[SteveMD]

Bore/Stroke N52 and N54 out to 3.2 liter.
Base 325 with 240HP (3 liter)
328/330 with 275HP
335 with 335HP

This would better match the competition. not only from Lexus/Infiniti but from Honda (!!) and Nissan.

Homelink should be standard
Dimming mirrors should be standard.
Alarm should be standard - I've always thought this was a ploy to make you spend another $500. Granted you need a shock sensor but everything else is already in the car. For example, the ECU knows if the door is opened without being previously unlocked by the fob - sound the bloody horn!!

Cup holders are awful. I'm in a loaner E46 and those are great.
Dump the economy gauge.
Reduce weight.

Probably more but my wife needs attention....must go.

[Grizzles]

add searchable navigation. so i can type in a phone # and get the address. the phone # comes up at the end anyway.

[galahad05]

bulletproof paint and glass. So to speak.


No more of this orange-peel-ey soft paint. It gets rock chips so easily I can't believe it. My old '99 Toyota had far far more chip-resistant paint than this.
No more so-soft-it-looks-sand-blasted-now windshield glass.

[blue2fire]

Make Alarm Standard

Introduce Speed Sensitive door locks

The 2012 Passat is going to come with paint that will change color at the flick of a button. We want this.

Make RF Keys standard (For good or bad)

We NEED a 6CD changer to be standard and accessible from the dash.

Make RFT's Optional

Make floor mats Standard.

[ejazbmw]

Originally Posted by blue2fire

Make Alarm Standard

Introduce Speed Sensitive door locks

The 2012 Passat is going to come with paint that will change color at the flick of a button. We want this.

Make RF Keys standard (For good or bad)

We NEED a 6CD changer to be standard and accessible from the dash.

Make RFT's Optional

Make floor mats Standard.

what the hell?

[blue2fire]

Oops, should have said that there was a strong probability but the technology exists.

It sounds promising. As well as promising a radical redesign that will make us think twice about wanting a 3-series, C-Class or an A4, the new Passat will be rammed with advanced technology including weight-saving measures like miniature air-con compressors and electric seat adjusters, new ultra-thin toughened glass, featherweight foam injection chassis stiffening, semi-active air suspension, rear-wheel steering, a lighter low-friction 4Motion system with dynamic torque split... the list goes on.

You want more tech? How about airless tyres from Continental, a Bosch wiperless window cleaning system, 360deg parking cameras, ESP with automatic counter-steer assistance, speed limit-obeying adaptive cruise control and – our favourite – magnetic low-voltage paint which can change colour by changing the current. It sounds far flung but VW is seriously considering all this for the 2012 Passat replacement.

[ska///235i]

NO Run Flat Tires and better suspensions
Better/Comfy Seats

i think RFT is rank #1 here

[Solonng]

I think that the new 3 series can be more aggressive looking. If anything, make the M3 more aggressive than the coupe..Also, the sound system can use more bass..

[psu139]

more wheel options
DCT
LSD
Boost gage
lighter weight
more horsepower/torque
vented seats
no chime with cold weather advisory/snowflake.
door unlock button located on the drivers interior door handle.
dtc selector on/off/traction off i.e. not having to wait 5 seconds.
fog light switch that remains on after you shut off your car so that when you turn the car back on you don't have to hit the button again.
rft's as an option not standard.
tire brand/type option.

[M3ti Compact]

Limited Slip Diff with lower ratio on all sport packages
Water and/or oil temp guage on all models
Factory alarm
Proper hockey puck jack points - get rid of the plastic boxes
Proper oil dipstick - keep on board oil level computer
Sport cloth, or cloth/leather seats as the standard seats -leather optoinal- get rid of leatherette
Metallic paint for all colour choices - non metallic no cost option.
Allow customer to adjust/reset the maintenance computer
Discontinue free maintenance and lower price of car

[F32Fleet]

Less weight....Did I say less weight?

perforated leather seats.

LSD standard or option.

Ability to change out transmission and differential fluid.

Bring back the dipstick.

Less orange peel on the paint

Ditch the RFT's

Make non-staggered setup a no-cost option on cars equiped with sport package.

Ditch left/right dual zone climate control. It's pointless on a car any smaller than a 7 series.

Better R&D on products prior to their release (HPFP, Valve Tap).

Better Warranty (ex, The A/T has a maintenance interval of 100k miles, yet BMW basic warranty stops @ 4yr/50k miles. I don't understand how BMW can justify not providing a warranty on this part which has a service interval beyond that of the basic warranty period.)

