Turbos, slushboxes, SUVs—and now tape-and-stripe packages—BMW's M badge certainly ain't what it used to be, according to my post at MSN Autos Canada Passing Lane blog, or after the jump.
By John LeBlanc
When I write “BMW M”, you more than likely think of hardcore, track-ready production cars, like the original German touring car championship-inspired 1986 E30 M3 or the 1989 E34 M5 Touring, the world’s fastest wagon at the time. But with the German automaker’s continuing watering down of the once cultish M in-house motorsport division's products, is the M halo dimming?
I have to ask this because of a recent announcement that BMW will introduce its new M Performance Parts catalog at next month’s Geneva show. Not to be confused with the performance-infused M cars, these aftermarket parts have little to do with adding more “performance” to your next Bimmer. Nope. We’re talking the type of gimmicky add-ons your teenage neighbour buys at his local Canadian Tire to spruce up his mom’s Corolla, like blacked-out grilles, exhaust systems, striping kits, carbon fibre front splitters, and steering wheels.
Of course, if you’ve been following the slow dilution of BMW’s M brand, you shouldn’t be surprised. The M division once held itself to a strict design credo (no automatic gearboxes, no turbocharged engines, no all-wheel-drive, no superfluous bodywork), in vehicles that were quintessential Q-cars. But those days are long gone.
It started slowly. The first M car with a slushbox was the 2005 M5 and M6. Then the floodgates were splayed open with the arrival of the 2010 X5 and X6 M SUV models, which paved the way for the current M5 and M6 coming only with turbocharged engines and automatic transmissions.
And if that wasn’t enough to get M enthusiast questioning BMW’s handling of the M brand, along with the new M Performance Parts catalog at Geneva, we’ll also get our first glance at the new diesel-engine M cars—the BMW M550d xDrive, M550d xDrive Touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d at the Swiss show.
Gladly, these M oil-burners are not headed to Canada anytime soon.
So, over to you: Do you think products with a BMW M badge have lost their once well-earned reputation? Or do you have no problem festooning your next 3 Series with M Performance Parts that don’t actually add any “performance”?
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