[tony20009]

I mostly just want it to retain it tight handling and compact size.

If they do that much, all I really need are some cool color combinations. Other than that...a bare bones version actually available in the US would be good. I would love to be able to buy a good car for $30K without all the lux gizmos and with the tight, sporty handling.

If I were the product manager in charge of the 3er line, below is how I'd package the series.

Standard Equipment:

• Power windows
• Power door locks
• MT - because it's a 3er, not a 5er or 7er
• Radio and speakers -- because you have to have one to at least get the news. I'd make it a radio that audiophiles would upgrade, but the rest of us wouldn't bother. Also, you can see what the radio/iPod/CD is playing/set to, regardless of whether you wear polarized sunglasses.
• CD player -- because this is 2010, not 2000
• iPod hookup -- in 2010 all cars of this caliber should have this
• Cruise control (the regular sort) - because it belongs on a car costing $30K
• Sport suspension and wheels/tires (18" staggered or non-staggered)- because the way a BMW handles, especially a 3er, is why we buy them
• Torque and HP equal to the current 335 -- because that way BMW can get its money's worth out of that engine as well as setting the bar higher for Audi and MB
• a dip stick (get rid of the computerized measurements) - just because
• Supportive and comfortable seats -- because we sometimes drive in a spirited manner and sometimes on long trips to the mountains/beach because our 3er is more fun to drive than our S-Class or our SUV and we don't need the extra room in either of those cars
• A nice beefy steering wheel (it doesn't need to control anything but the steering) -- because nobody likes skinny penises or steering wheels
• Bluetooth -- because in 2010, particularly with the dangers of talking on cell phones, all cars of this caliber should have this
• air conditioning -- because duh....
• Xenon headlamps - there's no reason why any car should not have the maximum available light. How can anyone say that seeing less at night is a good or even OK thing?
• A sun/moon roof -- I could probably get by without this, but I don't want to...
• Folding rear seats -- because this is still a functional car not a supreme luxury car.
• Automatic windshield washers that work just like the automatic headlamps...set it to automatic and forget about it. Comes with a disabling switch so you can go through a car wash.
• Alarm system -- I wouldn't normally want this, but with BMW moving more and more toward parts being interchangeable among models, liklihood of theft will also increase.
• Some interesting interior colors, e.g., lemon yellow, cobalt or navy blue, chocolate brown, black, white, red, dark green (no beige...folks shouldn't be allowed to choose boring colors)
• Some interesting exterior colors, e.g., white, black, dark grey, light grey/TiAg, dark brown, light blue, dark blue, some shade of green, and red (again, no boring colors allowed...sorry platinum bronze folks.)
• Run-flat tires -- because I don't like changing tires on the side of the road and I don't think it's particularly safe to do so.

Do all that for something in the low to mid 30s, and it's a perfect daily driver and that's what I want from a 3er. I think it'd be good for BMW too as it would give them a standard car that's got what it needs to appeal to a wide range of buyers at a price many folks can afford and thus they can gain major market share over the competitiion.

Options: If it has the above stuff, I probably wouldn't buy any of these, but the option list IMHO doesn't need to be anywhere near as long as it is right now.

• Nav
• Auto with flappy paddles
• Upgraded stereo -- better speakers, more speakers, more powerful amplifier, add a pre-amp, better wiring, better tonal quality, graphic equalizer, better vibration isolation for the DC/DVD player, 3 years of satellite radio pre-paid, adds steering wheel controls for a host of different things like the stereo, phone, iPod, etc.
• Privacy shades
• Upgraded suspension and tires/wheels (19")
• Dynamic handling (changes suspension from normal (same as sport suspension now) comfort (about what non-sport is now) and sport + (stiffer than now)) - This one I would buy.
• Upgraded cruise control
• BMW Driving School Delivery -- Buy/order your car and pick it up at (or take it to) the BMW driving school somewhere in the country and learn what your car is really capable of. You learn something, you get a nice quick weekend (or weekday) get-away, and get some thrills with your own car at least once, even if you never drive it like that again. In addition, the first 500 break-in miles are put on your car on a machine that just runs the motor and turns the wheels/tranny but the car goes nowhere. If there's anything amiss with the car, it can be fixed before you even get the car. With this option, your warranty starts at 500 miles.
• Comfort Access
• Leather seats (Dakota, Montana, Boston, Kathmandu, Kuala Lampur, or whatever city/state they want to name it after)
• Upgraded leather -- Something that is actually really nice and grippy
• Whatever other silly sh*t they want to come up with
• Headliner -- Alcantara -- color choice -- black or matched to seat color
• Tire Swap - Switch out the standard run-flats for regular tires and a spare. (Will reduce cargo space in the boot.) Summer, performance tires and 19" wheels required. -- Because if you don't want the convenience of the run-flats, it should be for a performance-oriented reason.

Packages:

• Premium Driving Package -- adds carbon brakes, 19" wheels on staggered run flat performance tires, upgraded engine (adds 20-30 hp), upgraded suspension (tighter/stiffer), upgraded sport seats with contrast stitching and contrast stitching on the steering wheel too, some aerodynamic exterior body fitments like splitters and spoilers and other such bits, and dynamic handling as noted above. (I would buy this if only to reduce the brake dust.)
  
• Driving Package -- same as above minus carbon brakes, upgraded suspension and upgraded engine
  
• Premium Luxury Package -- adds nav, parking distance squawkers, active cruise control, cameras so you can see what's behind/ahead of you, heads up display, and any bundle of "cushy features" that otherwise do nothing to improve the car's driving characteristics but make it more of an entry level luxury car rather than a true sport sedan. (Automatically adds all elements of the Convenience Package below.) Basically it's a bunch of bells, whistles, and gizmos...There's no way I'd buy this, but I know some people like this stuff...
  
• Convenience Package -- adds a few minor conveniences such as comfort access, power leather seats, fold down rear seats (if that's not standard), power rear sun shade and manual side shades, garage door opener. Basically the things that make the car very functional for day to day living. The sort of stuff that if you have it on your car, you'll have a use for it nearly every day, but if these things aren't on your car, you'd get by just fine.
  
• Cold Weather Package -- heated seats, heated steering wheel (regardless of what steering wheel you get), headlamp washers, ski bag, set of winter run-flat tires and wheels stored at your local dealership until you make an appointment to have the dealer mount them for you.

• Why?
• Run-flats because I don't want to change a tire on the side of the road in the winter
• So BMW can get paid for those wheel styles that otherwise nobody wants
• So that there's yet another opportunity to get you into the BMW store and build on the relationship they have with you
• So that BMW has free money to play with until you come in to have your tires mounted
• Because the biggest issue I have with winter tires is having the space to store the summer ones -- I can do other things with that space. Yes, I can store them at a storage facility, but frankly, I like schleping them aroudn even less than I like having a place to put them in my garage.