Inside Line long-term blog FTW!

[guardianangel3290]

James Riswick, automotive editor for edmunds.com, had this to say about the 135i in mondays submission.

If I were to buy a car today, I would buy this car that I so dearly love (the 135i). But then Associate Editor Josh Sadlier had to describe the 135 as "monumentally ugly," comparing it to a pot-belly pig and lamenting hard-touch materials. He's "just not interested," he so coldly said. I just couldn't let that stand. How dare that lobster-eating Maine-dweller impugn my love in such a way. So I crawled over our cubicle divider and popped him. That's right, cold-cocked him I did. Of course, he then jumped up and flashed some fancy jujitsu moves he picked up in Japan. I quickly ran away.

[sbw]

I'm not big on the hard-touch materials either, compared to the soft-touch materials of other Bimmers.

[Guildenstern]

Originally Posted by sbw

I'm not big on the hard-touch materials either, compared to the soft-touch materials of other Bimmers.

I typicaly find my hands on the steering wheel and gear shift when I'm in a car.

[penny]

Haha, that's awesome. I honestly think the look of this car will age well over time. There's nothing too flashy about it that will get old. Hopefully it'll be a classic.

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Pirate

I enjoy all this controversy about the style of the 1. It's got killer looks and it so happens I value my opinion above all others.

+1

[TunedM2C]

LOL, pot-belly pig. I'll never look at my car the same anymore.

[boostin]

i love the look of the 135i - i didn't like the tail-lights at first, but its growing on me.

[135Eye]

I love the look of the 1xxi. The rear and profile is downright sexy. i can understand how some people don't like the headlights (i was one). But after having the car for a few months I can say they really grow on you and you start to understand what the designers had in mind. The best BMW designs have always been the unique cars

[vanbmw]

Those two blogs show a problem with Edmond's. How can one editor say he likes the car enough to buy it yet another writes an article totally slamming the car? I have noticed this with other cars on their site before and ever since I have never thought highly of Edmond's opinions. I find the writers at Car and Driver, Road and track and motor trend tend to be fairly cohesive on their opinions. You will read some authours personal dislikes or likes of a car but those 3 magazines have fairly similar verdicts on most cars.

[schleppcar]

'Pirate' got it right! If you can't be all things to all people you can be certainly be 100% for yourself!

Ahhhh - driving this machine is the best...what do I care if other people don't like it?

[tbird]

I remember the HUGE HUGE attack on the 7-series on its last model change. It was a monstrous design change from before, and everyone freaked out. After a while, people calmed down and began to like it.

The 1-Series is not getting any of that huge slack, only a little that I can see. Most reviewers like the way it looks. It is a little thick top-to-bottom in the rear, granted, but certainly not to the point of being ugly. As for the bottom door-sill line of the car from wheel to wheel, that is being copied in the new F10 5-Series, I see the same scoop look, so reviewers better get used to that. Headlights/taillights, love them.

The only complaint I have is the usual, more storage compartments/sleeves/space. My last Audi had little shelves and drawers everywhere, I could hide an entire cow in that car in its storage spaces if I had wanted to. But other than that, design works for me.

[imported_mega]

Originally Posted by vanbmw

Those two blogs show a problem with Edmond's. How can one editor say he likes the car enough to buy it yet another writes an article totally slamming the car? I have noticed this with other cars on their site before and ever since I have never thought highly of Edmond's opinions. I find the writers at Car and Driver, Road and track and motor trend tend to be fairly cohesive on their opinions. You will read some authours personal dislikes or likes of a car but those 3 magazines have fairly similar verdicts on most cars.

I would prefer they are honest about the opinions each editor has

the other magazines seem to be bought & paid for with advertising dollars, and they will pitch a yugo if it paid them enough

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by tbird

Most reviewers like the way it looks.

Actually...most reviewers I've read don't like it. They inevitably compare it to the 3-series and say it just doesn't compare in the looks department. The word "ugly" usually appears. Even the ones who like the car overall (and most of them do,) acknowledge that looks aren't its strong suit. Then they start talking about the N54....

[tbird]

Hey, if the Renault LeCar and the Renault Alliance can be "Car of the Year", then any car can.

I agree. Let the editors duke it out. What would be the best, is if the editors did a roundtable review on a car. Not just one singular guy's thoughts, but a roundtable, so everything is brought out and hashed out and a consensus can be made.

[AlienDNA]

Originally Posted by tbird

My last Audi had little shelves and drawers everywhere, I could hide an entire cow in that car in its storage spaces if I had wanted to.

I'm suspicious about how you know that.

[b2nvs2001]

Yeah potbellied pig is better than the beached whale poser's car the 3 series is.

Yes I'm biased - I don't care. Even yesterday, as I was coming back to the car from work, I was blown away by how the 1 looks. It is reminiscent of the German DTM cars of yesteryear! Love it.

[tbird]

AlienDNA, hey, when you're hungry and need a steak, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Watch the Top Gear episode "Road Trip", and you will understand.

I side a bit with b2nvs2001. While I don't think the 3 is ugly, I do think it is a bit of a whale. There are quite a few articles that talk about how the 3 is just so big now, and big cars just don't handle as well. Even with XDrive, my E90 was a freakin tank!

I like my cars how I like my women (and consequently my hot wife): Small and Powerful!!

[m7ammed]

I love how the 1er series looks to be honest, and I love how small it is . The 3er is nice too but its too big

[Dave]

Originally Posted by vanbmw

Those two blogs show a problem with Edmond's. How can one editor say he likes the car enough to buy it yet another writes an article totally slamming the car? I have noticed this with other cars on their site before and ever since I have never thought highly of Edmond's opinions. I find the writers at Car and Driver, Road and track and motor trend tend to be fairly cohesive on their opinions. You will read some authours personal dislikes or likes of a car but those 3 magazines have fairly similar verdicts on most cars.

this is how i imagine the two editors

[vanbmw]

Originally Posted by imported_mega

I would prefer they are honest about the opinions each editor has

the other magazines seem to be bought & paid for with advertising dollars, and they will pitch a yugo if it paid them enough

I agree with you about the honest opinion..good point. However, I disagree with you on the bribing by advertising. I pulled out a few Car and driver magazines I have kicking around. I found a few articles where they loved the M3, loved the 335 and saw a favorable write up on the Audi TTS. They gushed about the Honda fit and named the Accord one of the 10 best car again. However, they had two editorials TRASHING the american car companies and said they built bad cars and did a terrible job running their companies. I looked at the advertisements. No BMW, no Audi and no Honda adds. I did find lots of adds by ALL the american car companies. Nissan had several adds as did Hyundai. I find they pissed all over their largest advertisers (the big 3 american companies). A quick glance at a Road and Track showed No BMW adds yet they love BMW's in all the tests. I don't see a corelation between advertising dollars and car reviews.