Review: BMW Driving Event at Summit Point

[Jake]

Okay, before everyone collectively gets their panties in a bundle, let it be known that if I could have passed along this invite, I would have done so to each and every one of you. But, I couldn't, the invite was for me and no "+1" sort of thing allowed.

I've done some autocrosses with the NCC (National Capital Chapter) of the BMW CCA, and I guess that got me on some list for this event. I was invited down to Summit Point for half a day of beating on new BMWs. The invite made it seem like I'd be driving the M3, M4, M5 and M6, which was about half true.



Turns out a few of my NASA friends also got invites, so I was with Chris, Christina, Tian, Simon and Kristin which made our little group of six. There were probably 25 people there in total. The event is largely catered toward people who own BMWs (M-cars in particular, maybe?) but otherwise probably don't have track experience.

So, for the total n00bs, this was the best day ever and we're totally going racing, oh my god. Us six had more of a clue and tried to stick together, for reasons explained later.

So, we show up at 8 AM to the Shenandoah circuit's classroom to get registered. They ask us to "pick a buddy" which worked well, given the six of us all have prior DE/track experience. Chris and I paired up for the day.

Classroom time was basically "welcome to Summit Point, we are excited to have you here, you'll be with instructors for the autocross and we'll do lead-follow for the track part, let's roll." We were encouraged to clap a lot. Instructors were hired from BSR. They were nice enough.

Autocross
We were loaded into two Ford Transit vans and driven up to what was formerly the SPK track. If you look at that track from above, it's basically three skidpads connected by some tarmac. BMW set up an "autocross" course here. The tarmac has some surface coating on it to make it more slick for skidpad/kart use, which made the whales of cars that we drove handle... questionably.

The whole lot of us huddled around a convertible M6 and watched as an instructor explained how to put the transmission in Drive. We were told the cars were already running, please do not shut them off (it resets all the drive mode shit) and to not touch the controls around the shifter. They were gearing this to the lowest common denominator so they wanted traction/stability control left on.

We drove an M5 and M6 Gran Coupe (swoopier M5 that I didn't fit in as well). We were told to put the car in Drive, it was already in "Sport" which reduces the traction control intrusiveness, and no playing with paddles. Christina told me to put it in Drive and subltly click the (-) paddle to pop it into manual mode without the instructor seeing. So, I did, and I made a point to shift before it went brapbrapbrap at fuel cut.

Autocross Impressions
The M5 looks better and is easier to see out of compared to the M6 GC. They had the same drivetrain (turbo V8, DCT, RWD), largely the same interior, and drove pretty much the same.

The low-grip surface made the cars very challenging to drive, and Sport mode with DTC (dynamic traction control) enabled was necessary for the n00b drivers but very intrusive. One new guy (who said he "raced his Beemer" when referring to autocross... :roll: ) about put the M5 sideways into a dirt/grass berm. I was amazed at how the DTC could slap his wrists so hard and reel the car in. Once you know what you're doing though, you gotta have the thing in Sport+ with the nannies turned off.

Oh, I guess I got overzealous with the M5. Managed to get the iDrive to yell something about "reduced steering assistance available, please drive moderately" after a few runs.

I mentioned something about "track experience" and "racecar" to the instructor when he asked about my driving background and he chuckled in a "that's cute, dear" sort of way.

After an hour or so playing with the M5 and M6 GC, we were ferried back down to Shenandoah for Lead/Follow laps.

Lead/Follow Track Time
Upon arriving back at Shenandoah, I was excited to drive the M3/M4 like the invite insinuated. Instead, we saw these pigs:



We were told to get in the cars in our twofer groups (so, Chris and I) and each group of six would have a pace car. So, my group of six got to all go play together. This was really beneficial, as the lead car (M4 with instructor driving, and instructing over radios to our cars) was going to drive as fast as we could keep up, basically.

Challenge Accepted.

Each pair drove each car, and both drivers got 4 laps each, per car. So we would go out for 4 laps, pull back in and switch around while the pace car was out with another group, then go back out.

