I just saw a 123d four door at the mall...

[stampchez]

America needs more diesels!

[TagMan]

I would love to see that. Go back to the mall. Take your camera. If you have no camera use the one in your cell phone. :smile:

[stampchez]

Originally Posted by TagMan

I would love to see that. Go back to the mall. Take your camera. If you have no camera use the one in your cell phone. :smile:

It was leaving. Otherwise I would have snapped a shot. It wasn't anything that crazy. They are all over the place in Europe.

[Cuz5150]

Originally Posted by stampchez

America needs more diesels!

Im crying Foul!! Conspiracy
When diesel was cheap.....Manufactures did not want any part of it.
Then manufactures figured it out of how to make a diesel engine be acceptable for the US. and now diesel is @ $4.50 a gallon.
SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT HERE!!:bs:

[larryn]

Cuz, it is a conspiracy. I feel bad for the independent truckers that are losing what little they have, while the Government could allow for crude recovery within our own borders, and have some say over the price.

[jraymond]

Originally Posted by stampchez

It was leaving. Otherwise I would have snapped a shot. It wasn't anything that crazy. They are all over the place in Europe.

It doesn't matter to us - Do you not understand we are addicts? We need, want and crave anything 1 related

If I ever saw something like that I would risk life and limb to get a pic - well, to some extent.

[lib]

Originally Posted by larryn

Cuz, it is a conspiracy. I feel bad for the independent truckers that are losing what little they have, while the Government could allow for crude recovery within our own borders, and have some say over the price.

Don't get me started....

We need more domestic drilling, more refineries, less random blends of gas for different states, and more nuclear energy.

[Mechanicaldan]

Every well in the US is pumping whatever is left in the ground. We need to realize that we are at peak oil, and oil is running out. More drilling won't help. It's not renewable. Time to learn that and move on to something better. Bring on the solar panels, wind turbines, and PHEVs. Biofuels and what's left of oil can power airplanes.Oh, and we Americans should learn to consume less. That would go a long way in itself.I have a 120d in Scotland, and would like to buy one when I get back to the US. It's a great car.BMW needs to realize the market is changing, and people want smaller cars with some utility. Bring the 1 series hatchback to the states!

[TagMan]

Originally Posted by larryn

Cuz, it is a conspiracy. I feel bad for the independent truckers that are losing what little they have, while the Government could allow for crude recovery within our own borders, and have some say over the price.

Sadly, you are right. The conspiracy is very deep and profound. When our Government has a couple of choices, and then proceeds to reveal that it's allegiance is not to the American population, but instead to a few select companies and powerful individuals, then I'd say that Dick Cheney is truly as close to being a dictator than most people would ever know.

[essexcounty]

This forum's awesome - we manage to move from randomly spotting a 123d at the mall to calling Dick Cheney a dictator in 8 posts!

Right on...

[lib]

Originally Posted by Mechanicaldan

Every well in the US is pumping whatever is left in the ground.

There are a number of places that have oil but we refuse to drill and we continue to find new reserves around the world (For example, the 8 billion barrels they found in Brazil at the end of last year) But, like I said, supply isn't the only problem. The limited number of refineries and countless designer fuels are hardly helping the situation.

I'm not suggesting that we simply pull oil out of thin air and things will be fine. We need additional clean energy and we'll eventually need a lot of it. I'm just saying there's more that could be done currently to alleviate some people's price concerns while still allowing a smooth transition to alternatives.

Like it or not we'll be using oil for a number of years. Eventually something better will come along but it won't be as simple as "toss a solar panel here" and "burn some food over there". It's a big problem that's going to take time and money to solve. As the problems get worse we'll continue to throw more money at the problem until it's solved or we're all dead.

Originally Posted by Mechanicaldan

Biofuels

Yep. Food isn't expensive enough. Lets start burning it! While biofuels were an interesting idea the execution has been piss poor and it's causing even bigger messes. The poorer parts of the world are getting a little upset about that right now.

