Although cars like the Jaguar XK120, Shelby Mustang and Porsche 911 have become legends, their modern equivalents offer far superior driving dynamics. And greater reliability. And safety. But it is their "soul" that resonates: the combination of icnoclastic style and man - machine
zeitgeist. So when enthusiasts (and BMW PR) started comparing
the new 135i to Bimmer's venerable 2002, expectations were sky high. The reality is more like a fat guy limbo dancing under a pole raised six feet off the ground.
My paranoid-delusional theory: BMW intentionally botched the 135i. If executed properly and sold with a mid- to upper-20s price tag, the 1-Series would have eaten the 3-Series' breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not to mention the toll it would have taken on sales of the BMW-owned MINI. So The Boys from Bavaria grabbed a 3-Series, screwed it up a bit, kept the hatch for the Eurozone and said "here is your entry level car."
As the world's first manufacturer of premium automobiles, the BMW Group operates a fleet of about 500 pure electric vehicles for private use in everyday traffic […]
First Impressions When it comes to an engaging experience behind the wheel, however, the 2008 BMW 7 Series is still tough to beat. An Audi A8 or Benz S-Class ar […]
First Impressions It must be depressing for BMW's rivals as they try and find an answer to the 2008 BMW 3-Series' domination of its sector. Every time they get […]
When BMW took a serious run at the top end of the North American market, in the late 1980s, the model they utilized to spearhead this paradigm shift was their l […]
The new BMW 1-series coupe is really good, but one of the knocks on that car has been its heavy weight for its size, a fact which left the 1-series convertible' […]
My biggest kvetch about the BMW 1-Series: price. When you compare the 1-Series to the more practical 3-Series, the cheaper 1 might as well have a bone through i […]
Although cars like the Jaguar XK120, Shelby Mustang and Porsche 911 have become legends, their modern equivalents offer far superior driving dynamics. And […]
To understand the new X6, you must go back a few years to the 2001 X Coupe Concept. This was the first time the world got a look at BMW's vision of a jacked-up […]
Journalists on this site have complained about how ugly and technologically complex recent BMWs have become. To that list I would also add a jarring ride, an ov […]
BMW’s next big thing is the 1-Series coupe and convertible. Propellerheads are positively dizzy at the prospect of a new, small-ish, rear wheel-drive BMW […]