[I miss my 325xi]

To be honest, I got a BMW first because of the badge factor, and a cool looking 4 wheel sedan. But the minute after I left European Delivery and hit the highway..I fell in love with the car. In a way, the badge promoted itself to me, therefore wanting to test drive the car and ultimately becoming a fan. But true to what other people are saying, the badge now for me is an added bonus as well.

[psyran]

Originally Posted by MrDreamWeaver

Some of you act like you are what you drive. Almost like the car defines who you are. Sheesh. I just think my BMW is a luxurious, sporty and fun ride. I don't try to show up people at stoplights or on the road. Frankly, I'm almost embarassed to be driving such a nice car at my age.

While we're on a similar topic, Is it me or do you guys get tailgated and cut-off more than usual? I mentioned this to my brother and he didn't really think anything of it until he rode with me. 1 person tailgated me to the point of almost touching my bumper. Another severely cut me off on a merge, swinging from behind me into the left lane then back infront of me. I couldn't believe it.

Glad you brought this up. I recently very politely had to merge at a constantly rather busy intersection. Put on turn signal and honestly thought the guy (in a pimped civic) behind me was letting me in. I pulled in and before I knew it the guy was laying on his horn and then pulled up beside me. I looked over at him (mistake) and made no gestures. I saw his hand move in a throwing motion and heard a loud cracking sound against my driver's side glass. Thought for sure there would be damge. Reported this immediately to police (had his plate #) who are supposedly investigating. Another example, Yesterday, late for my son's Dr's appointment so had to pass a van rather briskly. Happen to look in my rear view and saw a middle aged woman with her middle finger sticking up (anybody know what that means). So, yes I am beginning to wonder if it is me or the car. I am becoming almost paranoid to drive it.
psyran

[zippo]

Is it me or do you guys get tailgated and cut-off more than usual? I mentioned this to my brother and he didn't really think anything of it until he rode with me.

Yep, seen a bit of that kind of thing myself. I expect it to get a little better after I get a liscense plate on the back (i.e. doesn't broadcast "I got a NEW Bimmer)

Like it or not, people react to what we're driving......Ever rent a U-Haul truck??? Nobody wants to race or tail-gate you, in fact they give you (presumed amateur truck driver) a wide berth.

[Jay_328]

Yeah, I get the aggressive driving from others as well. Tho, I never play the game, perhaps pissing them off even more. I bought my car because it's a blast to drive and easy on the eyes, and well, it's a BWM. The Utlimate..... If anyone want to believe it's a status symbol or I purchased it to appear "better" than others, so be it. I've told my friends a thousand times; Dude, it's not as if i'm waiting at the light thinking, look at me and my bimmer. I'm just trying to get from a to b just like the next guy.

[inline6]

Well, honestly, when I first started noticing the e46 on the road I thought it was a pitiful little "chicks" car. Sorry no offence meant, but you know, I just thought it looked like a small grocery hauler, and a bit feminine. I thought that for years. Finally I moved out of downtown and it was time to buy a new car. Japanese were ruled out instantly - they just don't appeal to me at all (I'm from Australia originally and everyone drives Japanese - it's so boring...). So really what's left? Honestly, it has nothing to do with status - just simply "what else is there"? What would you buy given what's available? My room mate had just gotten a new Passat - constantly raved about it, begged me to test drive one - was taking me down to the dealer when I said you wanna take a bimmer for a spin? And that was it. All over bar the shouting. He *hates* his Passat now - can't stand it, counting the days till his lease runs out. We both just could not believe how well the bimmer drove, its fantastic safety features, etc. Yeh, everyone is copying each other and converging on the same car almost, but BMWs are just so superbly engineered. I tried a Volvo S60 first actually - it was soooooo boring and old-fashiond looking - and all the sales droid wanted to do was compare it to the bimmer. So I'm like, hmm, I better check this bimmer out I think. The Bimmer just creamed it. Didn't even bother with Mercs - I just knew the bimmer was it, it just hit my sense of style, sport, quality, everything, right on the button. And finally, all those e46s I used to scoff at started looking mighty fine to me and I realised that I actually had one of the nicer looking cars around. Who would have thought?...

