[DTM-R13]

Originally Posted by dicker

DTM-R13: A large portion of the US market E90's are built in South Africa.

What are you talking about? All E90's are currently made in Munich for US market, my old one was as well,

show some proof of this...

[BimmerGuyFL]

Originally Posted by DTM-R13

What are you talking about? All E90's are currently made in Munich for US market, my old one was as well,

show some proof of this...

A lot of 328i's sold in the USA come from South Africa. My 328i is from South Africa. This has been like this for a while. The ONLY E9X model that comes from Germany is the 335i and 335is.

[kinan_sleiman2006]

Great hp

[jonas_br]

Some guys are doing a complete mess when it comes to horsepower. Here we go:

1 HP = 745.7 W
1 PS (german) = 1 CV (italian, portuguese) = 735.5 W

So, 1 HP = 745.7/735,5 CV

Besides, german engines are usually rated in kilowatts. Hence:

225kW = 306 CV = 302 HP (in US they rounded it to 300 for marketing purposes: 300hp AND 300lb-ft sounds cool)

160kW = 218 CV = 215 HP

135kW = 184 CV = 181 HP (the power in the 320d didn't change)

Hope this was helpful.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by dicker

Wrong. The E46 engines were different than the early E90's

2005 E46 was the M54 with either 184, 225 or 235 hp.

2006 E90 was the N52 with either 215 or 255hp.

Yep, and that's partly why people were caught so off guard by the N54. Everyone assumed that the M54->N52 engine transition would have the latter become the standard motor for years to come. And while that did happen, a lot of people were caught totally off guard by the N54 BMW had waiting in the wings, ready to pounce.

The lesson here is, know what you are getting into. Especially in the case of the F30, don't assume that the N55/N20 will be with us in 300hp and 240hp for years to come. They could easily get tuned to more power soon, possibly coinciding with the release of the F32. Or, they might be planning to debut BMW's brand new engine lineup that has been rumored for sometime, with unified cylinder architecture for I3, I4, I6, and power up to 408hp (in the non-M I6).

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

They need to keep a balance between the upper and lower series of BMW models. If the 3er was to be given the more powerful engine it would be the 340i. And BMW do not want to implement a 340i especially with an M3 on the way.

That's too bad. I suspect they'll need to do something, as clearly Infinti, Audi, Mercedes, even Lexus, appear to have absolutey no plans to limit their 3 series competitors to 300hp. I suppose BMW will try to position the new 3 Activehybrid as the top of the line model and occupy this space. And maybe that strategy will prove to be a winner, but it will still be nice to see a pure gasoline model with 350hp or so.

[DTM-R13]

Originally Posted by BimmerGuyFL

A lot of 328i's sold in the USA come from South Africa. My 328i is from South Africa. This has been like this for a while. The ONLY E9X model that comes from Germany is the 335i and 335is.

this is an 09 328, how can you tell?


This is an 09 335

[DTM-R13]

Also where will the F30 328 be made?

Believe it or not this will greatly affect my choice in cars if it's not made in Germany,

[dicker]

Originally Posted by DTM-R13

this is an 09 328, how can you tell?
pic

This is an 09 335

pic]

The 328i you linked is a South African car, the VIN letter after the year indicator is an N, that means it's a 328i SA, you'd have an A after the year indicator if it's german. That's the only way to tell by looking at the car.

The 335i you linked to is a Munich car (E after the year indicator)

BimmerGuyFL: The SA plant produces both 328i and 335i for the US market. The only E90 that is germany only is the 335d which is already out of production.


All E91/2/3 for the US market are made in Germany however.

DTM-R13: The F30 will be made in both places just like the E90. The South African plant has been around since 1968 and has been building LHD 3 series for the US market for the last 15 years. It's ok if you're a xenophobe, I understand.

[Blake P]

No updated info on whether BMW NA has decided to federalize the F31?

[DesiRoc]

Idk why, but I like the look of the e90 better than the f30.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by DesiRoc

Idk why, but I like the look of the e90 better than the f30.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but... you've seen the fully revealed production F30 where?

Seriously though, reserve your judgments for until you see the production F30 in 2 weeks.