Lead/Follow Impressions
All three cars were automatics (ZF 8-speed) with Xdrive (AWD). We had a 650i GC, a 750Li, and a 640i Convertible.

First up was the 650i Gran Coupe, which I discovered hardly allows for a helmet given the roofline. I had never driven (or seen, really) Shenandoah, so this was a big learning experience for me. We were not allowed to go into "the bowl" that mimics the Nurburgring's bowl, as I think the risk was too high for inexperienced folks.

The 650 GC was a good car. Planted, easy to turn in with little understeer (but it was there, trust me) and plenty of power.


Note the "M1" in the cluster. "Not allowed to use the paddles" ... right :wink:

Next, we got in the 750Li. My initial impression was "great, this will be like trying to drive a limousine down Lombard Street." Chris and I actually had the most fun in this car. It handled far better than it should, given the size. Body roll was hugely apparent. It understeered, but not so much that it was impossible to correct. I got the big beast up to 109ish mph on the straightaway. Brakes were good, given the weight and repeated abuse. We were kept comfortable by the three-stage air-conditioned leather seats.

Finally, the 640i convertible. Huge, huge disappointment. It had different tires vs. the other cars, which were either very overheated or just sucked at providing grip. The car felt skittish everywhere. Oil and trans temps got so high (in four laps!) that the transmission wouldn't let me manually shift, and short-shifted at 2500 rpm with a firm goal of 6th gear. When Chris took it out after me, the brakes had faded to the point of us almost t-boning the 750Li in front of us at the end of the straight.

"Hot Laps"
After the lead/follow, we got to ride with the instructors in the M3 and M4 (ooh, here's where those cars come in to play) for "hot laps" which is basically how some of us would have driven if we had the right cars and no pace car. Was fun to get the ride, and the M4 sounds really good at full-bore.

After the hot laps, we got lunch:



And then I went home around 1 PM.

This was definitely a fun event, and I understand it's very much marketed to people who have never stepped foot on a racetrack before. If you approach it from that angle, it was a really, really fantastic day. And even from my perspective - yes, we had to keep nannies on, yes, it was slower driving than I'd prefer in huge, heavy cars - hell, I got to beat up on a ton of new BMWs that I'll never buy, for $Free. It sure as hell beats a day in the office.

And really, when else would you even bother pushing a $110k 7-series around a racetrack?

[G.Irish]

Hmm, sounds like fun either way but what an odd choice of cars. I wonder if the idea is to show people how well almost all BMW's handle so when your coworker wants to lease a new luxo barge you can tell him how well a 7 series drives or that the M5 is a better car than a E63. Or maybe 6 series sales are so terrible they have to drum up interest any way they can.

I would think a better use of money for an event like this is to use exclusively enthusiast cars that people like you would actually buy. You owned a 1 series, you own a M3, at some point you may buy a new example of a M product or 2, 3, or 4 series. The chances of you buying a 7-series in the next 10 years are probably zero. M5 makes sense though.

In a way this event perfectly illustrates BMW's inner struggle. They want to make the 'ultimate driving machine' but they also want to make luxo barges. What do you highlight in your marketing?

I axed my BMW sales person to get me on the list for events like this and she failed me. No more Fairfax BMW for me :evil:

[SlimKlim]

I think the cars were well chosen for the customers they would normally attract to this event, I don't think Jake and his cohorts were those customers.

This event seems a little like the Jeep/Land Rover courses and those Nissan commercials where they trick morons into thinking a factory-spec Altima is a race car. They want to get the cigar-smoking 60-year-old potential 7-series buyer out there, wine & dine him and show him what the luxobarge is capable of. He'll never so much as make a tire moan on the one he buys, but he'll tell all the boys at the country club about how dynamic and efficient it was that one time he hooned one on the track.

[Jake]

Yeah, I think (sadly) that Joey really nailed it. Most of the people there were 40+ years old and I'm guessing they'd be more of the "beige 535i with vinyl seats" crowd and less about the M235i.

Porsche gets away with letting you only drive kickass sports cars at their version of this event, because that's mostly all they make. Boxster, Cayman, 911, Panamera, all pretty fun... and I'd bet the Macan/Cayenne are fun to hoon too.

