yeah, they could have easily made the existing design flat[ter] but left the rest intact. the new look looks very cheap, but i bet they paid $200k for the redesign.
Like you're saying, the client very well might be requesting and choose a design that looks like it was made by an amateur.
Envision a black ring instead of black, no white border, and the letters B M W in a tighter, more modern sans serif. That could have been slick.