Cadillac has a serious image problem

"LJ909" (lj909) 12/29/2015 at 02:31 • Filed to: None

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And it’s with the affluent, the customer base that the Germans have a lock down on. We’ve all probably known about this, but I heard it first hand from customers in this affluent market base that Cadillac is trying to win over.

I spent this past weekend visiting family in Beverly Hills and hanging out in the other wealthy and upper class areas of Los Angeles. While around, I saw not one current or from a few years back Cadillac, save for a few current gen Escalades. Its crazy I saw more Rolls Royce Ghosts and Mercedes S600 Maybachs and not a single CTS or ATS-V. Some people might say these people aren’t cross shopping those and of course they aren’t. But that’s not what I’m getting at. This is an area crawling regularly with M5’s and S7’s and AMG everything. But American luxury? Nowhere to be found. And I found out why.

I gathered my info from various people I saw around town: cafe’s, Pavilions grocery store, the park etc. All in all, I got opinions from 15 different people who surprisingly weren’t against talking to me about this. Even a few married couples. Here’s what a few said they thought about Cadillac and what kind of vehicles they drove:

Married couple. S6. I asked them If they had cross shopped and looked at any Cadillac’s: “ We looked at the ATS-V briefly. My wife thought it was too small. I thought it was good for a first try from Cadillac in that class of vehicle ( 3 Series) but overall the quality wasn’t there for the price tag to me. On top of that, back east we had an STS back in the late 90’s. Memories of that car alone make me want to avoid Cadillac.”

Single guy. M5. Asked if he cross shopped the CTS-V: “ I did actually. The car has incrediable power. But honestly, the brand is too tarnished to me to be taken seriously. They have barley started to play ball with the rest of the world and that’s kind of embarrassing from an American ingenuity standpoint. I was turned off by the dealership experience as well. When I take my M5 in for service, I get treated like I’m an M driver. I feel like the experience with the CTS would be as if it was a Chevy dealer, and I was driving around in a Cruz or something”.

Married couple. S600. I asked them If they would consider a Cadillac if they came out with a comparable S class fighting vehicle: “No. Absolutely not. Gm has the know how to do so, but they aren’t there yet. Hell look at the heating issues that they are having with the so called super car beater the new ZO6. A buddy of mine is going through the ringer with his since he actually tracks it on the weekend. But no, I would not buy a full size luxury Cadillac. The brand is too tarnished to go to that level. To me its already pretty ballsy of them to be asking 100k for the CTS-V.”

Married couple. current gen M3 Sedan in that nice ass bright blue color. I asked them if they had looked at the ATS-V:” We did. But it just wasn’t there for me with it. There’s no brand cache behind the Cadillac badge anymore. If I had bought it and told some of my other buddies who all drive S, AMG and M, I would probably get laughed at. They aren’t respected in performance or luxury car circles at all from what I know. Why do you think you don’t see any running around? And I’m talking personally. Not within you know, the actual halls of the brand. I’m just talking regionally and locally. I could give you a few reasons why. For one, the dealership experience is horrible. My wife said she felt like we had walked into one of those stereotypical car dealer ships with the fast talking sales people. I felt the same thing. I don’t want to feel that way when I’m dropping 80 grand on a car. Probably had something to do with the fact they they share the same lots a lot of time with the non luxury brands. There’s no catered to feeling. Also, Cadillac is too corporate and there’s too much parts sharing with the upper models. A dedicated platform means nothing if your parts sharing buttons and knobs in your 100 grand car with a 25 grand car”.

That was just a few of the people I had talked too.What I got from this though is a few things: the dealership experience throws luxury car buyers off and isn’t comparable to the other luxury brands;the quality isn’t there for these people and they don’t see the cars as being worth the price tags;the brands tarnished and past vehicle experiences have alienated these repeat customers; and the brand is a joke and not respected at all. These are serious problems that GM needs to correct. They need to speak to actual customers and not do what they think enthusiasts and customers wants because it clearly isn’t working.

JustDauKee > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 02:39

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Lamborghini has an image problem....

