2009 BMW 750i: Sorry Officer, I Was Looking At That Billboard

this could provide some interesting comments for those who support the so-called Edmunds bias:

bmw gives cars to edmunds. edmunds reviews vehicles. bmw pays (presumably) to quote edmunds on billboard.

I don't think there is a bias, but I can see how someone could disagree with me.

Edmunds is getting quoted a lot these days.

dougtheeng,

Just to be clear BMW does not pay Edmunds to use this or any other quote.

There is no conspiracy.

Although, I'm still not sure about that whole landing on the moon thing.

Best,
Scott Oldham

Pretty cool photo, too. Those shadows look a bit like tire marks as you flew down the hill to position the M3.

No... It's more like...

1. BMW provides free long term test cars to Edmunds

2. Edmunds then has to show some goodwill so they write good things for BMW and make fun of their competitors (aka, kiss the you-know-what).

3. BMW then got the quote they were looking for and use it shamelessly.

4. Edmunds is delighted and makes more "goodwill comments" about BMW cars

5. BMW got all excited and repeat step 1... So the cycle goes on.

It's really as simple as that. Like Scott have said, no conspiracy what-so-ever.

Edmunds is the best care site, so that makes sense

Well in order to support cars like the BMW and GTR Edmund's has to make money some how so dougtheeng I think has it on the head.

Guys,

Why would any of you think us editors are out to screw you? We tell it like it is here at Inside Line and Edmunds. Anyone that reads the site knows it. When did you all become so cynical about the automotive press?

Best,
Scott Oldham

And BMW better hurry up with touting Edmunds on the 7 series - because the last few posts on that car have been less than glowing -

In fact, if we look at this post from Warren - "http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2009/09/2009-bmw-750i-a-tale-of-two-germans.html" - I am not so sure how I would interpret this billboard -

"One of the finest" - does not equate to the finest (Read S550)

Scott Oldham:

Thanks for answering my 'pay for a quote' question. Its always nice to get feedback (though you may have only responded to me because of the sensitive nature of my comment, lol).

As I stated, I don't believe there is any sort of bias; however, if you were in fact being paid for the use of your published word, then I can see how someone may call that a conflict of interest.

My comment was more to....suck the wind out of any future comments that may come from someone who actually believes in the bias.

Cheers!

dougtheeng

Scott -

We became cynical when you chose to report only one side of the story.

BMW is a great car company - for me, probably even the best among the troika of Germans, for certain target segments (read - the 3, and mostly the 5, the old X5 etc). But as an MBA student, and as an avid auto buff - I can see when the engineers at BMW are being driven by the Marketing folks.

Example - trying to move the X5 up, to make space for the X3 and the X1 below it, requires that the X5 grow in size, but given the product's previous positioning, this is going to take a couple of model cycles. So marketing had its way - we got useless third row seats and all the extra weight, but Edmunds never called BMW out on that one. You took the easy route out - you chose to test the X5 4.8 - knowing what a dog the 3.0 is. And this is clearly not doing your duty, when you know that it is the 3.0 that makes up most of the sales.

Now, it is not only Edmunds but the entire US automotive press that is guilty of this - because if you try to google for a X5 3.0 review, there is nothing credible out there. But that does not absolve you of your responsibilities. Just because BMW did not supply anyone with the X5 3.0 does not mean that you should not test one. You can go get one on your own dime, and give us the lowdown.

And to the X5 again - BMW has not given us the excellent turbo 335 motor - because guess what - that would kill sales of the X6 - but I don't see you calling them out on that one either.

So guess what - when I see that Edmunds only reports on BMW's that are great - and brushes under the carpet, all the ones - I get suspicious, and cynical. Can't blame me for that -

jatbeni, you need to slow your roll, son. Take a chill pill.

I believe (I may be wrong) Edmunds/IL have no influence over what manufacturers supply press fleets. If the manufacturers choose not to supply the press fleet with any 3.0 I6 X5s, how can publications request one for evaluation purposes. So Edmunds should buy a long-term X5 3.0? Edmunds is one of the few, if not only, major automotive publications that purchases *any* long-term vehicles. MT - Nope. AutoWeek and C/D - I don't believe so. R&T - I don't know. And we're not exactly making money hand over fist here because of the state of the industry. I've heard multiple long-term cars had to be sold so the Camaro SS could be purchased.

Regarding the X5 not getting the N54 engine. Think about this, when the X5 was being the designed, perhaps the plan for it was to use the N52 motor. What did the E90 3 Series Sedan debut with for MY2006? The N52. I think economies of scale (didn't they teach that in undergrad business school?) could also come into play here, too. The N52s could be used in many Bimmers at that time throughout the world. Also, reconfiguring the E90 to house the N54 may have been a lot easier than reconfiguring the E70 X5 because of drivetrain (xDrive) components.

Thoughts?

I've never had something like this happen to me (see a billboard with something me/my team wrote) but I'm guessing you'd feel pretty damned good. Congrats!

@subytrojan -

I was asked why I was cynical about the Edmunds/BMW relationship - I answered, giving a specific example. I have more -

But until questions of this nature are answered, I chose to be cynical about anything BMW on this website. I choose to go to an European publication - like Autocar/AutoExpress/Car & Jeremy Clarkson to get my information on the BMW's. I see them to be more balanced (except Jeremy, of course!!) and less enamored of the Bavarians/Germans.

Meanwhile, despite this cynicism - Edmunds remains my favorite U.S. publication - by far. Just tells you the state of the rest of the publishing businesses.

@subytrojan -

One more thing - I am not sure if I am hearing this right -

You are telling me that it is possible to fit the N54 in a X6, but not an X5?

What are you smoking? I would like some of that too...

BTW, maybe BMW is saving the N54 for the E70 for a mid-cycle refresh/facelift. Think about it. $$$

Also, the X6 was probably developed in product planning well after the E90 and E70 when the N54 was already out. Plus, what is the starting price on an X6? Also, consider the target demographic for each vehicle. They're not the same.

If we were paid off for the billboard, I'd be downright pissed off. I actually wrote it in the 750i full test and sadly, my burlap sack with the dollar sign on it has yet to arrive.

The least I could've got was an embroidered hat or something. Maybe some roundel polish for my Z3 would be nice.

-Riswick

Yeah. I wanna see a piece of the action, too!

Congrats to the good press IL. However, I wonder why BMW didn't post: Edmunds choses a Ford Flex and Hyndai Genesis (which are less than half of the price) over our 7 series for road trips and weekend use. LOL

Well, I suppose BMW paid Edmunds/IL to use the comment. However, it's not like IL is the only publication to tout the excellency of BMW. Go to any review of C&D, Motortrend or any other respected car mag/site and they'll tell it as it is.

I don't think BMW has to pay anyone to say good things about their cars. They routinely win comparisons in pretty much every mag that exists.

IF they pay people, then they're sure paying a whole lot of people. Let's start with Engine of the Year (where BMW has several times more points than any other company), Car and Driver (which left the M3 over the GT-R and Porsche Turbo in a comparison), Motortrend, InsideLine, etc etc etc.

This is like the idi*ts that believe everything is a conspiracy. It gets to the point where it's harder to believe that every single person in the world is paid off than simply thinking BMW builds some of the best cars around.

Next thing I'm going to hear is some mongliod talking about a perpetual motion machine that really works but can't be marketed because of "big oil".

Grow up people

Hey now! You can't advertise your own advertisements! I'm pretty sure there's a law against that somewhere...

(This comment brought to you by Estreka; now with more sass)