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Originally Posted by OneRib
Another idea to consider is the obsession with "innovation" it is overused and overvalued. Reminds me of the whole "synergy" craze consultants would always talk about. There was an interesting take on this in a Freakonomics podcast that rebutted the importance of innovation.
To that point Steve Jobs did change the market in smartphones, but after the initial iPhone all I see are mild product enhancements. Better screen, software, battery life, faster hardware.
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Quite right. Not every single product is going to be a game changer. You have to keep providing and incrementally improving what you know is profitable and has a proven target market. It's that profit that allows you to invest in new ideas and create the next disruptive product.
The thing about BMW's portfolio today is you see a lot of hatchbacks. The reality is that people like practicality and hatchbacks are nothing if not practical. Like others, BMW has learned that you can't just call something a hatchback and expect it to sell though. Hence SUVs are often marketed first for their presence, strength, and ruggedness, and only incidentally for their five door convenience.
BMW's GT models and 4 Series Gran Coupe, as well as similar products from others like Audi, are testbeds for bringing the practicality of five doors to people who remain averse to SUVs, yet would not be caught dead in a traditional hatchback or wagon. I think they are pretty bold moves. In time - at least here in the West - when the dust settles there probably won't be a very big slice of pie left for the four door passenger car. I figure it will be about the size of today's two-door coupe market, and will be dominated by vehicles that are evolutions of today's "four door coupe". Furthermore, as SUVs become more and more car-like, eventually those people who the GT and GC models were built to ween will have come around, and those models can go away. The proper SUVs will have evolved to be even more car-like and essentially functionally equivalent to them anyway.
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Originally Posted by Danyutz
40 new models, is this good or bad?
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You'll have to keep an eye on BMW's monthly sales reports over the next 20 months to know the answer to that. They are always posted in this forum, so watch for them and join the lively discussion.
