In the 80’s, the yuppie phenomenon personified greed run rampant. And every self-respecting yuppster had to drive a BMW and wear a Rolex. A bimmer and a roller. And since that time, Rolex and BMW have suffered from what can be called the “asshole factor”. But I think the asshole factor has more to do with the yuppie than the car / watch.
Rolex makes amazing watches. Simple, elegant design. Robust movements. And a storied history of innovation. Rolex doesn’t change with the fashions; they stay true to their roots. I believe the only thing Rolex can really be dinged for is making too many watches. They make a lot of watches because they are the benchmark around the world. From the Submariner to the DateJust to the awesome Cosmograph “Daytona”, these are truly awesome watches.
BMW makes amazing cars. Look at all of the automotive brands and tell me which one has remained as singular in their focus as BMW. Performance, that is what BMW is about. As a company, they wabbled a bit early on, but once they found their “thing”, they have stuck to it and developed it. From the soon to be released 1 Series to the M6 to the 7 Series, even the X5, these are drivers cars. I’ve seen many a person have their inner driver unleashed after owning a BMW. They are fast, nimble, tight and solid.
These two venerable brands are both uber-succesful and considered the standard in their classes, so I don’t think they are overly concerned.
Maybe success is part of the problem? Maybe it is the high price tag? Maybe it’s the yuppies?
Or maybe its that only assholes drive/wear them? its not something to feel bad about – there are plenty of asshole cars in the world: http://cusslermuseum.com/
Brad you magnificent bastard!
It’s like Yogi Berra says, “We all used to go to that Restrurant, but then it became popular and now nobody goes there.”
I guess BMW and Rolex are kind of like the University of Michigan, it’s not the asshole school, it’s the asshole fans! (Bracing for impact.)