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Old 02-18-2017, 08:01 PM
 
Location: Staten Island, NY
3,614 posts, read 1,735,535 times
Reputation: 2740

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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTOlover View Post
It is just a marketing ploy to sell Cars/Trucks/SUVs

Plus BMW was great in the 80's and 90's and early-mid 00's but today the have moved away from the driver/ethustist roots and the cars are less engaging to drive then the older ones.

Hard to beat a nice late 80's 6-series or E36/E46 M3 or a E39 M5 IMO
I have a really nice e46 convertible. I have had it for 7 years. I love the car but, I am ready to move on and get something else. I'm kind of torn over it but I feel like it's time.
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Old 02-19-2017, 06:16 AM
 
4,149 posts, read 3,903,899 times
Reputation: 10938
BMW's are not any more reliable than many other models. I think a lot of people think BMW's give them an upper echelon status.
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Old 02-19-2017, 09:06 AM
 
33,387 posts, read 34,830,354 times
Reputation: 20030
Quote:
Originally Posted by wamer27 View Post
Did you get into your Delorean and hit 88 mph?
stupid question, especially since i grew up around these cars. i worked for the city government and i got to drive 9-C-1 package novas.
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Old 02-19-2017, 11:23 AM
 
3,754 posts, read 4,237,056 times
Reputation: 7773
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbohm View Post
stupid question, especially since i grew up around these cars. i worked for the city government and i got to drive 9-C-1 package novas.
What was stupid was bringing up Novas in this thread to begin with.
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Old 02-19-2017, 11:56 AM
 
21 posts, read 15,504 times
Reputation: 61
Quote:
Originally Posted by serger View Post
As you said it is not RWD so case closed, IMO.
not quite. Technically yes, RWD has superior handling, but it's not that simple. There are FWD cars that can outhandle RWD cars, simple having RWD is not a magic bullet to make a car handle great... power delivery, chassis balance and rigidity, suspension etc. hugely affect a car's handling characteristics. This can make a well tuned FWD shame a poorly balanced RWD.

As I said BMWs are known for their handling but many well tuned FWDs like the Mazda 3 come respectfully close and provide much more standard equipment for thousands less. In day to day driving it makes much more practical sense.

Only two reasons to buy a BMW - you are going to the race track or you want it for the bragging rights. I don't know why anyone would spend tens of thousands more for a car with much less reliability, standard equipment and extremely poor resale value.
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Old 02-19-2017, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Marin County, CA
787 posts, read 644,078 times
Reputation: 869
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny4111 View Post
not quite. Technically yes, RWD has superior handling, but it's not that simple. There are FWD cars that can outhandle RWD cars, simple having RWD is not a magic bullet to make a car handle great... power delivery, chassis balance and rigidity, suspension etc. hugely affect a car's handling characteristics. This can make a well tuned FWD shame a poorly balanced RWD.

As I said BMWs are known for their handling but many well tuned FWDs like the Mazda 3 come respectfully close and provide much more standard equipment for thousands less. In day to day driving it makes much more practical sense.

Only two reasons to buy a BMW - you are going to the race track or you want it for the bragging rights. I don't know why anyone would spend tens of thousands more for a car with much less reliability, standard equipment and extremely poor resale value.
BMW > Mazda for daily driving.
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Old 02-19-2017, 04:47 PM
 
8,134 posts, read 3,669,879 times
Reputation: 2718
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny4111 View Post
not quite. Technically yes, RWD has superior handling, but it's not that simple. There are FWD cars that can outhandle RWD cars, simple having RWD is not a magic bullet to make a car handle great... power delivery, chassis balance and rigidity, suspension etc. hugely affect a car's handling characteristics. This can make a well tuned FWD shame a poorly balanced RWD.

As I said BMWs are known for their handling but many well tuned FWDs like the Mazda 3 come respectfully close and provide much more standard equipment for thousands less. In day to day driving it makes much more practical sense.

Only two reasons to buy a BMW - you are going to the race track or you want it for the bragging rights. I don't know why anyone would spend tens of thousands more for a car with much less reliability, standard equipment and extremely poor resale value.
I'm not saying that mazda 3 is a bad car, it is a good value, but it is just not comparable. It is still a 60/40 weight distribution FWD.

On the standard equipment - yes , a lot of the electronics gadgets would be extra on a bmw, but I don't really care for that stuff, so no need to get it.

Much less reliability? I don't think so.
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Old 02-19-2017, 05:54 PM
 
Location: Marin County, CA
787 posts, read 644,078 times
Reputation: 869
Quote:
Originally Posted by serger View Post
I'm not saying that mazda 3 is a bad car, it is a good value, but it is just not comparable. It is still a 60/40 weight distribution FWD.

On the standard equipment - yes , a lot of the electronics gadgets would be extra on a bmw, but I don't really care for that stuff, so no need to get it.

Much less reliability? I don't think so.
Well said.

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Old 02-20-2017, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Pikesville, MD
2,983 posts, read 3,090,395 times
Reputation: 4552
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbohm View Post
no i meant the 9-C-1 NOVAs. chevrolet did make the 9-C-1 package available on the nova, as well as the 78 and later malibus. car and driver called the nova so equipped a four door Z28 camaro.
Ok, I looked them up and man, what pigs. 17 second quarter mile times, almost 10 seconds 0-60? Not even CLOSE to BMW territory, even for the era. 4 door Z/28 Camaro? Well, the Z/28s of that era were neutered pigs, too, so that makes sense.



.82Gs laterally and a speed of 20 mph at the onset of tire noise? Over-boosted, no-feedback, GM power steering? And this basic Nova with bench seats (or flat, base trim "buckets") is supposed to somehow be a BMW competitor?

Oh, and reliability that measures at 75-100k miles (50k police miles). Am I supposed to be impressed with any of this? Might have been a semi-decent sleeper for '76, but the 3.0CSi, 633csi, 530i, and 533i of the era would be better cars. And while the 9C1 Caprices got better yet (and are great cheap performance car platforms) they didn't advance as fast as the BMWs and never got the feeling and responsiveness down.
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Old 02-20-2017, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Pikesville, MD
2,983 posts, read 3,090,395 times
Reputation: 4552
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny4111 View Post
Only two reasons to buy a BMW - you are going to the race track or you want it for the bragging rights. I don't know why anyone would spend tens of thousands more for a car with much less reliability, standard equipment and extremely poor resale value.
Disagree, as the owner of many BMWs. I just spent a sunny, 70 degree Sunday with the top down cruising on fun backroads all over northern MD and southern PA. The responsiveness of the E46 chassis, especially in ZHP form, is sublime and the balance makes everything fun and effortless.

Of course, my BMWs have excellent resale value compared to their purchase price, as they both have hit the bottom of their depreciation curves and as long as I keep them cared for, they will be worth what I paid for them if not a bit more in a few years (though selling them is not something I want to do).

Iv'e had over 100 cars in the last 40 years, many of them performance cars. I've had a chance to compare different kinds of cars, different layouts and different categories back to back and ended up coming back to BMW for my fun daily drivers. They simply are that good.
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