It's really in the past few years that these launches have really been ramped up, with major dinner launches for major model launches (first I attended was the E90 at Stadium Negara) and cocktails for the smaller launches. BMW Malaysia's only been around since '03, so we should be appreciative we're at the point where they've realised how useful these launches are to get people to see and touch the car, as well as give us something back for the silly prices we pay for not only the cars but the maintenance.
BTW F10 launch was not bad, Chris Bauer did a decent job. F01 launch trumped it though, Justin Quek is at a different level, and it was quite cool to have Bic Runga there. The X5 launch a couple of years ago was equally brilliant, Kevin from Lafite (back then) really put on a good show, and having 3 different flutes of Moet and 4 different wines in front of me at the same time ensured that I had a very good night.