[ZL9M2]

This is all very simple. BMW puts the M on almost everything now to sell more cars. And as such has diluted what the M brand has historically represented.

[LookBothWays]

Originally Posted by TAZ007

Worry less about this tomfoolery and more what you want. If the M540 is what you want, get it and enjoy it. We only going around this merry-go wheel once.

Absolutely and I may have jumped into the fray unnecessarily. The rear badge is without the M and is simply 540i so if I remove the steering wheel and add some chrome bits I will be able to drive about with my chin up. I will have to avoid moving up to the M550i in the future or remove all mirrors in the house as I wouldn't want to look at myself. One other pitfall would be the poser M Sport brakes even if they do stop you a bit sooner, save the money to apply to a possible hospital stay for pride's sake. Car buying is a complicated ordeal these days not counting supply issues.

[Acturater]

Originally Posted by LookBothWays

Absolutely and I may have jumped into the fray unnecessarily. The rear badge is without the M and is simply 540i so if I remove the steering wheel and add some chrome bits I will be able to drive about with my chin up. I will have to avoid moving up to the M550i in the future or remove all mirrors in the house as I wouldn't want to look at myself. One other pitfall would be the poser M Sport brakes even if they do stop you a bit sooner, save the money to apply to a possible hospital stay for pride's sake. Car buying is a complicated ordeal these days not counting supply issues.

Oh however will our self worth manage befOre the cold judging eyes of the ever distinguished M consumer (the true ones, not the fake posers amiright?).

[carseatsm5]

I love this thread so much. Second only to the Noelle tune one.

[Jcoop901]

As I sit back munching my popcorn, I find myself mesmerized by the neverending duel.. One minute the M-purists gain the advantage only to be sucker-punched by the M means M on anything upstarts.

A classic battle of the ages.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Jcoop901

As I sit back munching my popcorn, I find myself mesmerized by the neverending duel.. One minute the M-purists gain the advantage only to be sucker-punched by the M means M on anything upstarts.

A classic battle of the ages.

I'll add this to the mix, from BMW Media information. 40 Years BMW M GmbH.

Diesel for BMW M Performance Automobiles.

M goes Diesel.
40 years after the foundation stone of today’s M GmbH was laid, the experts in athletic driving turned their minds to a new project – the BMW M Performance Automobile as an expansion of the model range with a clear focus on athletic performance and unrestricted road-going capability as well as outstanding efficiency. The new product category was launched with four models: BMW M550d xDrive Saloon, BMW M550d xDrive Touring, BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d. The heart of these cars was a new straight six-cylinder diesel engine developed with three turbochargers and power of 381 hp exclusively for BMW M Performance Automobiles.

[HighlandPete]

Also... where does M-Technic fit into the history of the 'M' Division?

[TAZ007]

Where do M&M's fall in?

[BobBMWX3]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

https://www.bmw-m.com/en/index.html

https://www.bmwmarkham.com/2020/06/0...m-performance/

Of the two links provided...The first one is BMWs M website. It indicates the vehicles it considers to be M owners. This would be BMWs official stance. For research purposes this is the strong contender for supporting documentation.

The second link is a dealer's impression. I would not consider this "official". It is just a dealer trying to help the end consumer with online shopping. They are explaining the difference to help a shopper.

Of course, this does not answer anything in regards of whether or not BMW watered down their M line or not....

[GoneIn4Secs]

Would a rose by any other name...

At this point in time, the people in charge of things at the highest levels of these corporations are unhinged lunatics with an agenda

So i wouldnt worry too much about what label 'they' put on it

As long at it has the components that you are looking for,

a solid high perf engine,
good chassis with suspension compnents designed to deliver and take a track beating,
Perf brakes,
Gearbox able to last high stress situations,
Electronic lsd

These things i would think make up the main components of an 'M car'..

[dscabra]

Let me put my flame-proof suit on...

Who is the bigger poser; someone that buys an M##I and drives it to work every day and never tracks it, or someone that buys an M# and does the same?

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by dscabra

Let me put my flame-proof suit on...

Who is the bigger poser; someone that buys an M##I and drives it to work every day and never tracks it, or someone that buys an M# and does the same?

Depends on whom you're posing for I guess.

[D22M2]

#Mtoo

[jp1984]

The more fighting that goes on the better for BMW.

M used to be the top sporting line, but if everything is M than they will make an ///Mr Package even higher equipped than the "core M3 edition"

[WOT48]

M cars are not what they're used to be.

[Chick Webb]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

You can scroll down to the bottom of this page and see all the "M" cars considered "M cars" by BMW.

https://www.bmw-m.com/en/index.html

This will explain more about the difference between "M Sport" which aren't badged M and other "M" cars.

https://www.bmwmarkham.com/2020/06/0...m-performance/

Thanks very much for that. Personal opinion:

• Wife's '17 540i w/M Sport - Not an M, though a great daily driver
• My '21 X6 M50i - Close, but not an M, though also a great (if gas hungry) daily driver and occasional canyon bomber
• My '10 M3 - Definitely an M, happiest bombing canyons or at the track

Frankly, I can't imagine tracking an X5/6, so the X5/6 M seem to me to be a bit over the top. The M50i is 85% of the performance for 80% of the price, and more than enough for the street.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Chick Webb

Thanks very much for that. Personal opinion:

• Wife's '17 540i w/M Sport - Not an M, though a great daily driver
• My '21 X6 M50i - Close, but not an M, though also a great (if gas hungry) daily driver and occasional canyon bomber
• My '10 M3 - Definitely an M, happiest bombing canyons or at the track

Frankly, I can't imagine tracking an X5/6, so the X5/6 M seem to me to be a bit over the top. The M50i is 85% of the performance for 80% of the price, and more than enough for the street.

Well put.

[SomaM550i]

Originally Posted by WOT48

M cars are not what they're used to be.

Pure nonsense. The new M550i's are faster than the F10 M5's. I have an F10 now with an M550i on the way. Handling better? No, but in every sense these are awesome cars. The new M550i is faster than the RS6 in 100-200kmh pulls on AutoTopNL and also faster on the track. People need educated on how good these cars are...

[SomaM550i]

Originally Posted by Onesie

He said "M cars".
The 550i is not an M car; the M5 is.

You can argue semantics all you want but the M series 550i is under the M division of BMW, so technically that's not true except to guys have M cars that want to be some protected class. I don't care, I have both. But to say M cars aren't what they used to be when a non M5 smokes Audi's flagship RS6 is just people trying to hang on their old models and feel good. They aren't what they used to be he is right, they are better. A brand new M5 is vastly superior to my F10.

[Suds]

Is an M the perfect car, he’ll no if you want to track it.
First thing I did was fix the factory faults, such as adding front camber plates, etc.

[SomaM550i]

Originally Posted by Onesie

Does the M550i have a VIN that starts with WBS or WBA?

Comparing a non-M car to an Audi to refute the opinion that M cars are not what they used to be makes no sense. Think about it.

I'll exemplify: if, for example, he tried to say "M cars used to be unique and exclusive, and far distant from the other non-M models", your example corroborates his assertion.

Oh I know what he means, he means M5/M3 (and not new ones typically) guy looking down on M2 guy. The "brand has been cheapened" thing
and it's less exclusive. You hear it a lot In M5 crowd. Rock your M2.

[AdrianSPFC]

If BMW says the car is M, its because M.
Maybe in the future BMW changes everything and the performance BMW cars will be called "S Performance".
For now BMW says "M for performance".
That means M= sport cars from BMW.
This is simple!

I dont know why some adults acting like kids from 5th grade here.