[Broken1]

My girlfriend says I drive a BMW for attention. I completely disagree. Firstly, I hate attention. I don't want people going oo look at his car, wow that's amazing *touch touch touch* and get my car covered in bloody fingerprints!! I bought my car, because after testdriving it, and noticing how much better it was driving wise to my e46 compact, I just had to have one.

I am going down to limpopo end of september, and the roads there are REALLY curvy...last time we were driving 140+ round the bends...while my friend left me behind cause he was going alot faster. I'm sure I'll be able to keep up in my E90 with the impeccable handling!!!

THATS why i bought MY beemer!!! Then badge and "rich kid" status, is an added bonus or added penalty of having such a nice car... :/

[I miss my 325xi]

Jay, who is the girl in your icon?

So, i know this rambling...but if you saw a guy in a porsche, would you think...only badge or performance. Sorta like the same with BMW no? you always, no matter in what auto manufacturer has a group of buyers who only buy it to say, look I drive "blank".

[davinet78]

audi now is changing with the times so its more sporty than before, mercs are solid cars but classical and bmws are for people no matter what age but young at heart.

[ward]

anyone else concerned how big the 3 is gettting???

I know it's still a great performer, but could you imagine what modern BMW could do with an E30 sized car, GIVE ME THE ONE SERIES!!!!!!

[Robin_NL]

Originally Posted by ward

anyone else concerned how big the 3 is gettting???

I know it's still a great performer, but could you imagine what modern BMW could do with an E30 sized car, GIVE ME THE ONE SERIES!!!!!!

Agreed!

I owned a 120d for 10 months. Awesome car/chassis, but build quality isn't like a 3 series E90.

Cars just have to get lighter and smaller or else...

...I 'll buy a TVR

[cosmosblau]

Here on the west side of Los Angeles/ Santa Monica, BMW's are eveywhere. They are like Bavarian Roaches, scurrying about. The e46 3 series is the average car. Tons of S-class benzes, also.

[england1987]

i think that Audi's are perceived as luxury sport combination vehicles. Mercedes are perceived as luxury based cars with the ability to be insanely fast and powerful. BMW's are perceived as sports cars that have the ability to be luxurious.

[cntlaw]

Absolutely a big bunch of bullshit in this thread.

Whether you are after the badge, or you are after the driver's handling department; at the end of the day, it is still that that little secret of pride, deep down in your own heart , saying " I am driving something special and different and better than yours".

Don't believe me, try this, leave your Benz, BMW or Audi in the garage for a month, drive a Toyota Corolla 1.5 for a week, ask yourself how much longer you want to stay in it.

[fakerlin]

In Sweden, to a lot of people a BMW is equal to;
Gold chains
Neon lights
Bad accent
big-ass spoilers
M-styling on all models, especially 316, 518 ;-)
And for some reason a lot of them don´t seem to go faster than 5 mph, the windows are always down and oriental music is popular apparently.

Just check this "fo sale" thing out: http://www.autopower.se/powerborsen/bmw.asp?id=63773

[ward]

Originally Posted by fakerlin

In Sweden, to a lot of people a BMW is equal to;
Gold chains
Neon lights
Bad accent
big-ass spoilers
M-styling on all models, especially 316, 518 ;-)
And for some reason a lot of them don´t seem to go faster than 5 mph, the windows are always down and oriental music is popular apparently.

Just check this "fo sale" thing out: http://www.autopower.se/powerborsen/bmw.asp?id=63773

Oh, it's like a corvette or honda civic here!!!

[fakerlin]

Of course, this does not apply to the touring models
So basically you´re all driving civics from where I´m standing

[DTM]

Originally Posted by I miss my 325xi

Of course, every mark has their 'sporty' cars. BMW has their M series, Merc has their AMG and Audi has their S Line.

I guess what I am trying to get at is: Do BMW drivers feel that they are superior to other drivers in different car manufacturers? In Europe, my opinion is that BMW drivers feel that they are more in the 'in crowd' than other makes...

