I would argue that they still pride themselves in the execution of the designs, even if you (and I) disagree with some of the design direction.
Statistically they may not be any better or worse than any other manufacturer, but I still can't convince myself that their craftsmanship is any better. The koreans pride themselves in their craftsmanship too, and their cars are a third of the price.
I love the older bmws for the driving experience but they require so much more maintenance than say a Lexus. The newer bmws meanwhile seem to be geared much more to the luxury market than driving enthusiasts (eg very few manual choices).
In general they were all beaters that barely ran, but they ran. One corolla went for 2 or 3 years without an oil change and had 2 cylinders with low compression. Friend never got it fixed, but the car was still running (although with very low power). I actually think the general reliability of these cars leads to them being in worse shape. They're running so why bother to fix it. The owners also had a drive it until it dies approach, just generally took a long time to die.
Employees maybe but the company strives to be a mobility service provider nowadays.
Just like MB's w123 and w124 series.
Today, not so much.
An overpriced design study with huge panel gaps everywhere?
Used to. These days, not so much. And they're misfiring quite a bit. For example, the new X3 xDrive30e gets a measly 18 miles of electric range (EPA; real-world likely less). All of that added complexity and weight for very little benefit (in 2020 -- 10 years ago it would have been alright). No 3er manuals in the US anymore. Have you seen the rear of the new 3er which looks like Lexus IS? Have you seen what the 5er looks like, heck even in M5 guise? And so on, and so on.
Sry, I used to be a BMW guy and that touched (touches?) a nerve. They had the right formula when the i3 originally came out, and then someone at the top decided to effectively kill the program and most of their top EV engineers left. They would have been way ahead of where they are today, and of most of their competition, had they not intentionally shot themselves in the foot.
With that logo, it's a done deal, I'll never buy their product again. BMW was something you could identify with.