really cool car. Even the trunk lid has grown on me, although I'm anxious to see the next generation.

I think many of the problems that BMW cars have are related to the convergence of cars with more advanced computers. It isn't easy to integrate such complicated machines with computers, particularly at a time when the company is undergoing a radical change in design philosophy. Change is hard.

Then, of course, there's a point to be made that they should have more slowly brought the technology to market, after much more testing had been done. An internal problem that renders a $120,000 sedan inoperable is inexcusable. That Chinese guy should get a new car, pronto.

Regarding the M6: there's a new one on the way, allegedly sharing the powertrain from the new V10 M5.

As for the 6-series design being copied from the Aztek -- sorry guy, you're out to lunch. The overall shape of the headlights is similar, but the configuration is different. The similarities end there.