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      01-31-2012, 01:16 PM   #42
epiphone3
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Drives: 2013 BMW X3 35i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus7 View Post
I’m also an engineer who has modified and scratch-built race cars and fully understand your position. I’m not defending the situation, only presenting the reality of the status quo.

With very few exceptions, for most people, passenger cars today are "appliances" and are built to a price point with features that will fulfill most of the needs of most of the target buyers. Most buyers will typically be running their cars each day or at least every other day. People who park their cars for (3) weeks are unfortunately not the majority, and for those owners BMW and most other manufacturers including MB sell battery maintainers, and lecture their owners about driving more.

This forum has been peppered with owner's posts who have received advice from their dealer’s service advisers that the cars should be driven a minimum of 10, 20 or even (recently posted) 40 miles per day to keep the battery charged. As ridiculous as that is, it reflects the dealers and possibly the manufacturer’s position about the minority of drivers who don’t drive their vehicles often.

Considering the increasing fuel economy and safety hoops that production manufacturers must jump through to have the right to sell a car, it’s surprising that they do as well as they do.

If a particular characteristic of a BMW car or any other manufactured “appliance” doesn’t meet your expectations, you can always communicate your dissatisfaction to the maker, or vote with your checkbook. However, given the current environment that caters to drivers who are not car enthusiasts and who generally don’t even like cars, I’m pessimistic that the concerns of a minority like “us” will be taken seriously.

Having observed the direction that automobile manufacturing has taken over the last four decades; I tend to take a “half-empty glass” point of view. I don’t think most manufactures really care about the tiny minority of car enthusiasts. A handful of performance car makers try to convey images of catering to “car guys”, but as is painfully apparent, all they REALLY want to do is increase their market share, and if that means winning over Toyota and Honda econo-box owners, so be it.

Please “don’t shoot the messenger”.
The funny thing is that people who have no interest in cars typically have limited understanding of cars and are exactly the ones who say "I didn't pay a lot of money for a luxury car to have it not work."

The type of customer you are talking about as the majority today is exactly the type that I believe will have the least amount of patience and understanding for this type of wimpy battery stuff.
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