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 02:42

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the last guy on this list I found to be hilarious.

he thinks that Cadillac sharing parts between the base ATS and an ATS-V is bad, when his M3 interior shares most of it’s components with that of a 328i.

Also, if you’re buying a car for it’s brand image, and not it’s performance, then your priorities are out-of-whack.

Who cares if the ATS-V isn’t as “fawnseh” as an M3? every professional car reviewer has said they are top-notch drivers machines; that kill BMW at their own game.

JustDauKee > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 02:42

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In their defence you can’t just magically rub out a decade’s worth of bad history. I think their new products are certainly a good start in the right direction.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > JustDauKee 12/29/2015 at 02:50

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Audi in the US kinda rubbed out their ‘bad’ history/reputation.

JustDauKee > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 12/29/2015 at 02:55

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what Cadillac is trying to do I suppose

Birddog > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 03:00

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Cadillac is doing fine and has been for a while Johan Jr.

Buick is the one with an elder issue.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > JustDauKee 12/29/2015 at 03:10

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Only time will tell.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 12/29/2015 at 03:31

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Pretty much exactly this. I also think it depends on location. Down here in Texas, the Big German 3 are pretty popular, but so are American brands. Down here, performance and aftermarket > brand image.

pip bip - choose Corrour > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 03:31

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interesting.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 03:56

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Or... you proved the other brands have customer image problems, whereby they’re assholes more concerned with the brand than the cars themselves.

DipodomysDeserti > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 12/29/2015 at 05:46

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When you’re spending $60k+ on a car, you take other factors along with performance into account. Not that this kid actually walked around interviewing people in BH about their car purchases. Someone driving an S600 Maybach doesn’t give a shit what Cadillac has to offer.

Sam > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 12/29/2015 at 06:37

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But when you’re spending $100k+ on a car it becomes somewhat okay again.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 07:41

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Didn’t the Nyscchhennnnn guy want to break out Cadillac dealers separately from the rest of GM? He's making more and more sense.

Scott > JustDauKee 12/29/2015 at 08:05

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Yes exactly. Cadillac had a bad reputation. Now it is working its way back up, offering cars that are not just for seniors that are about to loose their license do to their age. Younger people are slowly coming around to Cadillac. Personally I’ve been burned a few too many times by GM to trust them yet. But that said I think where Cadillac was 1 or 2 decades ago, and where they are now, they clearly have made the changes and are going in the right direction. While I rarely see new Cadillac’s, those few people who I know that own a Cadillac, are a little further down the price range than the people you talked to. Personally if I was shopping a Cadillac, I would probably compare it base models, but not to the sportier, higher end R, RS, or M or AMG cars. To me it suffers the problem the Phaeton had. If your spending that kind of money do you want a VW badge no matter how good the car is. Do you really want a GM no matter how good the specific car is. There is a price range in which the answer is yes, but exceed that range and you have a lot of hard selling to do, and has to be way better than the competition, not just competitive.

Your boy, BJR > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 08:25

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Breaking: Beverly Hills residents turn out to be pretentious assholes.

That's gonna leave a mark! > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 12/29/2015 at 08:27

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No news there, still they buy cars. Since when can Cadillac (or any other high end maker) afford to say “ we want only well adjusted, nice, intelligent owners. Others need not apply”?

deekster_caddy > Birddog 12/29/2015 at 08:42

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Buick has a serious identity crisis. Their range of vehicles is too small, and there isn’t much that separates them from a ‘nicely appointed Chevy’. With Caddy at least you should see that you are getting something totally different from Chevy.

deekster_caddy > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 12/29/2015 at 08:48

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Time heals I guess, but I still see German cars and think ‘really expensive electrical gremlins’ or think about the Audi timing chain nightmare job. As a DIYer for everything I can, I guess I'm out of the $100k car market anyhow.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > deekster_caddy 12/29/2015 at 09:01

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Most new car buyers/leasers don’t give these things too much thoughts. The badge is what matters and that’s where Cadillac is failing.

qbeezy > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 09:13

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I understand everything they’re saying. I’m not saying I’m anywhere near their purchasing power, but I cross shopped an ATS once with a couple other cars. The dealer experience was horrid. I got better service from a Hyundai dealer... I was treated like I was buying a sonic, not a Cadillac.

hike > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 09:24

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This is actually pretty interesting. Great write up.