Originally Posted by Mechanicaldan

I have a 120d in Scotland, and would like to buy one when I get back to the US. It's a great car.BMW needs to realize the market is changing, and people want smaller cars with some utility. Bring the 1 series hatchback to the states!

This I'll agree with BMW has been making decent progress on this front and we should see most of those models in the US at some point (though it will likely take years).

[TagMan]

Originally Posted by essexcounty

This forum's awesome - we manage to move from randomly spotting a 123d at the mall to calling Dick Cheney a dictator in 8 posts!

Right on...

Uh Oh!... Looks like the "conversation police" have arrived!! Good job!! j/k... LOL.

Yeah... there's little doubt that it definately kept edging further away from the original topic, but with such a large and diverse forum membership, that does happen now and then.... and I've noticed that it typcially steers itself right back to where it belongs pretty quickly, and if it doesn't... well there's usually a moderator to help out... although in this case, the moderator was enjoying his freedom from the conversation police as well. :smile:

Now... just for the record, regarding my remark about Dick Cheney... for a very long time I have been a registered Republican, and I tend to be fairly conservative... but after these last eight years, I am quite done supporting policies that hurt this great nation that I so dearly love.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program... :wink:

[essexcounty]

True, Tag Man...I have to say I'm a closet fan of your posts and for the record I dearly love our country too.

Fact is, the world's oil supply is controlled by the cartel and its price lately has been controlled by speculators/hedge funds and bullish calls.

Fundamentally, there's little rationale as to it being at $120+/bbl. So hopefully, driving a diesel-powered car (let alone truck, poor guys) will become economical once more at some point in the future.

[TagMan]

Originally Posted by essexcounty

True, Tag Man...I have to say I'm a closet fan of your posts and for the record I dearly love our country too.

Fact is, the world's oil supply is controlled by the cartel and its price lately has been controlled by speculators/hedge funds and bullish calls.

Fundamentally, there's little rationale as to it being at $120+/bbl. So hopefully, driving a diesel-powered car (let alone truck, poor guys) will become economical once more at some point in the future.

Well said. We can only hope.
BTW, thanks for that nice remark. I think I need an icon that blushes or is humbled. Take care. :smile:

[Nixon]

The change in gas prices in the US represents a massive change in the status quo of the US car market.

Whether it is developing new oil fields, or building solar panels, or coal gasification, or biofuels, there is NO instant solution for the current prices of gas.

Anwar will take years to get more oil to the market, so will coastal drilling, and building new refineries. We're looking at a decade or longer for increased oil/gas production to slow the current rapid price explosion, much less significantly cut transportation fuel costs back to where it was just 2-3 years ago. Electric cars charged with green power like solar or wind will take years to roll out, and also at least a decade to have a substantial impact on transportation fuel costs. There are NO supply-side energy solutions that will drive down transportation fuel expenses by this summer's driving season. Or even in within the next few years.

The supply side is what it is in the near term.

So here we are stuck in the near term with constantly-rising fuel prices. This is the new status quo. Car companies and drivers can either complain into the wind about it, or embrace the new reality.

Whenever there is a change in the status quo, there are always winners and losers. BMW is in a unique position of ALREADY having a number of very fuel efficient cars that could be sold in the US as early as the 2009 MY, like the 123d. BMW should be embracing this new status quo instead of pretending like the oil fairies will stop the prices of fuel from continuing to rise.

BMW should be LEADING in bringing ultra-fuel efficient performance luxury cars into this new age of the US car market.

No matter what the long term solution ends up being (drilling more, electric cars, biofuels, etc), BMW needs to adjust to the market realities of the here and now. Car buyers walking onto car lots today are buying based upon today's fuel prices, not based upon what this guy or that guy says will solve the gas crisis a few years from now.

BMW can become a major market winner under this new status quo if they deliver 45+ mpg diesels with good performance like the 123d to the US market THIS YEAR. Or BMW can be one of the market losers under this new status quo by trying to sell the same-old cars in the US they've been selling under their same-old US market strategy for years.

The ball is in your court, BMW. Either lead, or be left behind.