One of the last!

[gregthegr8]

As T.O. would say, get your popcorn ready!

[Worra]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

not yet. will scan it when i do get it.

Checking in on that article again, got it?

[CAVU]

Originally Posted by Worra

Checking in on that article again, got it?

I apologize in advance for losing track of this conversation due to a preoccupation with my new 135is, but are guys talking about the article on the 135is in the June issue of Bimmer?

[Worra]

Originally Posted by rikMsport

I apologize in advance for losing track of this conversation due to a preoccupation with my new 135is, but are guys talking about the article on the 135is in the June issue of Bimmer?

Yep! And I'm share none of us would blame you for losing track

[CAVU]

Originally Posted by Worra

Yep! And I'm share none of us would blame you for losing track

Preoccupied for sure. I'm at 1025 miles. Should easily be at 1200 by Sunday afternoon. I think the performance of this car is perfectly acceptable without the use of full throttle or excursions into the 4500+ rpm range. I've managed to adhere to the break-in guidelines so far... and enjoyed every minute of it... but I'm looking forward to mashing the gas pedal to the floor later this weekend!

@IEDEI: do you have the article? I bought a copy of the June edition of Bimmer from Amazon and should be able to post the article next week if you don't have it yet.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by rikMsport

Preoccupied for sure. I'm at 1025 miles. Should easily be at 1200 by Sunday afternoon. I think the performance of this car is perfectly acceptable without the use of full throttle or excursions into the 4500+ rpm range. I've managed to adhere to the break-in guidelines so far... and enjoyed every minute of it... but I'm looking forward to mashing the gas pedal to the floor later this weekend!

@IEDEI: do you have the article? I bought a copy of the June edition of Bimmer from Amazon and should be able to post the article next week if you don't have it yet.

Ya, the car screams and flies BELOW 4500 rpm, so it doesn't feel like any real loss to not go there. Heck, at this point I'm almost afraid to.

I read the article and feel bad I brought the whole thing up here to begin with, and while it's nice and complimentary, since they're praising a manual with no navigation/tech package as the pure and quintessential BMW and last of its kind, I felt it didn't apply much to me so I didn't buy the magazine for myself even though my car was all of 3 weeks old at that point. I do like they blast the runflats though, which I had just ditched, so that was good.

If I had a lemans blue car though, I'd probably buy it and frame it or something to hang it on the wall. But point is, I think the article is really geared to people getting it in stick and pretty bare bones, if I remember the essence of the article. Not sure if that was your take away from it as well.

[IEDEI]

yes i have the article! will scan it this weekend

[Worra]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

yes i have the article! will scan it this weekend

Awesome! And Greg - I got the manual with no tech/premium packages. Skipped the tech because I hate the way the nav makes the dash look (and I have an iPhone), plus I wanted cupholders (because this is AMERICA DAMMIT). I passed on the premium because my E90 has it now and there isn't a thing about it that I couldn't live without.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by Worra

Awesome! And Greg - I got the manual with no tech/premium packages. Skipped the tech because I hate the way the nav makes the dash look (and I have an iPhone), plus I wanted cupholders (because this is AMERICA DAMMIT). I passed on the premium because my E90 has it now and there isn't a thing about it that I couldn't live without.

We may be about the only two people who passed on the premium package. It's so not worth it and I seemingly got half the things for free as I stole comfort access and for some reason seem to have the ambient lighting package, too. Wanted the garage door opener though. =(

I really labored on the tech package though and while doing my research and testing out the cars, wanted to see it in action and wanted to hate it. But, I actually really liked it and like the big screen to do everything (wasn't really about the nav). Plus, I was getting the HK and forced into the stupid BMW Assist for $650 more, so figured I'd just get the whole stupid package. My 2008 135 didn't have nav, so I get the clean look and had it for years, but think I got used to having many of those features on my S5, so was trying to make this identical. Some of the features though are really cool, like it'll show your e-mails, texts, etc. and read them to you if you want. And I get to see the pretty album art when my songs are playing.

Wish BMW integrated their screens better though. Kinda ugly on the 135, but not sure the ipad smashed into and jetting out of the dash on all their new cars is a much better look either.

I think you'd love the article though and might consider just buying one off of amazon or ebay or directly from bimmer magazine, though with shipping it'll run ya $10. Or read it once they post pics, and if you want a commemorative copy grab one.

