Quote:
Originally Posted by Jashue
To those that continually hammer home the argument that sales prove the popularity of the new design— I have to mention that popularity need not be equated with virtue. McDonalds sells an awful lot of hamburgers but that does not make them good. In fact, the McDonalds analogy underscores what I consider to be a fact: people (generally speaking) don’t have a particularly strong sense of what constitutes aesthetic beauty. This is true across the board— in any realm where which design is of paramount importance. In any era we see the masses embracing crappy music, crappy food, crappy art and crappy fashion (and on and on). And while I mention fashion— perhaps Dukec should learn the difference between fashion and STYLE. Fashion scratches a particular itch, and a short term one at that. Fashion trends come and go and most fade into the dustbin of history. We occasionally look at those old trends and sometimes have to acknowledge that we were sheepishly caught up in them, and sometimes we pat our selves on the back as we recall that we “knew better” at the time. No one is fully immune.
Well it seems Dukec is going for the score of that short term itch. In his profession, he really should know better. As he tries to identify with FASHION designers like Lagerfeld he says stuff like “Good design is not about pretty or ugly.” Well as a fashion designer, he could perhaps get away with that; he could come up with a hideous scarf, arrogantly declare it a modern art masterpiece and everyone would applaud and move on to the next season. But shouldn’t he hold automotive art to a higher standard? The latest designs show the manifestation of his ego rather than a reverence for style. They will not age well.
Perhaps the bean-counters at BMW have this figured out? A bunch of people will get that itch scratched and move on after three or four years just when the next itch comes. This will make them money, but it is shortsighted. The cost will be (and this will happen over time) their reputation as a company known for pumping out timeless beauty. Once this integrity is compromised it could be gone forever. Some of us see that, and that’s why we’re so upset.
So stop coming at me with the “sales are good” bullshit argument. Stop being so damn shallow.
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We live in COVID times these days and sales are also being skewed due to the semiconductor chip shortage and higher demand these days. BMW has done relatively well to overcome the shortage and Mercedes have not for example. In 2021 and for the first time in 5 years, BMW has outsold Mercedes. That includes all models, not just the beaver-faced ones.
My dealer was trying to get me to sell my F80 for huge premium. We live in interesting times and trying to use sales figure to prove people loving the grilles is just serving an agenda.