Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAcAvenger
Thank you!
The badging is actually a big draw. There's a lot of people who don't like the idea of spending 50+k on a "3 series bmw" that is indistinguishable from a 38k variant to the common observer...
throw an "s" badge on it... now the driver feels like he's bought something special. It's probably the biggest reason behind ditching the v8 in the a6. When the S6 comes out, I guarantee you people who would buy a 550 will defect to the S6 just to distinguish their 70-75k cars from lower variants.
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Without a doubt; it's extremely clever marketing. I'll be honest, I originally became infatuated with an S5 that was sitting on an Audi lot. The badge was definitely an alluring quality. That, along with the generous amounts of silver trim, really made it stand out compared to the A5s. Even now, the A5 badge really doesn't entice me at all even though I know better than that.
BMW needs a much stronger form of nomenclature for their cars, but they need to stay within traditional naming methods. Tagging 'is' to the back of their cars really feels like a cop out, we-need-to-boost-this-model-year's-production-numbers kind of move. The s/xDrive badging is too cluttered to have lasting power, too.