Higher quality plastics (Plastic interior pieces seem to experience higher rates of degradation @ 36 months).

Stop the nickel and dime with options. BMW moved prices up once for 'raw material prices' which themselves have dropped to new lows and then made two add'l price increases on top of the disection of some packages.

Rock solid electronics.

Improved fuel economy (more efficient engines don't cut it when you pork out the car).

Did I say less weight?

[Crimson92]

add a reliable fuel pump

[ManMachine]

I don't own a E9X 3 series, but I feel that the lack of a spare is the number 1 reason that I will not purchase this vehicle. Some people can have the run-flats as an option (especially for some female drivers).

Also, make the car easier to do maintenance, none of this "life time fluid fill" bullshit. Can't even find a hole to drain the differential fluid.

Shouldn't the Xdrive vehicles start to adopt the DPC torque vectoring thing that debuted in the X6?

[methodtim]

I want a pony.

[Rufio]

Originally Posted by M3ti Compact

Factory alarm

In my counrty it's a standard equipment, or option without extra charge.

I've to agree with the suggestions.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by Rufio

In my counrty it's a standard equipment, or option without extra charge.

I've to agree with the suggestions.

It is because of the Country mate

[blue2fire]

I should say, the changes that we all ask for seem to be minor (except LSD). This brings me to the conclusion that all of us are pretty satisfied by the way the E9x turned out to be.

It was not this easy when people were discussing the new TL, the list was endless.

[carve]

I'd like to see the car return more to it's sporting roots, at least optionally. Offer a bargain priced de-contented 328 and 335 with cloth seat, simple stereo, no moonroof...etc. Just get rid of whatever is expensive or heavy. Also, make it easier for the DIYer to do maintaince. The basic procedures should be in the manual, and that manual should be able to fit in the glove box. Also, the DIYer should be able to reset the service timers with no special tool, like any Honda lets you do.

It'd be nice if the display would tell you the check engine codes when a light is flashed. No reason not to. It'd also be cool if it would tell me what gear it's in even in auto mode, and having a boost guage integrated into the display would be sweet!

Tinted windows are more practical than deployable shades

Better paint
Standard folding back seats
OPTION of run-flats w/extra storage space, or standard tires with spare
All LED lighting, including head lights. Then you can get rid of the bulb-out warning lights
Taller 6th gear
Lighter weight, like what Audi is doing on the new A4
Most importantly, you should look to Honda and Toyota as reliability and maintainability targets. This will dramatically enhance resale value, even if you never quite make it there (which I wouldn't expect, being higher-contented and higher performance).

[musicteacher]

Power Tilt and Telescoping Steering Wheel - IS350 has it, C-class has it as an option, why not 3-series?

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by musicteacher

Power Tilt and Telescoping Steering Wheel - IS350 has it, C-class has it as an option, why not 3-series?

my '09 has the telescoping wheel

[Remonster]

Get rid of the runflats, I had the Bridgestones which were recalled and the Continentals which I got as part of the recall. Once those were gone I got a set of Michelin non runflats and the difference in ride quality and noise was astonishing.

I don't think a true Limited Slip Differential will be a very likely option since BMW seems very adamant about not letting the regular 3 series encroach upon the M3's territory (makes sense from a business standpoint) but maybe they should consider offering it as a Performance part. I would definitely buy it, plenty of us want to improve the handling of our cars without going all the way to an M car.

Stay true to the traditional interior design philosophy. I'm all for evolution of a good idea, I just hope the feel of the BMW interior remains intact. Sitting inside a BMW after a Mercedes or Audi (my family has plenty of those) to me is like leaving Las Vegas and coming home. One is a place I like to visit on occasion, full of distractions and cheap thrills, the other is a place I live where function takes precedence. I love how easy to read BMW's gauges are, I used to think Volkswagen's bright blue gauges looked cool when my dad had a Passat but then I drove a friend's GTI at night and realized how fatiguing the color is to my eyes.

Any other things I can think of are because I simply bought the wrong car, I was impatient and grabbed the first one I found with a manual transmission (it's a base model, exactly zero options on it) when my driving style and taste in cars means I would have been much happier with the sport package. I should have gotten a coupe too, I have to sit pretty far back so the B-pillar on my sedan blocks most of my visibility out the driver's side

[SharkPhi]

1. Heads up display.
2. Move the window buttons back to the center console.
3. Better cup-holders.
4. Ventilated seats
5. Alarm = STANDARD