[Kouper]

Originally Posted by Worra

Awesome! And Greg - I got the manual with no tech/premium packages. Skipped the tech because I hate the way the nav makes the dash look (and I have an iPhone), plus I wanted cupholders (because this is AMERICA DAMMIT). I passed on the premium because my E90 has it now and there isn't a thing about it that I couldn't live without.

Worra, excellent choice! I have the 6 speed and premium pkg garage door opener (because this is AMERICA DAMMIT!), but no wart on the dash (tech pkg). Love the clean looks. Too much fun just driving the car to want to spend time screwing around with a poor quality NAV system....

Now, hurry up and get yours OK? I'm tired of envisioning it floating on an island somewhere

[Worra]

Originally Posted by Kouper

Worra, excellent choice! I have the 6 speed and premium pkg garage door opener (because this is AMERICA DAMMIT!), but no wart on the dash (tech pkg). Love the clean looks. Too much fun just driving the car to want to spend time screwing around with a poor quality NAV system....

Now, hurry up and get yours OK? I'm tired of envisioning it floating on an island somewhere

I will just be happy when it makes landfall, when it departs the VDC, and when they call me to come pick it up. Not much sleep will be had the night before, I'm sure. Will probably take the day off too, if it is a weekday

[Worra]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

Wish BMW integrated their screens better though. Kinda ugly on the 135, but not sure the ipad smashed into and jetting out of the dash on all their new cars is a much better look either.

Agree there, the stuck-on look is an absolute abomination.

[gregthegr8]

I will say the nav wasn't the main reason I opted for the tech package. I could have just used my phone and played it through the bluetooth.

I wanted the big screen to do all my stuff - car stuff, music stuff, radio stuff, phone book stuff, message stuff, and the occasional use of the navigation. I use the navigation itself maybe once a month for directions, but like the live traffic it shows. It's also kinda cool that if I'm going to some foreign place, I can send the address to my car's navigation via google maps and when I get down there, I can pull it right up and one button to guide me there.

But remember, I had a 135 for 2.5 years with no tech package/no nav, so I know full well what that's like. I just didn't want to have to use the instrument cluster to change car settings or the 2-line radio display for that stuff. So, thought I'd ruin the dash.

What I don't know is whether I would have had all the voice commands available without the tech package. I like that I can yell at it to change to a certain satellite radio channel, have it read messages to me as I'm driving to work so I know the hell I'm about to walk into. I will say though that as a result, it probably makes it less of a driver's oriented car and more of a modern vehicle/no freedom from e-mails/work/technology.

Plus, since I was screwed paying the $650 for BMW assist thanks to the HK, what's another $1700...

To get my payments where I wanted to, I had to make Sophie's Choice - premium or tech.

My late night rant for the week.

[mb135is]

Zero packages for me. Only options I ticked were leather over leatherette and butt warmers.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

Ya, the car screams and flies BELOW 4500 rpm, so it doesn't feel like any real loss to not go there. Heck, at this point I'm almost afraid to.

I read the article and feel bad I brought the whole thing up here to begin with, and while it's nice and complimentary, since they're praising a manual with no navigation/tech package as the pure and quintessential BMW and last of its kind, I felt it didn't apply much to me so I didn't buy the magazine for myself even though my car was all of 3 weeks old at that point. I do like they blast the runflats though, which I had just ditched, so that was good.

If I had a lemans blue car though, I'd probably buy it and frame it or something to hang it on the wall. But point is, I think the article is really geared to people getting it in stick and pretty bare bones, if I remember the essence of the article. Not sure if that was your take away from it as well.

Would you believe I was about to get on a plane here in Ottawa, on our way to Munich to pick up our car. Stopped at the book store in the terminal, picked up the discussed Bimmer mag, and noticed it is nearly the identical car we were going to pick up!!!!!!

That magazine was with us during our entire Euro Delivery. Still have it. It will be getting framed with our temp Euro plates.

Of course ours is a stick.

[CAVU]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Would you believe I was about to get on a plane here in Ottawa, on our way to Munich to pick up our car. Stopped at the book store in the terminal, picked up the discussed Bimmer mag, and noticed it is nearly the identical car we were going to pick up!!!!!!

That magazine was with us during our entire Euro Delivery. Still have it. It will be getting framed with our temp Euro plates.

