Show Me Your BMW!!!!!!!!!
Discussion
mylesmcd said:
rlg43p said:
Collected this very high spec Gran Coupe just yesterday. A substantial upgrade from the 2011 Coupe I have had since January 2015 that is now up for sale.
Really enjoying it so far.more detail please!
Adaptive LED lights with high beam assist - the magic trickery stuff that automatically maintains high beam without dazzling traffic in front of you
Head up display
Ivory Nappa Leather Comfort Seats
Sunroof
Multi-function instrument display
Variable Damper Control
20" 373M alloys
Reversing camera
Traffic sign recognition
Soft close doors
Adjustable lumbar support
Front and rear heated seats
Internet
DAB
Harmon Kardon Sound
Individual anthracite roof lining
Well pleased with it. Trouble is it will spoil me for anything else.......
i8 maybe next time!
CRA1G said:
rlg43p said:
Well pleased with it. Trouble is it will spoil me for anything else.......
i8 maybe next time!
The 640 is the better car.... i certainly wouldn't want the i8 for the daily mile muncher.... i8 maybe next time!
The i8 is no comparison, quick in a straight line, uncomfortable on the limit and a lot of drama every time you pull up anywhere. A beautiful object, but it doesnt have the breadth of ability that a big 6 has.
Literally everything has totally gone to s
t at BMW over the last decade or so. The 2-series Active Tourer. The X1. The ruddy awful F10/F11 5-series (which I had the displeasure of having for a month, went back to my E39s with great relief). Then they turned it into the worst M5 by a country mile. There was the 5-series GT (which has in its second generation been rebadged upmarket as a 6-series, alongside the Gran Coupe, to add to the confusion!), and the X6. The utter confusion of the 3GT, 4GC and X4, which are all exactly the bloody same. The new X3 is the most eye-burningly hideous of all BMW's recent abominations. Now a FWD 1-series. 3-series will go the same way in time. All the formerly interesting stuff is going X-Drive (supposedly 600bhp/500ftlb-ish is too much to stick in a RWD platform, which has been met with derision by the Americans, who are making some great RWD machines with significantly more than that). Whatever happened to "The Ultimate Driving Machine"? More like "The Ultimate Posing Machine". There's nothing left of what made the brand great. I was speaking to a couple of my local BMW specialists earlier today - they both told me the new BMWs are needing significant engine work (timing chain-related) at 2-figure mileages, with catastrophic failure not far out of warranty being alarmingly common. Meanwhile, my E39 540i is cruising up to 220,000 miles without the slightest trouble... the last two previous owners were/are PHers, I'm told, so it's been well looked after (although none of the big jobs have been done yet), but it has an air of permanence the new cars just don't come near. The build quality is in a different league. The paint has a quality of finish and a depth and lustre that nothing these days short of a Rolls-Royce has - no 'orange peel'!
BMW is in urgent need of a re-examination of its legacy from the 1960s through to the late 2000s, everything from the Neue Klasse through to the E60, the 2002 through to the E92. The E39 is not the same thing as the E3, but it is a recognisable linear descendant, with certain character traits in common. An E46 bears some resemblance in its driving characteristics to an E30. That's all gone now. The cars have become visually and dynamically bloated. They have been robbed of all tactility. Adding more power through turbocharging undersized engines is no compensation.
Now, I cannot afford a new BMW comparable in space or performance to my current stable of three E39s, but that may be about to change. If BMW still offered something recognisably like an E39 today, I would happily buy one. However, I simply cannot muster the slightest enthusiasm for anything in their range at present, and foresee no likelihood of that ever changing. Even if I had the means to buy an F90 M5 in cash tomorrow, I simply could not justify that expenditure to myself, when the same money would buy me a number of vastly more desirable recent classics from the classifieds (for example, earlier this evening, I was lusting over the Bentley Brooklands, from £99,000 - which is admittedly more than the M5 at a projected £75k, albeit before options).
