uhm couldnt agree with this anymore I experience this everyday, I work in beverly hills and I couldnt count the dumb****s I see driving 328 bimmers thinkin that they are the shiz, and I bet when the 128 and 135 come out I will see countless numbers of those driving around.

 

You guys seem to be forgetting how messed up the exchange rates are... we have lost 11% the Euro YTD and about 7% to the yen YTD. German cars are just going to get more expensive unless things start to change.

 

Why do people think bimmers are so great? I have one and the thing has way worse quality than ANY Mitsu. It is the damn status symbol for people that don't know ****. They are alright and have a nice feel, but they aren't that great, especially for the price.

 

Not everyone that buys a 135i is going to buy it for the status. It really depends on the local demographic. If you life in California (LA area) for instance, it could be a garbage can with wheels, but as long as it has a Merc or BMW symbol, the consumer would gladly put themselves into significant debt just to achieve that coveted status level and thus project the illusion that they are wealthy. Other, less materialism-concerned U.S. demographics are going to buy it for what it is: a compact, simple, comfortable vehicle that has sweet acceleration, a modest price, and yes, it does have those three alluring letters surrounding a white propeller on a blue sky. BMW's are solid vehicles with solid performance - they aren't perfect and trust me, my mom has had her share of problems with her '01 330xi , but I would say that the quality does justify the price.

The 135i will not even be close to the Evo X in the handling department, however it will be faster in a straight line and be a good price for a BMW. For alot of people, that is enough justification to go the direction of a 135i over the Evo...but not for me = .

 

I disagree. I think BMW is charging too much to get into their "entry level" 1-series. The base model should be starting at something like $26K and then it would be an amazing bang for the buck. Almost as lame as VW asking $35K for their slow-footed, overweight R32.

 

that bmws gona be awesome

 

BMW is THE benchmark for many car companies out there. Do you know how many car companies purchase BMW 3-series cars for themselves so they can study it and tell their designers to try and design/build a car this good?

What about almost every car magazine out there and the editors who have driven and/or raced hundreds of cars in their careers who are constantly picking BMW for their best car, and all the other awards they've won.

By saying that a BMW has worse quality than a Mitsu makes me question your credibility. Yes for some a BMW is a status symbol, and for some an Evo is a status symobl. There are tons of posers out there who own an Evo just because they want to look cool, and yes same goes with BMW unfortunately.

 

^^^ What???

 

I don't usually make contributions on this board, but as someone who lives in LA, I think you should really consider your previous statement. I don't know how many states and large cities you have lived in but LA is a town that is large enough to encompass enough people with money to give the illusion that everyone has money. Trust me when I say that Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami are not that different from LA, I know because I have lived there.

I think it should be mentioned that BMW is perceived as an entry into the luxury market by young men more so than any other brand. Merc has an older demographic and Audi (which I love) seems to have a higher percentage of female drivers.

I think that rather than taking a baseball bat to people who like one car over the other, we should agree that more choices and manufacturers concentrating more of their resources in a performance automobile is a good thing, no matter who those companies are.

In the next few years we will have for under 40K

Pontiac G8
Dodge Challenger
Chrysler/Dodge SRT-8 offerings
STI and EVO X
BMW 1 series 130
BMW 328 (not a perfect fit in this list)
Hyundai Genesis RWD
Mustang (doesn't count for me, but the next version will have serious power)
Possible Mazda rx7 or variant
Nissan 350/370 Z
Possible Toyota Supra
Chevrolet Camero (400-500 hp)

There are many more in different stages of development, but there are a lot of choices, especially when you consider different power plants (Challenger 500+ hp)

I think it is a good day for enthusiasts and the best product should win the best following. Who wouldn't like to have a 500 hp stock monster for under 40K in their garage for the weekends?


FWIW I think that the controls and gauge layout of a BMW are crap, but you have to love a company that underrates its HP numbers and exaggerates their acceleration numbers (in a negative way).

 

I have thought about this statement. I have not personally lived in LA, but I have been there more than a dozen times and have family that lives there. Sure, there are alot of wealthy, but not enough to satisfy the amount of BMWs and Mercs that you see on the road. The majority of my relatives share this "living beyond one's means" mentality and are in full agreement that its an epidemic. Coming from a city that does not really share that materialistic mentality, it is very obvious. Not putting down Californians, just using it as an example of an ever-growing problem in this country.

 

I don't want to derail this thread but your personal values are relative and you seem to be advocating less choice in the marketplace through questioning other individuals' finances which you have no personal knowlege of.

I just don't get it.

Isn't is a GOOD thing to be in a position to have to choose between these cars? I think the real danger is the 11% YTD depreciation of the dollar which will eventually limit the choices for all of us.

 

This is true, I don't know those people's finances that i'm criticizing, but I can include 4 or 5 members of my family, as well as their friends, who live in the LA area and drive BMWs because it provides the appearance that they are successful...not because it is the best car or most economical. My girlfriend also has family that has the same mentality and it baffles me that some people are so hell-bent on materialism and outward appearance that they are willing to put themselves into significant debt just to achieve a desired status level. In short, they are broke posers.

Again, I'm not saying that ALL Californians are like this. Materialism and living beyond one's means is a big problem in this country, just seems quite prevelant when I visit SoCal and talk to people from there. I AM NOT advocating less choice, just advocating that people choose more wisely. Sorry if this discussion was .

 

if you want to have a BMW and be a part of it ,then check out what i find in they forum about us...
they listed the biggest douches on the road...
we made it ,according to them ,the number 2!
quote
"..2 Mitsubishi EVO: Thanks to a mass marketed hype, Mitsubishi was able to jump into the douchebag market with the Mitsubishi EVO, an ugly piece of junk that can best be described as a turbocharged chinese takeout box. Because of the hype and aura surrounded by these douchemobiles, their owners think their cars are invincible, able to best every and any car on the road or track, inspite of reality. Again jealousy is an issue with the owners of these rolling dumpsters because we all know people just wish they owned a $30000 Lancer with a hopped up engine. Additional "technology" features (including a massive wing inversely proportional to the owners ***** size) attract quasi-intelligent douchebags to these cars because they can pretend to explain how all the useless marketing features actually make their cars fast. Through extensive douchebag networking, a random douchebag always knows some other douchebag who is a friend of a douchebag with an Evo that runs single digits in the quarter mile. This information is bogus, and often imparted by a douchebag trying to impress non-douchebags about a hyped up douchemobile that he doesn't own. Races with these uber-fast EVOs never materialize either. Fortunately, the hype on these vehicles is fading away, but egos remain higher than ever as a result, with douchebags desperate to prove how badass they can be by racing anything on the road."

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=864106


we hurt them preaty bad lately...

 

Apparently, the only derogatory term in the english language is "douchebag", seeing as it was used in various compound forms 11 times in this ridiculous paragraph. I guess you get bitter fanboys in every crowd. I dunno, I have met quite a few people that have compared the driving quality of Evos to BMWs, but have said that the Evo is just a better, more hardcore vehicle in comparison...which I'd have to agree with. One of the reasons I bought an Evo is because I talked to a middle-aged guy who told me that he traded in his '02 M5 for an Evo 8. I asked him why and he said the Evo was the better driver's car and just blows it away in overall performance. That was good enough for me.

 

it was really suprising for me to find this on BMW forum ,even though they qoute some one from somewhere...