BMW has finally had enough of the bad reviews and steps to defend its high-volume 3-Series model after consumers and journalists continue to bash it repeatedly with bad reviews and ratings.
As effective as guerilla marketing is, it has the potential to easily overshadow any amount of positive press the German automaker can spin up in defense of the 3-Series, so rather than come around the backside with a roundabout response to the negative reviews, BMW has put a fist down and acknowledged the overwhelming opposition with a simple, direct statement, “I [don’t] want to hear that sh*t anymore.”
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The statement was delivered by Klau Frohlich, the company’s development chief, at the Paris motor show as the newly-designed G20 was making its debut, reported by Motoring. The premise of his defense is in response to a reoccurring theme that’s been trending amongst BMW enthusiasts — the common mantra; the E46 CLS was the last real 3-Series the company had produced (fourth generation 3-Series, 1997-2006).
Understandably, it’s hard, from a company point of view, to keep out-performing with every succession in a design sequence, and it’s unreasonable to assume it should be the case. However logical, this rebuttal isn’t enough to curb a rising tide of unsatisfied fans who see the 3-Series line not living up to their world-class expectations. Those expectations however, are monumental. A brief internet query will find an overwhelming amount of supporting evidence that the highly-subjective matter of opinion sways heavily in favor of the E46 M3, which has been dubbed the “best performance car BMW has ever built,” by BMW Blog.
To counter this negative fanfare, BMW is getting aggressive with the changes made to the new 3-Series that also need to stay abreast with Jaguar, Alfa Romero, and Mercedes Benz. BMW is fighting fires on both sides and Frohlich says the "dynamics’ [have] achieved the intended results.” Those results, ambiguously balled up in its alleged ability to "drive fast and completely relaxed…[not feeling] how fast you are [going].” What that is intended to mean is up for speculation but the car is said to now be produced with a litany of more sturdy materials throughout, making it "solid, like a rock.”
Time will tell if the in-depth overhaul of the 3-Series will hit its mark. Enhancements like a stiffer bulkhead design engineered to be 50 percent more rigid will aid comfort and hopefully boost the quality of the impression the G20 leaves with its demanding consumers. An alternative debate would side with the automaker with questions of just how realistic expectations have become for the 3-Series, but BMW has taken the bait regardless; from the way it sounds, a stunningly-brilliant 3-Series is set to blow expectations back up to the lofty levels of the stratosphere they descended from since the E46.