t at BMW over the last decade or so. The 2-series Active Tourer. The X1. The ruddy awful F10/F11 5-series (which I had the displeasure of having for a month, went back to my E39s with great relief). Then they turned it into the worst M5 by a country mile. There was the 5-series GT (which has in its second generation been rebadged upmarket as a 6-series, alongside the Gran Coupe, to add to the confusion!), and the X6. The utter confusion of the 3GT, 4GC and X4, which are all exactly the bloody same. The new X3 is the most eye-burningly hideous of all BMW's recent abominations. Now a FWD 1-series. 3-series will go the same way in time. All the formerly interesting stuff is going X-Drive (supposedly 600bhp/500ftlb-ish is too much to stick in a RWD platform, which has been met with derision by the Americans, who are making some great RWD machines with significantly more than that). Whatever happened to "The Ultimate Driving Machine"? More like "The Ultimate Posing Machine". There's nothing left of what made the brand great. I was speaking to a couple of my local BMW specialists earlier today - they both told me the new BMWs are needing significant engine work (timing chain-related) at 2-figure mileages, with catastrophic failure not far out of warranty being alarmingly common. Meanwhile, my E39 540i is cruising up to 220,000 miles without the slightest trouble... the last two previous owners were/are PHers, I'm told, so it's been well looked after (although none of the big jobs have been done yet), but it has an air of permanence the new cars just don't come near. The build quality is in a different league. The paint has a quality of finish and a depth and lustre that nothing these days short of a Rolls-Royce has - no 'orange peel'!BMW is in urgent need of a re-examination of its legacy from the 1960s through to the late 2000s, everything from the Neue Klasse through to the E60, the 2002 through to the E92. The E39 is not the same thing as the E3, but it is a recognisable linear descendant, with certain character traits in common. An E46 bears some resemblance in its driving characteristics to an E30. That's all gone now. The cars have become visually and dynamically bloated. They have been robbed of all tactility. Adding more power through turbocharging undersized engines is no compensation.
Now, I cannot afford a new BMW comparable in space or performance to my current stable of three E39s, but that may be about to change. If BMW still offered something recognisably like an E39 today, I would happily buy one. However, I simply cannot muster the slightest enthusiasm for anything in their range at present, and foresee no likelihood of that ever changing. Even if I had the means to buy an F90 M5 in cash tomorrow, I simply could not justify that expenditure to myself, when the same money would buy me a number of vastly more desirable recent classics from the classifieds (for example, earlier this evening, I was lusting over the Bentley Brooklands, from £99,000 - which is admittedly more than the M5 at a projected £75k, albeit before options).
Every now and then we get posts like these bemoaning modern beemers (and indeed with reference to other marques in GG too, most latterly LR/RR). However BMW seem to be doing something right - sales are at record levels and profitability too.
Or would you rather that they ignored economic reality and instead concentrated on building cars that a very small minority of the market prefer?
They may not now be what you're looking for, as RoverPB has told us on many occasions previously - so perhaps it's time to look elsewhere for cars to meet your specific requirements. And leave BMW, and others, to give the wider market what it wants.
Or would you rather that they ignored economic reality and instead concentrated on building cars that a very small minority of the market prefer?
They may not now be what you're looking for, as RoverPB has told us on many occasions previously - so perhaps it's time to look elsewhere for cars to meet your specific requirements. And leave BMW, and others, to give the wider market what it wants.
I don't imagine they're in the slightest bit worried about what some fat bloke in Cornwall thinks about their current line up. It's all pretty subjective anyway and modern stuff just isn't for me. I don't doubt they do what people ask of them when they sign their leasing agreements or whatever. I guess I just yearn for the days when each manufacturer was different and cars had a real character and style. I'm not naive enough to think youngsters would choose a 2000 touring over something like an i3 though. 
^^^^^
Agreed, add that there are alternative niche manufacturers that can fill the need of those drivers seeking ‘old World’ driving experiences. Major Global cannot stand still in development of products that must be in compliance of legislation. Having said that the likes of BMW could, if they thought it would be commerciall viable.
Agreed, add that there are alternative niche manufacturers that can fill the need of those drivers seeking ‘old World’ driving experiences. Major Global cannot stand still in development of products that must be in compliance of legislation. Having said that the likes of BMW could, if they thought it would be commerciall viable.
had ham said:
Every now and then we get posts like these bemoaning modern beemers (and indeed with reference to other marques in GG too, most latterly LR/RR). However BMW seem to be doing something right - sales are at record levels and profitability too.
Or would you rather that they ignored economic reality and instead concentrated on building cars that a very small minority of the market prefer?
They may not now be what you're looking for, as RoverP6B has told us on many occasions previously - so perhaps it's time to look elsewhere for cars to meet your specific requirements. And leave BMW, and others, to give the wider market what it wants.
People will buy any old crap with the right badge on it, we know that, but is it really too much to ask that they at least try to make their cars drive reasonably well and not be wilfully ugly? JLR and M-B are coping OK with the latter these days. The new X3 is unforgivable. The 2-series A.T. and all other FWD offerings are abominations. It's not like the mass market would stop buying BMWs if they were styled and engineered acceptably. It's also a well-known fact that today's BMWs are not long-term reliable like they used to be. Timing chains routinely needing doing at 30k is not normal! Or would you rather that they ignored economic reality and instead concentrated on building cars that a very small minority of the market prefer?
They may not now be what you're looking for, as RoverP6B has told us on many occasions previously - so perhaps it's time to look elsewhere for cars to meet your specific requirements. And leave BMW, and others, to give the wider market what it wants.
Oh, and my sons are 26 and 18. They have said that the very last BMWs that interested them at all were the E60/1 M5 and E92 330i & M3. BMW will never, ever sell them a new car from their current or foreseeable range.
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