Road & Track October 2013 comparo.....page 56 335i reign is over? Sign of the apocalypse? IS350 f sport is winner
At some point, you have to look at the preponderance of negative reviews from the car reviewers that we respect, and conclude that BMW has not differentiated itself with the newest 3er from its current competition to the degree that earlier 3-series did from their contemporary peers. Add cringe-worthy advertising (dude slinks away from his own house after hearing that his mother in law has arrived, as reported on voice synth text reader feature in new Bimmer, followed by the "The Ultimate Driving Machine" tagline, which has never seemed more misused in an ad - Really???), and I am not moved to replace my vintage units much at all. I guess they keep selling more and more of them, but a "way of driving" that many folks have associated with these cars does not appear to be part of the new bimmer experience. Read this month's Car and Driver magazine. Read recent articles in Autoweek. Drive a new F30. Things are changing. We hear exhortations from the editor and from our own enthusiast colleagues writing in the Roundel that times are changing and we should embrace the i3, the i8, and a brave new world of motoring on skinny tires and LED's. We WILL embrace all that because we can't get a new e36, e46, e90 any more, so we have to. But, until some of us get old and die, we will hang on to our old iron. We'll drive 'em every day. We'll upgrade plastic cooling systems to aluminum, we will fix door dings and fight our insurance company's to keep them on the road when others drive into them. We'll do all this, because they let us feel the road, they sound wonderful, we can connect with them in a way no longer possible with an under warranty BMW.
I hate to agree but it's somewhat true. The newer BMWs feel more and more Japanese. Lighter doors, less steering feel, sheet metal not up to par, design and interiors not keeping up, etc. it's a shame!
. It's true, pragmatism has replaced passion. A cold, hard fact. It's this "brave new world" in which we live. The challenges are many and sacrifices inevitable. Fahrvergnugen has a new definition. The new BMWs are great for covering interstate miles in comfort, convenience, style and safety. Just like a Lexus ... or an Infiniti ... or a ... (fill in the blank). There is certainly a high level of styling excellence (today's definition) available in new BMWs. Quality ... ... ... uh-hhh ... ... well ... yeah, I guess so. Reliability ... ... ... who are we kidding. God help us when they are out of warranty. That's why we strictly lease new BMWs.They're long gone before the warranty runs out. I still keep my wife in a new BMW for the above reasons: comfort, convenience, style and safety. They serve her well ... under warranty. Times have changed. Expectations have changed. Most of us who remember, and/or still own the earlier BMWs (and not yet relegated to walkers or wheelchairs) are just no longer the target audience. C'est la vie. Guess I need to build on another garage.
