BMW ultimate driving experience: who is it for and more brand loyalty

I was invited by BMW to go to something they billed as the ultimate driving experience. I was expecting more of the driving school, but more on that later. This took place in Baltimore in one of the parking lots of the M&T stadium.

I pulled up and immediately noticed the sheer number of BMWs in the parking area. They weren't for driving, but rather the cars of the people invited to the event. You're probably wondering why invite people to drive a BMW when they already have one. As in my previous post, it's more about the experience and generating loyalty in the brand. This, theoretically, generates word of mouth for BMW. Other companies also put on these types of challenges, but it's more direct. You see Ford or Hyundai commercials showing "real" people trying out their cars and the cars of their competitors and no surprise...everyone loves Ford or Hyundai in the commercial and is willing to trade their old car for that particular brand.

However, BMW's approach is quite different. They create an experience. They are one of the few manufacturers to put on driving schools that teach people how to properly control their cars. You don't have to own a BMW to take these courses or even be invited to these events. You drive a BMW and push it to its limits. OK, maybe not all the way there, but more so than you'd get in a test drive at a dealer or on the open road. And they deliver on the experience and look, it's making me write about it!

I arrived, filled out the waiver and waited for my 11:00 "class." There was a simple introduction slide show about the 3 series. I also noticed a glaring typo on the description of the 328xi: it comes with a stepronic automatic transmission. Pretty bad to get the name of your transmission (stepTronic) wrong in a "professional" slide show. Pretty sloppy. We found out that we'd be testing out the 328xi against some of its competitors: the Lexus IS250 AWD, Mercedes C300 4matic, and the Audi A4 2.0T Quattro. We got a little intro on some basics of car control: keep your eyes up and head pointed where you want to go, some quick stuff on under/over steer and correction and then to the cars.

2 at a time with an instructor in the passenger seat. They set up a little course in the parking lot where you could probably hit 50MPH in a straight away, couple of turns and a hairpin turn. You got 2 laps in the car. They also set it up as essentially a controlled experiment where you get to drive each car under the same conditions, the only difference being the car. You also got the 328xi twice in the comparison.

I started out with the 328xi, then the Lexus, the Mercedes, a 328xi again, and then the Audi. The 328xi is solid and gives good feedback in the wheel. It's not the fastest car (stupid GM transmission), but handles quite well. The Lexus looks very nice but has a few drawbacks. It is extremely cramped. It's almost like taking a shoe horn to fit into the cockpit. It also lacks power and it is sloppy on the suspension. You can feel the roll in the turns. Not very good. The Mercedes is competent. I'd rate it #3 in this line up. The Audi has nice power and torque, but it's a 4 banger turbo. It's got great pep, but the steering is very light. It doesn't give you the same feel on the road as the 328xi. Thus, the Audi is #2.

It should come as no surprise that the BMW comes out on top or that they give you one last drive in it. After all, the last experience sticks with you in the comparison.

So what does putting on these events do for BMW, especially when they invite people who tend to already have a BMW? Again, it's about connecting the consumer to the brand and showing the consumer what they can do with the car. It creates a loyalty to the brand and builds brand awareness. It really comes down to buzz about BMW. I don't know many other manufacturers that put on these events to showcase their brands and the driving experience.