I’m not too surprised by this. When I worked at a Mercedes dealer, people were really just coming to us for their purchases because of the name, whether it was a CLA or an S-class. People generally crossed shopped us with BMW, but very rarely Cadillac. Did get quite a few Cadillac trades though.

As for the service aspects, that's why Hyundai made sure people knew about the concierge service when the launched the equus. High end cars buyers get special treatment every where they shop because they spend big money. They don't expect anything different for their cars either. It's one thing I'm afraid of FCA mucking up when they finally launch the Giulia.

marshknute > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 09:33

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It’s interesting, I don’t like SUVs, but I absolutely love the Escalade. And not coincidentally, the Escalade is the only Cadillac that is still an in-your-face, out of my way peasant, Elvis Presley kind of luxury car. The fact that you glossed over it so easily shows just how much GM’s marketing department has lost sight of what always made Cadillac special.

Cadillac always defined itself as the luxury brand for people who want to be seen. People who want to make a statement. The Escalade makes one hell of a statement. As would a Ciel or Elmiraj if GM ever grew the balls to put them into production. Step out of one of those two concepts, and everyone can’t help but think, “Wow, isn’t he a magnificent bastard!”

Unfortunately, GM is trying to become a credible German rival by making performance luxury sedans. It’s perfectly fine to have a car like that in their lineup, but they’re marketing the ATS-V and CTS-V as their halo cars, when the Ciel/Elmiraj should be leading the charge. Look at how Porsche markets itself: a track-proven sports car manufacturer that predominantly sells luxury sedans/CUVs.

I’d much rather own a CTS from the company that makes unashamed chrome-clad luxury barges than buy a CTS from the company making (very good) German knock-offs.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > JustDauKee 12/29/2015 at 09:41

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Its owners are primarily teeny-boppers who are spoiled brats, and run them into trees/ditches?

LJ909 > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch 12/29/2015 at 09:44

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I would say both. But more so with Cadillac since they are trying to establish themselves as standard of the world. They priced themselves to fight with the big boys, now they need to sort out their problems.

LJ909 > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 12/29/2015 at 09:46

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I just remember reading somewhere last year (?) that they wanted to improve the customer services at the dealers. It would seem that breaking the Cadillac dealers off by themselves would be the place to start.

jkm7680 > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 09:47

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Cadillac is trying too hard. There, I said it.

They’re trying to turn from a brand of luxury full sized cars into a collective of useless performance. While Cadillac has come a long way, they aren’t quite there yet.

Compared to any German luxury car, the XTS felt cheap. Even though everything on the interior was soft touch, it still felt sub par. The annoying high pitched whine of the 3.6 in itself would drive me mad.

Alfisto > That's gonna leave a mark! 12/29/2015 at 09:54

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Yup. Those customers would be the middle-class riff raff that can’t afford Cadillacs to begin with.

LJ909 > qbeezy 12/29/2015 at 09:58

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And therein lies the problem. Some of of these people, like the ones I didn’t write in, were obviously nit picking and complaining about stuff only people with a lot of money complain about. But the majority of them mentioned the dealer service and that’s going to have to change big time. No one wants to buy a luxury car from a dealer that’s sharing the show room with a 25k Encore.

BringBackTheCommodore > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:00

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“ A dedicated platform means nothing if your parts sharing buttons and knobs in your 100 grand car with a 25 grand car”

That’s what seemed to spell doom from the outset for the Shelby Series 1, and review after review I read of the Series 1 stated the same thing - they didn’t like the corporate switchgear in a 6-figure sports car.

When looking at a luxury marque, no one in that market wants a dressed-up Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. Driving dynamics and solid build quality be damned, they want something very highly specialized, a way to say, ‘Yes, I’ve arrived,’ even if that new shiny Benz or BMW will tank in value in just a couple of years.

