Every so often a car comes along and blows its competitors out of the water. Big flashy debut, big sales success. That's a gamechanger. And then all the other automakers rush to copy it. What do you call those cars?
The changed-by-the-game-ers? There's no real memorial for them, which is a shame, because they're very interesting. They're especially noteworthy, because every carmaker likes to pretend that it's blazing a new path in wonderful newness with every model year, and we know that's not true.
Here's the impetus for this question, sent my way by friend of Jalopnik and Ford Focus RS photographer (the last one) Kevin McCauley.
#brands are telling us what cars are #gamechangers. What car has been the most changed by the game?
Not like a new nameplate (e.g. Countryman), what's one nameplate that has had the most reactionary change in response to market?
Easy-ish answer: M5. BMW wouldn't be building a 600 hp soon-to-be-AWD sledgehammer if it wasn't terrified and desperately wanting to be AMG
Very true, Kevin! Soon the M5 will no longer be a segment leader, but a segment follower. You can thank AMG's ridiculous sales and profit margins for that.
What other car can you think of that was a direct response to its competitors?
Photo Credit: BMW