Aesthetic advice please - Poll.
- Thread starter celliott_16
- Start date
Thanks guys, just needed a sanity check thats enough for me.....
And for the record, I have never ever shoved a rolled up sock down my trousers
Put them in bin and if you think black and white will look better get some CF badges off ebay
south yorkshire
as discussed previously ///M is someth to aspire to- not cheat to!
yeah, my old 2.5 was debadged, which was nice, didn;t give anything away. My Z4MC has all teh badges, seriously thinking of debadging. As audiblescholar said, those in the know will know and those who aren't... well either i can surprise a few or it might stop the Saxo brigade trying it on.... 
csmith319 said:
Nope, not true
The first 'M' car was the M1, the mad homologation special of 1980. The next was the M535i, based on an E28 5 Series and followed later by the M5. BMW didn't let the marketing bods run wild with M badges using 'halo' technics until about 10-12 years ago, and it's gradually got worse ever since. There used to be 'SE' and "Sport' ...then Sport became 'M Sport'. Now you can buy virtually every model in the range with a smattering of M badges on wheels and interior trim (note they never put one on the back - that's either a dealer who needs a slap or the owner). Complete bastardisation of the brand....I mean there is a 318d M Sport for gods sake. 120BHP diesel. It's still a good car but the M branding is daft.
In the UK now something like 60% of BMW 5 and 3 Series cars are sold in 'Sport (M Sport)' spec. Interestingly though in the US, market it doesn't exist (bodykit, wheels, etc). Buy a 335i out there and it looks like an SE whatever trim you buy. Apparently they do it to up sell US consumers into 'real' M cars - if you want the looks you have to pay - and so as not to confuse / damage the brand image. The E46 had a model called the ZHP towards the end of it's live that had our 'M Sport' body styling and it sold like hot cakes. Using the M brand so liberally has been ok so far but long term....could ruin it. Audi don't do it with the RS brand, they have 'S Line' for their equivalent of BMWs 'M Sport'. Much more sensible.
(For the record, I actually had an E46 330 M Sport so not being bias here - fabulous car but not an M car just because it had a few bits of M trim...)
[/rant]
martinb1966
Member
Is it an ///M NO ! SO NO BADGES ! be proud of the car you have !
You're right - mis-read a magazine last month about the M535 (as they implied that the changes were so small they weren't really like today's M cars - engine from the 7 series and a suspension tweak, rather than a bespoke engine and full on chassis updates. But in reality it was a proper M car, just a more tentative introduction on their normal range. However, the E28 M535 really was like todays M Sport models - only trim and suspension changes).mikedav said:csmith319 said:
Nope, not true
The first 'M' car was the M1, the mad homologation special of 1980. The next was the M535i, based on an E28 5 Series and followed later by the M5. BMW didn't let the marketing bods run wild with M badges using 'halo' technics until about 10-12 years ago, and it's gradually got worse ever since. There used to be 'SE' and "Sport' ...then Sport became 'M Sport'. Now you can buy virtually every model in the range with a smattering of M badges on wheels and interior trim (note they never put one on the back - that's either a dealer who needs a slap or the owner). Complete bastardisation of the brand....I mean there is a 318d M Sport for gods sake. 120BHP diesel. It's still a good car but the M branding is daft.
In the UK now something like 60% of BMW 5 and 3 Series cars are sold in 'Sport (M Sport)' spec. Interestingly though in the US, market it doesn't exist (bodykit, wheels, etc). Buy a 335i out there and it looks like an SE whatever trim you buy. Apparently they do it to up sell US consumers into 'real' M cars - if you want the looks you have to pay - and so as not to confuse / damage the brand image. The E46 had a model called the ZHP towards the end of it's live that had our 'M Sport' body styling and it sold like hot cakes. Using the M brand so liberally has been ok so far but long term....could ruin it. Audi don't do it with the RS brand, they have 'S Line' for their equivalent of BMWs 'M Sport'. Much more sensible.
(For the record, I actually had an E46 330 M Sport so not being bias here - fabulous car but not an M car just because it had a few bits of M trim...)
[/rant]
Anyway, It's pretty catagorical - no, don't put additional M badges on your car. I don't think BMW's marketing approach will damage it - people who want the real thing know what it is. Mercedes puts AMG badges on its sport models (and has done for a long long time) for example. However - what they fail to do is create a proper sub-M performance brand - i really think the 130i suffered from this - it was a special little car, but to the uninformed it was just another 1 series - they failed to make it deffierent enough to compete with the Golf GTI / R32.
