I’ve also always wanted a hatchback for practicality, but now to get it, they’re asking me to sacrifice the reason I switched to BMW in the first place. I am disappointed in the E90′s height increase, and am even more disappointed with this adventurous GT thing. Is it forward looking? Maybe, but only if enough customers adopt it to forget about the ones lost.

BMW will never build crap cars , but they are shifting away from the image they had in the 60s-90s, i.e. sports focused luxury street cars.
In the end BMW is a corporate and they will do their best to sell more cars… but it gets tricky when your main selling point is your reputation of being sporty and involved, yet 95% of your customers are looking for comfort and luxury although they get mainly attracted to the sporty image.
BMW compromised it’s main line gradually but kept the legend going by keeping the M cars rough and sporty, but now they are compromising that too.
They should listen to fans not necessarily follow what they say, The fans are the 5% who keep the image that sells the car going so a little bit of money here and their for a CSL, a 135 tii, real sport packages for all models (not a couple of spoilers and M stitching), even a Super car would balance it well for them IMO.

Agree, Clarkson is highly subjective and biased, I just quoted him here because what he said made sense to me.

When you compare BMW interiors to Japanese interiors – thats when you lost all credebility with me.

And, if you think that BMW thinks they can build crap cars and maintain sales – you’re way off again. They don’t build crap cars, but sometimes they do get some aspects wrong… like styling. I believe the previous Z4 didn’t sell because it didn’t look right.
Now, the previous Z4 got nailed by the international press for having a too hard ride. This time round, they changed it’s focus and the result is a much softer (but luxurious) ride. Now ‘fans’ nail BMW for getting soft. In return, they get very positive revues from magazine and web reports, which promotes sales and good image.

Also, if you’re saying that BMW must listen to the fans… what good will it do them, to build a few cars for a few guys – that got stuck in the past, and loose out on mega sales from a public that want newer material?

Oh, and one more point. If you seriously listen to Jeremy Clarkson and thinks his opinion is worth anything… you should reconsider your knowledge about BMW.

Fans have to criticize when they dont like something otherwise BMW will think that their brand and reputation is invulnerable and keeps capitalizing on it without maintaining it. I remember Jeremy Clarkson once said if BMW literally makes a piece of Sh*t and put BMW logo on it people will still buy it, it seems to me like BMW might believe in that to some level.

BMW cars are getting less sporty (compared to previous models, not competitors) and softer with each generation. For example the new Z4 is said to have come closer to the Mercs SLK and farther from the Porsche Boxter, and this is a clear shift in the essence of BMW brand. The build quality is also going down too, especially the interior, which makes Japanese companies like Lexus and Infinite on top of the game when it comes to the build quality and reliability.
BMW will still dominate for a while because the brand is still recognized as the icon for sport luxurious car, but this will not last forever if BMW keeps going where they are going now IMO.

What an arrogant little thing to ‘say’ to BMW – one of the top car manufacturers of our time. This is the typical thing a spoiled teen brat would say to its parents when he doesn’t get his way.

And they ARE thingking about their customers and what they want. That’s the whole reason these new GTs exist. What, do you think someone just sucked it out of their thumb and the whole company just follows blindly? Grow up! The world doesn’t revolve around you and your in-ability to adapt. And I’m not going to explaine to you how companies opperate… go study!

Rant over :)

But personally, I think the GT is okay, just make everything a bit lower (ditch the Command seating position) and you basically have a concept CS.

And if they are going to go with this hatch GT design, I say we start with the 1 Series hatch that they already made and decided not to bring to the US. That was actually a cool car and would have been a great car to put up against the A3 and the R32.

Sorry BMW, you are missing the boat with your current fans yet again.

Regardless, it was still worth writing more details on the 3 GT. I can really form an opinion until I see it, but I showed some BMW folks the following rendering, the were impressed by it also.

http://www.bmwblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bmw-3-series-gt.jpg

I was against the 5 GT also, but after seeing the car, my opinion shifted a bit.

VAG can be more cost efficient with the R8 because it is built using shared platform and components from it’s Lamborghini Division , which given the imminent digestion of Porsche is concerning many Porsche enthusiasts as to what the future holds. The R8 stems from the 2003 Le Mans Concept Car so it is not a relatively new project had the idea arisen today it would not be green lighted because of the economic situation. Cars like the R8 were conceived many years ago and are only making their way to the market.
In regards to the GT well I am here to defend it because since we began tracking our interest in newly launched models The GT has been one of the highest with the largest amount of tracking going to the X1. Not every BMW is intended for North America , we as a company make cars that will work in all markets, not every car works however as the new BMW 1er Sporthatch will not be federalized for the US Market as for every positive comment there are many more negative comments that outly the decision that the US cannot change overnight.

The GT is purely personal and in our quest for the car to be accepted we have shown the car to businesses, creative people , even having a preview in Cannes at the film festival where the car was well received. We even have hotel chains ordering their GT’s in the current line of downsizing to more cheaper and economical ways of transport. There is a customer base for the GT because we identified it just as there was a customer base for an X6 , X3 , X1 , 1er coupe and so on. In north America we see the GT as an alternative to the Touring models that do not sell in the higher numbers as they do in Europe and the UK.

If BMW go down the Supercar route then it will not be as what Audi and Mercedes-Benz have done , BMW’s idea of a car that should sit at the top of the Portfolio and bridge to Rolls-Royce is the BMW Concept CS which was cancelled last year however with many working towards have products that are aimed Post recession for people who will have serious money for a car, That BMW will have to be in this area and with the bulk of engineering and preliminary development and final designs all signed off the CS could be this car.
Seeing as the Compact class is the segment that will experience serious growth in the next few years that all attention has been turned to focus on the expansive 1er family that will showcase BMW’s penchant for compact focused sportycars for every lifestyle take shape. MINI will also expand with a Speedster and a Coupe -internally known as Broadspeed to compensate for demand in small exciting cars.
Just because BMW are not interested in following that it’s own agenda is mis-directed. You can have cars which are compact , very dynamic , great to drive in the 1er family that will respect your heritage and philosophy , you just dont have to have one to compensate that this manufacturers cars image is emphasized by one model. Which is the mistake many people do not identify or understand with BMW.

At a recent GT Q&A I met with a customer who was ordering the 530d GT. I asked him why he was ordering it and he says he likes cars that ooze individuality and personalization as it’s core attributes , he also says he likes something unchartered and exclusive when I ask what his current vehicle is he tells me he has a VW Phaeton and why he has a Phaeton is because no one else has one.

Man, next thing you know, they’ll be making the 7-series coupe, the 6-series sedan (oh wait), the Z4X, and the 5-series coupe, complete with 6-series body paneling and… you get the idea.

For some reason every time something like this comes out, I wonder why they don’t listen to what the fans want, and instead just build a bunch of random stuff. Oh well, I guess it’s “business as usual” in our world today. Still doesn’t mean I won’t love their cars and bikes.

@Jag, Porsche built the Carrera GT, many liked but only a few could buy.