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It is a huge mistake for them. Vehicle's aren't aspirational because they are a good value, comfortable, or luxurious. Nobody of the current generation that is buying a BMW lusted after a Lexus. Vehicles are aspirational because they are cool, fast, sexy, and drool-worth. Young professionals that are old enough to buy a BMW want them because they are marketed as the ultimate driving machine - there is a bit of a cachet that goes with them that says, "I'm not a 70 year old grandpa in a lexus - I am young and value performance." There is a reason BMW polls better with the younger crowd than lexus and Cadillac do, and that is their entire corporate identity.
That is now lost. There is really nothing drool-worth about most new BMWs. Brands like Mercedes and Cadillac are subtly shifting towards more driver oriented cars, and I believe that will pay off in the future and leave BMW holding the bag. BMW doesn't understand that these decisions have a lag time on them - they are still selling well based off of their reputation. Even your average "joe dad" knows that BMW is always on the car and driver best car list.
But another 10 years of losing reviews to the competition will take a toll. New customers who would be buying BMWs in 5-10 years will grow used to seeing Mercedes, Cadillac, and Audi winning comparisons based on driving dynamics and lust factor. They will grow up wanting those cars, not BMWs.
BMW - the Cadillac of the future.
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