I would have had an even better time flogging some new 2/3/4 series. The other issue, though, is they encouraged riding along as someone else drove... and I highly doubt 43-year-old Stephen (or James or whatever upper-mid-management types are named) would be excited to fold himself into the backseat of a 2-series. Much easier to do a group drive in the bigger cars.

[SlimKlim]

Also on what Gerald said about BMW's internal struggle... I mean, they've always made luxobarges and they've always tried to build the identity of the sharpest, most performance/driver oriented versions of those luxobarges. I'm thinking of the E31 8-series and E38 7-series, which most of us would be giddy to hoon around a track.

So I'd guess that's what they're marketing. "Check out this big comfortable thing that'll shame poor people around you in traffic, now hop in it and see what she'll do."

It'd be swell if they had events that catered more towards enthusiasts, but I have a feeling it wouldn't be nearly as smart of a marketing investment. Think about it. I just bought a new GTI. I didn't test drive the Golf, or the CC, or the Passat. I didn't cross shop Ford, Subaru or BMW. I wanted a GTI, I went in and placed a deposit within an hour of walking through the door.

Anyone who wants an 228i M-sport, M235i, M3, etc probably decided the model, color and options they wanted a year ago. They don't need to be fed lunch and treated to a day hooning various models because they already know what they want, you don't need to sell a car that sells itself.

However your average upper-end, not-so-performance oriented BMW shopper is probably going to critically examine several iterations of the 5, 6 and 7 series, not to mention the E & S Class, Maserati Ghibli, Porsche Panemara, A/S8, maybe even a Quattroporte or that 4-door Aston thing. They do need to be sold, and those customers are gonna make whoever they buy a car from dance for their dinner anyway. A special event like this might be what seals the deal and gets them into the dealer the next week.

[Jake]

However your average upper-end, not-so-performance oriented BMW shopper is probably going to critically examine several iterations of the 5, 6 and 7 series, not to mention the E & S Class, Maserati Ghibli, Porsche Panemara, A/S8, maybe even a Quattroporte or that 4-door Aston thing. They do need to be sold, and those customers are gonna make whoever they buy a car from dance for their dinner anyway. A special event like this might be what seals the deal and gets them into the dealer the next week.

^ This.

Every car I drove had the window sticker in the glovebox, so of course I looked at 'em. These were all very well-equipped examples of the model, and all but one had a MSRP north of $100k. The "cheap" one was one of the 6ers and it was $99,xxx.

[G.Irish]

Anyone who wants an 228i M-sport, M235i, M3, etc probably decided the model, color and options they wanted a year ago. They don't need to be fed lunch and treated to a day hooning various models because they already know what they want, you don't need to sell a car that sells itself.

I think in the case of the M3 that is true but for the other cars I think there are people who like those cars but are on the fence. You let them get a real taste and you'll hook 'em. Only thing is that the profit from selling a 2 series is far less than the profit from selling a 6 series.

With the M's I do think that if you expose performance-minded customers to those cars you may be able to push them into irrational purchase where they otherwise might not be. If BMW let's be horse around in a M2 I might be convinced to put down a deposit on that M2 CSL for example, rather than angling for something like a Cayman GT4 or Alfa 4C. As a matter of fact when I talked to the former M chief he outright said the Cayman was the M2's competition.

However your average upper-end, not-so-performance oriented BMW shopper is probably going to critically examine several iterations of the 5, 6 and 7 series, not to mention the E & S Class, Maserati Ghibli, Porsche Panemara, A/S8, maybe even a Quattroporte or that 4-door Aston thing. They do need to be sold, and those customers are gonna make whoever they buy a car from dance for their dinner anyway. A special event like this might be what seals the deal and gets them into the dealer the next week.

That customer certainly would be impressed by events like this and the UDE's. And that customer probably influences a lot more potential customers that are in position to buy the 5/6/7. Whereas our cohort would only be pushing 2/3/4 and maybe 5 series buys, at least if you're talking about our social group.