Azrek > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:04

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As an M driver I’ve gotten no better treatment at any of the BMW Dealers I’ve taken my car too in order to get serviced. The same as an S driver when I had my S4. Where are these fabled places?! I’d like to know...heard rumors of them.

I was a huge fan of the Maserati Giblet and their dealership, but it was Paddle Shifters only and I am not ready to part with my friend Manuel.

However, as a giant fan of the Pirelli World Challenge, Cadillac dominates the track against everyone.....EVERYONE...*In best Gary Oldman voice*.

LJ909 > hike 12/29/2015 at 10:05

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Thanks. I was surprised at the fact these people actually wanted to talk about this stuff. But the lack of people cross shopping Cadillac with the other brands should tell you a lot and it’s sad, mostly because Cadillac finally has competitive vehicles that can go with the worlds best, and no one notices or cares. But they only have themselves to blame for getting to the party late.

Like I said before, the service part was a big thing for these people and GM needs to start there. I’m not too worried about Alfa and their service. A lot of the dealerships are going to be in high end areas unless people have a problem with the service at the ones combined with Fiat stores.

Soitgoes26 > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:11

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The problem is Martin Cadillac, the closest dealer to Beverly Hills. Total skeezebags of the old-school. Even the building is retro and not in a good way. Mercedes of BH and BMW of BH (located well outside of the city limits) run circles around Martin...it’s beyond laughable. If Cadillac wants to conquer this market, they’d better get a dealer that doesn’t look like they also sells used mattresses.

ranwhenparked > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 12/29/2015 at 10:17

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Luxury cars are pretty much entirely about image, if they weren’t, the LS would be called a Toyota.

ranwhenparked > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:28

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What I find interesting is that pretty much all of them are aware that Cadillac has come up in the world and did do at least a cursory cross check on the ATS or CTS. GM seems to have what they need to pull affluent, coastal, buyers in the door, they just can’t close the sale once they’re in.

That all goes back to the dealer experience. High pressure salesman, dirty lounges, no customer service/coddling - throw in the cheesy local commercials and the fact that some are still putting carriage roofs and pinstripes on cars, and there’s the problem.

There probably are some lingering quality issues. I don’t know that Cadillac’s interiors are a huge step down from the Germans, but I could accept that they may not be exactly as good. GM’s already addressing that, though. Every new car is better than the last one and closer to parity.

At this point, it is mostly an image problem, and it seems the dealers are the main source of it. Fix that, and everything else will go away.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > marshknute 12/29/2015 at 10:39

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That is the biggest problem, they are trying to flood an already full market. Nobody makes a plush luxury car that is somewhat affordable besides Volvo and Lexus, that is what Cadillac did best. Now they just make LS-swapped German muscle cars and a fancy Tahoe/Suburban.

Auto Guy > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:42

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A superb article and summary. Thank you for posting.

Stories like these need to be printed out, and pasted on a wall in GM’s New York headquarters. They need to never forget these stories, and work tirelessly and consistently to address every single one of the shortcomings that you’ve mentioned. That’s how the Germans did it, and that’s how the Japanese did. Now it’s time for Cadillac to come back, and address what are rapidly becoming stale old perceptions based on reputation, rather than emerging new realities. Mercedes and BMW have been dining out on their reputation for a while now, and this is the kind of thing that’s going to make it interesting in the future. Staying on top is a tough game.

So, five years from now, Cadillac will (A) be able to point to these anecdotes and say,” this is when we began to take it seriously, and this is what we did to address it. And this is why we’re doing well.” Or, (B) the janitor will peel the list of stories off the wall, and throw it in the trash as they get ready to clean up the place for new tenants of what used to be the Cadillac NYC headquarters. And few will remember that this is what they failed.

So. Cadillac. Choose (A) or (B). Note: You must pick one.

LJ909 > marshknute 12/29/2015 at 10:43

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Well said. I think the Escalade name itself has more brand prestige than Cadillac and that’s saying something. The Escalade is what the rest of the lineup needs to be: in your face like you said. But Cadillac ( or rather GM) doesn’t have the balls to really go that extra mile to make Cadillac actually credible. Art &Science styling and alpha numeric names are only going to carry the brand so far.

