[c63er]

Well, bmw and people who have never driven one will tell you that it's the greatest thing of all time.

Truth is that it wasn't that great of a car.

It was at the time spectacular to look at in some respects, but the bmw brand didn't carry nearly the weight it does today. Back then it was seen as a maker of expensive cars prone to breaking but with special emphasis on small sporty sedan type cars.

The 8 series was totally out of their brand core identity of their time, something like the equivalent of tesla making a v8 engine or the Lamborghini lm002.

It was very rare which did give it a quasi exotic car position, and remember cars like the mercedes sl were seen much less commonly in those days and a decided sign of true wealth, which gave the 8 some desirable traits no doubt about it. If you actually saw one in the early model years it was something to behold. Most people didn't even believe bmw made it until they saw the badge or kidneys, it was that much out of character.

Problem was that back then people were less apt to just spend money on a brand name (leasing as many of you know it didn't exist at all). when it came down to spending that amount of money on an unknown quantity that might break the choice was obvious to the vast majority. Once you added on the fact that it wasn't good to drive, well that was that.