[DesiRoc]

Originally Posted by Jason

Sorry for the sarcasm, but... you've seen the fully revealed production F30 where?

Seriously though, reserve your judgments for until you see the production F30 in 2 weeks.

Lol, sure.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by crex

(3.0L inline 6 cylinder twin turbo) ??? It's back! lol

Was it gone?

[SCOTT26]

Whether the 3er is built in Munich , Rosslyn or other areas of the world such as India , Malaysia and China they all adhere to quality control regulations implanted by BMW.
And each model is built to the highest standards expected of a BMW.

If you lined up one car built from each nation which builds the 3er you will not notice the difference.

[BimmerGuyFL]

The only thing I don't like about my BMW and seems like a lot of BMW's have this problem. Is the pulling to the right side of the road issue. I have had MANY alignments done by the dealership, new tires installed. Dealership checked suspension etc etc. and my 328i Pulls pretty noticable to the right. Our X5 does not. Sad that I juast drove a Cruze on the same roads I drive my 328i on and the Cruze tracket extremly straight. I am not the only one with this issue on my E9X model. I have three other friends with E9X models who suffer from the same problem. There doesn't seem to be a fix for it.

[DTM-R13]

Originally Posted by dicker

The 328i you linked is a South African car, the VIN letter after the year indicator is an N, that means it's a 328i SA, you'd have an A after the year indicator if it's german. That's the only way to tell by looking at the car.

The 335i you linked to is a Munich car (E after the year indicator)

BimmerGuyFL: The SA plant produces both 328i and 335i for the US market. The only E90 that is germany only is the 335d which is already out of production.


All E91/2/3 for the US market are made in Germany however.

DTM-R13: The F30 will be made in both places just like the E90. The South African plant has been around since 1968 and has been building LHD 3 series for the US market for the last 15 years. It's ok if you're a xenophobe, I understand.

This is a VIN in a 335 WBAPM77559NL86537 does that mean South Africa?

[DTM-R13]

From Autocheck.com

There is no "E" here, but it still states Germany

VIN: WBAPM77559NL86537
Year: 2009
Make: BMW
Style / Body: Sedan 4D
Engine: 3.0L I6 DI
Country of Assembly: Germany
Model: 3-Series 335i

[DTM-R13]

Originally Posted by dicker

The 328i you linked is a South African car, the VIN letter after the year indicator is an N, that means it's a 328i SA, you'd have an A after the year indicator if it's german. That's the only way to tell by looking at the car.

The 335i you linked to is a Munich car (E after the year indicator)

BimmerGuyFL: The SA plant produces both 328i and 335i for the US market. The only E90 that is germany only is the 335d which is already out of production.


All E91/2/3 for the US market are made in Germany however.

DTM-R13: The F30 will be made in both places just like the E90. The South African plant has been around since 1968 and has been building LHD 3 series for the US market for the last 15 years. It's ok if you're a xenophobe, I understand.

This one you said is SA says germany too????????????????????????

VIN: WBAPH57579NL78657
Year: 2009
Make: BMW
Style / Body: Sedan 4D
Engine: 3.0L I6 DI
Country of Assembly: Germany
Model: 3-Series 328i

[dicker]

Autocheck is wrong, those are both south african cars. The N in the vin gives it away, also I checked the BMW system to be extra sure.

[Michael Schott]

Originally Posted by James T. Kirk

New 335i with less horsepower = lame

You are confused. The 335i N55 makes 300 hp. The 335is N54 makes 320 hp.

[Penso di no]

Originally Posted by dicker

Autocheck is wrong, those are both south african cars. The N in the vin gives it away, also I checked the BMW system to be extra sure.

Dicker is correct. Autocheck is reporting the country of the manufacturer, not the country of manufacture. Around 2000 BMW even started to use WBA to start the VIN of X5s that were built in the US (2001 X5: WBAFA53561LH78055), but they apparently had to stop and return to a US designation for those built by BMW NA (e.g., a 2008 X5: 5UXFE43538L004191).

[scott@bmwhn]

I can confirm that Dicker is correct that both those cars are from S. Africa

-Scott