LJ909 > jkm7680 12/29/2015 at 10:48

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I think so in a way they are trying to hard. IN reality though I don’t really see their brand direction. On one hand you have the CTS- V which is the Flagship of the brand I guess? But then on the other, we were promised and heard rumors of an 7 Series, S Class fighter. Non of that came to fruition because we found out the CT6, which its name implies it as a new CTS type car, isn’t what we thought it would be. That shows that they are not only not there yet, but don’t really have a plan either.

One man described the XTS as a “ Impala in a cheap tuxedo”. I thought that was pretty funny considering I don’t care for the XTS.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:51

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I find it idiotic that someone would pass on a good car simply because they didn’t think the dealership would pamper them. You buy the damn thing for the driving experience, not some bullshit “ownership” experience.

LJ909 > BringBackTheCommodore 12/29/2015 at 10:53

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Exactly. They don’t realize it, but luxury car buyers notice these things trust me. I’ve heard people complain about the GM switch gear in on the Fisker Karma’s steering wheel. And we’ve all heard the complains about the FCA corporate switch gear in the Maserati’s.These people scrutinize every single detail and not everyone realize that. These people do hours of research and aren’t as dumb as people think they are. And while it may look nice on the surface, there are ares of the ATS and CTS and other Cadillac’s where GM shines though, and that’s not good.

LJ909 > Azrek 12/29/2015 at 10:55

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Well I’m not sure where you live but I know a few luxury dealers around here that have excellent customer service: Fletcher Jones and Riverside BMW are two off the top of my heard.

hike > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 10:55

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The majority of stores are dualed with Fiat stores actually. Hopefully the Fiat stores realize this and will put in to place their own “concierge service” for their Alfa customers.

marshknute > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 12/29/2015 at 10:56

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They don’t even have to make all their cars plush luxury cars. People buy a Cayenne believing they’ve bought a really practical and luxurious GT3. The Halo car defines the badge, and the badge defines the image. There’s nothing GT3-like about a Cayenne, but the brand identity says otherwise.

If Cadillac produced and started showboating the Ciel/Elmiraj, people could buy a V-Sport and everyone would still appreciate it as a majestic luxury barge, even though it shares none of those qualities.

Cadillac can do unashamed luxury, and their performance prowess should be a side benefit.

hike > jkm7680 12/29/2015 at 10:58

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This is a good point. Cadillac is trying to build a 3-series, when BMW is getting away from the old 3-series formula. The market doesn't demand a performance sedan, that's why the new 3 doesn't have ad sporty a drive as the older ones. Cadillac is filling that void, but it's a shrinking void.

LJ909 > Soitgoes26 12/29/2015 at 10:58

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Oh year Martin is horrible. I went there some years back with my aunts husband to get his XLR serviced and they treat you as if you aren’t there. Its almost as if they are saying “ oh you think your important because your driving around in an 65k luxury sedan? We’ll show you how important you think you are”. Its sad. I used to think they were the same company or owner as Felix Chevy off of Figueroa which is equally horrible service wise.

hike > BringBackTheCommodore 12/29/2015 at 11:00

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Demuro wrote an article on this not to long ago, pointing out why people love Range Rovers. It's all unique to the range Rover, not cheap Chevy switch gear.

hike > Azrek 12/29/2015 at 11:01

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The dealer I worked at would pick your car up for service upon request, as would most Mercedes dealers. It's just not something many advertise.

LJ909 > ranwhenparked 12/29/2015 at 11:03

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I noticed that too. They all at least looked at them and that’s better than nothing. But they still need to actually buy one for it to really mean anything. I totally agree that it all comes down to the sales experience. Most Cadillac dealerships share lots with GMC and Buick and that doesn’t help thing at all.

