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      12-05-2011, 11:19 AM   #1
InTheNightKitchen
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Evolution...

May seem like a silly question to some, but I've been thinking over the past few days. How does a company like BMW continue to evolve and improve on it's benchmark?

Yes, I understand as newer technology becomes available whether through their time invested or someone else that it gets implemented into the designs.

But every time a new 3 series model or a new model comes out "It's the best so and so ever"

1. How does your best work not become your final work?

2. How do you NOT reinvent the wheel?

3. M has to take the 3 series which is already great and improve on that, how do you improve on that pefection again 3-5 yrs later without being stagnant?

It gets a little frustrating and exciting wondering HOW they keep going and are the differences really major or just subtle tweaks. I feel like I'm missing a piece of the puzzle which could be applied to other areas of my own life

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      12-05-2011, 12:01 PM   #2
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This is the dilemma faced by artists, musicians, filmmakers and anyone who produces an evolving product. Times change, people change... What looked new and cutting-edge 40 or 20 or even 5 years ago looks dated today. Sometimes it has just all been done before. So yes, you do kinda have to reinvent the wheel every so often to keep up with not only your competition but also the times.

It seems like BMW tends to keep the basic stigma of each of it's series' but changes the emphasis from chassis to chassis. Think about the e39 5 series which was reserved and sophisticated, then the e60 was more about attitude, and now the F10 is a showcase of new technologies wrapped in a sleek body.
It keeps the series fresh while retaining the core reason that people come to it in the first place.
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      12-07-2011, 03:08 PM   #3
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Well most importantly you have to be able to produce the perfect car (not in your eyes) but the eyes of the people in your target market. That's styling, performance, economy, options....

On top of that you rely on the creative minds of a lot of people to continue developing the technologies that are used in your cars to make it faster, handle better, weigh less, be safer, more fuel efficient.

I think the new challenge auto makers are going to be faced with is to be able to make engines that perform as well as and produce as much horsepower as before but with much stricter mandates on fuel efficiency and smog output. In my opinion thats why you see soooo many upcoming cars that are just incredibly high HP, almost to the point of being unreasonable in stock form.. Its going to be a whole new ball game within the next decade.
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      12-07-2011, 04:01 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbkg79 View Post

It gets a little frustrating and exciting wondering HOW they keep going and are the differences really major or just subtle tweaks. I feel like I'm missing a piece of the puzzle which could be applied to other areas of my own life
if engineers are capable of the zonda R, then it's no surprise that a 3 series is a little better than the outgoing formula, engineers know what's possible, they just deliver a thimble full of that to us a little at a time. when the 3 (1977) series came out the current ferrari was as fast as a 328i of today... imagine your kids in 2031 are gonna drive an M3 that smokes the current 458italia.
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      12-07-2011, 09:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbkg79 View Post
May seem like a silly question to some, but I've been thinking over the past few days. How does a company like BMW continue evolve and improved on it's benchmark?

Yes, I understand as newer technology becomes available whether through their time invested or someone else that it gets implemented into the designs.

But every time a new 3 series model or a new model comes out "It's the best so and so ever"

1. How does your best work not become your final work?

2. How do you NOT reinvent the wheel?

3. M has to take the 3 series which is already great and improve on that, how do you improve on that pefection again 3-5 yrs later without being stagnant?

It gets a little frustrating and exciting wondering HOW they keep going and are the differences really major or just subtle tweaks. I feel like I'm missing a piece of the puzzle which could be applied to other areas of my own life
1- I bet they are already working on the next generation 3-series with lots of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic and some sort of Hybrid Tech they are developping for the i3 and i8. Therefore there is no final work but continuous improvement

2- See above: lighter, more aerodynamic, lower fuel consumption and emissions and better performance

3- M has to work with what BMW give them, if they give M a heavy 5 series, they make an amazing but heavy M5. If they give M a lightweight 3-series, they will make an amazing lightweight M3. With engine downsizing and a rumored triturbo IL6, or even a V6, I bet the new M3 will be a big step forward compared to the current one and can even be close in performance to the 911: imagine the M3 weighing 100kg less and have more HP than the current one...
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      12-08-2011, 02:41 PM   #6
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They have started with Electric steering and are working on I4 Turbos. I think turbo is the way of the future for extracting hp and TQ out of small displacement engines. They have a triple turbo V8 diesel in the works for an M. They will show AWD on their M cars I bet too.
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      12-09-2011, 11:38 AM   #7
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I think they do it in several ways .
1. They purposefully hold things back. Examples would be LED tail loghts, the addition of turbos in 2006, etc... I don't think its all as a marketing scheme, because somethings need time for the problems to be worked out and production costs to decrease.

2.Also, the evergrowing power of computers and robots are allowing more efficient mechanical designs than ever before.

But I do fear there will be a day (probably in our lifetime) where there will be little if any dynamic improvement of new models. All new models would be a change in design.
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      12-09-2011, 09:45 PM   #8
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A sign of the times right ! Give the people what they want. I like your description for each iteration.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PINeely View Post
Times change, people change... Sometimes it has just all been done before. So yes, you do kinda have to reinvent the wheel every so often to keep up with not only your competition but also the times.

It seems like BMW tends to keep the basic stigma of each of it's series' but changes the emphasis from chassis to chassis. Think about the e39 5 series which was reserved and sophisticated, then the e60 was more about attitude, and now the F10 is a showcase of new technologies wrapped in a sleek body.
It keeps the series fresh while retaining the core reason that people come to it in the first place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vzehler View Post
Well most importantly you have to be able to produce the perfect car (not in your eyes) but the eyes of the people in your target market. That's styling, performance, economy, options...
When I was a kid my Father came home with a brand new Toyota Previa, families first car. The first thing I said was, " why isn't there a sliding door on the other side?". LOL my father looked at me like he wanted to fold me in half. Years later, what do we have as the soccer mom special, so I fully understand this concept of a little at a time or we'll run out of options.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis1 View Post
if engineers are capable of the zonda R, then it's no surprise that a 3 series is a little better than the outgoing formula, engineers know what's possible, they just deliver a thimble full of that to us a little at a time. when the 3 (1977) series came out the current ferrari was as fast as a 328i of today... imagine your kids in 2031 are gonna drive an M3 that smokes the current 458italia.
I agree

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul-Bracq-BMW View Post
1- I bet they are already working on the next generation 3-series

2- See above: lighter, more aerodynamic, lower fuel consumption and emissions and better performance

3- M has to work with what BMW give them, if they give M a heavy 5 series, they make an amazing but heavy M5. If they give M a lightweight 3-series, they will make an amazing lightweight M3. With engine downsizing and a rumored triturbo IL6, or even a V6, I bet the new M3 will be a big step forward compared to the current one and can even be close in performance to the 911: imagine the M3 weighing 100kg less and have more HP than the current one...
My fear exactly, which why I started this thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmerjph View Post
But I do fear there will be a day (probably in our lifetime) where there will be little if any dynamic improvement of new models. All new models would be a change in design.
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