That is so cool. Finding the mag must have bumped your excitement and enthusiasm up to a new level!!! (not that being minutes from boarding your flight to Munich for your ED experience wasn't enough...)

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by rikMsport

That is so cool. Finding the mag must have bumped your excitement and enthusiasm up to a new level!!! (not that being minutes from boarding your flight to Munich for your ED experience wasn't enough...)

I was just staring at it in disbelief. My wife was like "ya ya I know, let's get to the lounge..."

[Worra]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

I will say the nav wasn't the main reason I opted for the tech package. I could have just used my phone and played it through the bluetooth.

I wanted the big screen to do all my stuff - car stuff, music stuff, radio stuff, phone book stuff, message stuff, and the occasional use of the navigation. I use the navigation itself maybe once a month for directions, but like the live traffic it shows. It's also kinda cool that if I'm going to some foreign place, I can send the address to my car's navigation via google maps and when I get down there, I can pull it right up and one button to guide me there.

But remember, I had a 135 for 2.5 years with no tech package/no nav, so I know full well what that's like. I just didn't want to have to use the instrument cluster to change car settings or the 2-line radio display for that stuff. So, thought I'd ruin the dash.

What I don't know is whether I would have had all the voice commands available without the tech package. I like that I can yell at it to change to a certain satellite radio channel, have it read messages to me as I'm driving to work so I know the hell I'm about to walk into. I will say though that as a result, it probably makes it less of a driver's oriented car and more of a modern vehicle/no freedom from e-mails/work/technology.

Plus, since I was screwed paying the $650 for BMW assist thanks to the HK, what's another $1700...

To get my payments where I wanted to, I had to make Sophie's Choice - premium or tech.

My late night rant for the week.

For me, adding the premium package still added $1000 to the price, even with my leather/alarm/HK/parking, so I decided to skip it. I think the thing I will miss a little are the puddle lights under the door handles. Those look slick at night.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by Worra

For me, adding the premium package still added $1000 to the price, even with my leather/alarm/HK/parking, so I decided to skip it. I think the thing I will miss a little are the puddle lights under the door handles. Those look slick at night.

You may still get them cause mine has them for some reason! I was very surprised one night when I accidentally unlocked the passenger door as I was cleaning the car and was cleaning around the door handle and it unlocked due to comfort access...and then it light up. I was like what the hell...I'm not supposed to have that. I also thought I wouldn't get the dipping passenger mirror on reverse since I didn't get the premium package but I have that as well.

So, keep your fingers crossed...it's the least they can give you for waiting on the shore forever.

[Worra]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

You may still get them cause mine has them for some reason! I was very surprised one night when I accidentally unlocked the passenger door as I was cleaning the car and was cleaning around the door handle and it unlocked due to comfort access...and then it light up. I was like what the hell...I'm not supposed to have that. I also thought I wouldn't get the dipping passenger mirror on reverse since I didn't get the premium package but I have that as well.

So, keep your fingers crossed...it's the least they can give you for waiting on the shore forever.

Here's hoping! Now where has that boat gotten off to? Its been 6 days since it's been seen. Davy Jones's locker, no doubt.

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by Worra

Here's hoping! Now where has that boat gotten off to? Its been 6 days since it's been seen. Davy Jones's locker, no doubt.

You should check our old Toreador thread and you can use that as a guide to when it will appear and disappear. I think it disappeared for days, showed up briefly off the Azores islands which spawned that crudely done beach shot of renditions of mine and Kouper's cars. Then it'll disappear and not show back up I think until it's right between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico as I remember saying we were back on radar motorboating those two countries. However, the boat after us went around Puerto Rico and not between them.

Then it shows up again right outside the Panama Canal and will disappear again soon after leaving it and doesn't show back up until it nears the southern tip of Baja.

Sadly, I've tracked these boats 3 times now (2 BMWs, 1 Audi), so know the drill and seem to know it all offhand.

[CAVU]

Originally Posted by Worra

For me, adding the premium package still added $1000 to the price, even with my leather/alarm/HK/parking, so I decided to skip it. I think the thing I will miss a little are the puddle lights under the door handles. Those look slick at night.

50/50 chance of my wife being impressed with the puddle lights. She doesn't know the car has this feature... I'll give her the demo tonight...