BringBackTheCommodore > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 11:09

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Exactly. The corporate architecture should definitely not be visible anywhere on the surface. Not even the touch screen LCD panel in the dash. People are paying a premium for a reason, so, give them that reason they’re paying more. The umbrella in the door. The high-quality dashboard cover that requires special treating to keep it clean and supple. Most people that go for the luxury marque will typically take the car to their dealership to get it serviced, and they want to know the technicians servicing the car aren’t going to get out from under the hood covered in grease and oil and then get into the nicely-appointed interior of their pride and joy.

Azrek > hike 12/29/2015 at 11:12

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...........WTF?!

Azrek > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 11:21

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Such a First World Problem...I was in St.Pete, Florida and now Baltimore area. The St.Pete location did have a great carwash, but beyond that...

I am usually uncomfortable with White Glove treatment, but it would be nice every now and then (Like when my battery died and they couldn’t find me a loaner and told me just to find a way to leave as they can’t help me).

ranwhenparked > JustDauKee 12/29/2015 at 11:24

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It was more like 3 decades. Cadillac lost the plot in the 70s, really fell apart in the 80s, and made only a half assed turnaround attempt in the 90s. That’s an insane amount of baggage to overcome.

Going back even further, the rot actually started setting in in the late 60s, which was when Cadillac started losing relevance with truly affluent buyers. That’s when their average buyer age started rising, and average buyer net worth dropping.

Your boy, BJR > hike 12/29/2015 at 11:52

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So would the caddy dealer I worked at. Hell, it was my job for awhile. drive the loaner out, call the owner, swap keys, take their car, get it fixed, drop it back off when done.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > qbeezy 12/29/2015 at 12:03

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From their point of view, you might be. How many people do you think walk in to look at the best of the best and leave with something quite humble? Lots. That’s the whole point of flagships. So, why put the effort into someone who is just going to leave with a Cruze?

This is why Cadillac needs it's own dealers. If the only product you can leave with is a high end car (of sorts—looking at you SRX), the sales staff will put a lot more effort in.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 12:04

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I seem to be the only one on here who likes the Encore. It's a mediocre vehicle, but it's just sooooo cute.

qbeezy > LJ909 12/29/2015 at 12:06

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Even then, they kept asking “what would you like your payment to be?” And stuff like that. I actually got my newest car at a deal at my local Hyundai dealer because I was in and out in 1 hour. They actually gave me an enjoyable experience.

qbeezy > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 12/29/2015 at 12:23

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I understand that good and well. But I came in saying “show me an ATS. Nothing else”. Had to reinforce that multiple times. “ I don’t have much time “ I also told them. Deaf ears. Left never came back.

They definitely need a separate dealership. Separate entity away from the Chevy lot.

hike > Your boy, BJR 12/29/2015 at 12:31

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Did the sales guy make that known to the customers? I know I've heard the rich folk bragging to one another about how they get their cars picked up for service.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > DipodomysDeserti 12/29/2015 at 14:29

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my stepdad bought a $60K touareg because of it's TDI engine. he coulda had a cayenne or a Q7, but he went with the one he enjoyed driving the most, not the one with the brand image.

DipodomysDeserti > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 12/29/2015 at 15:21

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Well, you might already know this, but you’re stepdad is a moron. Anyone who spend $60k on a diesel VW should have their license revoked. Hopefully he wasn’t buying based on performance, because he could have bought an X5 35d for the same money, and it makes more power and more torque. That Toureg is going to accelerate like an ‘80s 300d once VW detunes it in order to meet emissions standards.

Alex B > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 12/29/2015 at 19:31

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I think the last guy meant that you can find parts in the ATS-V that are also in a Chevy Cruze.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Alex B 12/30/2015 at 02:46

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....but you can't?

LJ909 > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power 12/30/2015 at 11:17

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True but thing is, even though that M3 is sharing buttons with a 328i, that 328 is still a BMW. GM part bin shares across brands not models. That’s worse. Fact of the matter is BMW has established its brand as high end, and people go into the brand expecting something more, especially if your spending the kind of money that those cars command. Brand image is everything in the luxury market. You think that lady driving around in her M6 Grand Coupe cares how fast it can get to 60 or about all the performance techno goodies it has? All she probably saw when she bought it is expensive BMW. Sucks that people are like that but they are.