Quote:
Originally Posted by mkoesel
To a select number of buyers that would add to the fun, no doubt. But we know that the number of people who want that option is shrinking steadily. We also know that this drop in demand is due in no small part to the fact that the manual transmission went from being the higher performance option (and for buyers of a sports car, sports sedan, or sports coupe, we know up front that performance going to be a pretty high priority) to being the an option that, in most cases, slightly hinders performance. It's just the normal effects of new technology as time marches on. We can't blame BMW nor any other corporation (its an industry trend - not one that is unique to BMW, after all) for eliminating features that increasingly fewer customers want.
Sure, the vehicles have grown in size, gotten heavier, and are less toss-able. I would agree that makes them less sporty. But here again, it's not limited to BMW.
|
That's what was so cool with the original 1 series, but the 1er didn't cut too much into 3 series sales. People want comfortable and tech, unfortunately, and that's why EVs (eventually self-driving) are on the horizon. The sport and technique of driving is primarily lost.