View Single Post
      05-03-2013, 10:59 AM   #30
Jamesons Viggen
Brigadier General
United_States
193
Rep
3,780
Posts

Drives: '98 M Roadster stg 2+ S/C
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Rochester Hills MI

iTrader: (3)

Quote:
Originally Posted by davesaddiction View Post
My letter to the editor on that one actually made it into print:

"The ATS, which 'recalibrated your scale' for handling, lost to the 328i based on styling, trunk and rear-seat space? Is this Car and Driver or Couch and Passenger?!"

Winning on points, but losing on what matters, is no win that I'd be proud of...

It was also substantially quicker in every measure and the ATS had a terrible gearbox which can be a deal breaker.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paradoxical3 View Post
+ infinity.

Not sure why people don't get this. If you bought a BMW for trunk space, electronic features, etc, YOU GOT SCREWED. There are numerous brands, including Japanese and Korean, that outperform BMW on those metrics.

It used to be that you bought BMW for the steering feel and performance, which was their strong point.

But really, this is very simple to illustrate. In 2007, the BMW 335 had 300 horsepower, the exact same engine that they still use today (335is), with all of the fit and finish and gizmos that they currently have. With minimal LCI improvements, BMW was selling the EXACT same cars that are still in their lineup today that haven't been replaced by the F30 yet.

My point is, BMW was so incredibly far ahead of their competition that it took the competition SIX YEARS to catch up, and those same BMW's are still sold today (coupes have not been F30'd yet).

Today, BMW can't even decisively win a comparo with their brand new F30. Can you imagine how bad this platform is going to be in six years? There is zero chance of BMW following the same tactic that they did with the e90's of selling the same car with minimal LCI improvements. If they do that, they will just get completely obliterated by the competition.

For example, Cadillac's new 420hp V6. That's not even the top of the line "V" engine and it makes more power than the M3.
There are 100 reasons to buy a car. There were reasons for plenty of people(like me) not to buy an E90. With the E90, I basically felt I had to have a 335(which made no sense next to my E36/7) as the 328 was down on power and NA bolt ons lead to almost nowhere. I found the backseat and trunk size an issue and overall the car just felt a bit too small to be my DD(which was to replace my larger CC 2.0T 6mt APR'd).


Why are you hungup that the E92 is still being sold? Since back in the E46 days, the coupes and verts always had a longer shelf life compared to the sedan. This is how BMW has done it for nearly 15 years.


Does it give up SOME things to an E90, yes. But it gets a lot of other things in return. Magazine racing and hypotheticals are one thing, but when you BUY a new car you take into account the whole picture. The F30 is just the right size, a bit smaller than the E39, bigger than the E90, 30% stiffer, insanely fuel efficient, VERY torque'y and finally an aftermarket with real power options thanks to FI, and it's great looking in MSport with Eb2 even if some people are still hung up on he lights touching the grill lol.

Say what you want about the F30 compared to your E90's which if often from people who have not driven one, or those who drove a crappy loaner for a day(If your car has Sport suspension, even the F30 Sport suspension is not as stiff, you need the Mperformance suspension to =E90 Sports), but the fact is the F30 328 is still the best choice in the segment according to professionals and people test driving the competition. Me, the only car that could have tempted me was an ATS 2.0T 6mt as it has an LSD and Brembos.

To your quote:

Today, BMW can't even decisively win a comparo with their brand new F30.


Not including the ATS win mentioned above...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...bmw-328i-sedan

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...an_comparison/

From that 8 car test, this quote:

"This is not just a win for the 328i; it's a massacre. A slaughter. Doomsday. Armageddon. I say this with a straight face: There is no competition. Not only was the BMW's first-place finish never in question, but I can't remember a comparison test with such lopsided results. Honestly, we had a hard time finding bad things to say. Aside from the as-tested price (see above!)"
__________________

'98 Dinan/RMS stage 2+(VAC cams, CES Cutring etc)
'15 Buick Regal "T"(wife)
'06 Saab 9-5 Combi 5mt (full suspension, LSD, clipped turbo etc)

Last edited by Jamesons Viggen; 05-03-2013 at 11:08 AM..
Appreciate 0