For instance, when an E90 driver pulls up to a C class or an Audi A4, don't they feel like "check me out, i drive a bmw''

Of course, no offense to anyone who drives a Merc or Audi-it's just the way I feel..

I think that C-class A4 and 3-series are all really in the same price range, so its obviously the drivers choice. Anybody who chose a4/c-class over 3-series obviously thinks that car is better. So why would a BMW driver feel that he can show off next to other cars in the same $$$ range?

[akhbhaat]

Most BMW drivers are some of the biggest tools on the planet. A lot of them actually think that they're buying sports cars in a luxury sedan shell. That, or they pollute their car's appearance with hideous oversized chrome wheels or Hamann ricer kits or other garbage. 3 series buyers are the worst offenders in that regard. That pretty much sums up the average BMW buyer.

Mercedes-Benz is popular among three groups, mainly: upper middle and upper class retirees (S, SL), middle aged trophy wives (E, ML), and sorority-bound high school aged girls (C-class, especially the w203 hatch). Most of them are pretty damn boring in person, but none of them are particularly offensive.

Audi is popular among upper, upper-middle class high school boys (basically wealthier VW Jetta/GTI buyers), middled aged business women, and...that's about it. Every now and then you'll see a BMW-like tool riding around in an S4 or A4 cabrio.

The vast majority of Infinitis that I see are G35s, which are extremely popular amongst the glorified ricer crowd. It's pretty common to see a 17 year old with a sideways cocked hat or Gotti-style haircut and a gangster lean driving a G35 coupe.

Lexus is very similar to Mercedes-Benz, with the exception that their bottom feeder IS model (as opposed the C-class) is more popular with the gangster lean boy racers than the blonde bimbo girls. I have a feeling the new IS will be more popular with older and woman buyers, however.

Acura is an interesting breed, because, on one hand, you have the ricebox RSX - and, on the other, you have staid, generally mundane cars with solid value like the TL and RL. Somewhere in there is the TSX, which seems to sell to totally random buyers (with a slight lean towards former C-class owners). Difficult to find a group large enough (outside of the teenie bopper RSX buyers) to stereotype here.

In my opinion, Mercedes-Benz still has the classiest image (by far) of the mainstream luxury marques, despite the massive proliferation of the Cheap-class. From there, it's a toss-up. BMW used to hold second place, but with such edgy styling, and so many badge buyers infecting the marque these days, I'm not so sure about that. Probably Audi. Not Lexus, for sure, because their designs are extremely cheesy and reek of recycled Toyota. I'd put BMW third, Lexus fourth, Acura fifth, Infiniti sixth. Infiniti is on the rebound (some of their higher end models are very nice indeed), but years of producing rebadged econoboxes like the G20 and I20 have really put a damper on their image.

Did I forget Cadillac? Have you seen some of their latest designs and who buys them? They've fallen well off the class scale.

[JamieA]

In Australia the pecking order of status is MB, BMW, Audi, Lexus, others.

In the E90 segment, the C Class is for retirees, or middle aged women. The 3 Series is for young executives and real-estate agents. A4 buyers either wanted to be different, or couldn't afford a C or 3 (there is a big price difference here between all three marques).

Audi is making strong headway though, if only they had a RWD car with decent dynamics, supple suspensions (Australian roads are harsh) and more driver involvement they would be a serious threat to BMW in this market.

Because BMW and MB occupy different marketing spaces, the perception here is that though MB is more older money and has a more prestigous pedigree, the BMW is definitely very close, but has a much younger image.

MBs invlovement with the A and B class, and the smart-car brand, and their recent quality issues have cheapened their image though.

[ben1364]

BMW was an enthusiast's car until the yuppies discovered it in the early 1980s and has been gradually changing into a luxury marque ever since. With the advent of the E 60 and the E 90 they have just about made the transformation complete though they still have an edge in handling. It appears that Infinity is closing the gap and that it an Audi may take over the handling segment, provided of course that Audi resolves it's qiuality issues.

[fakerlin]

IMHO Audi has quite a bit left when it comes to handling. Not bad, but not close...

[cosmosblau]

Originally Posted by akhbhaat

Most BMW drivers are some of the biggest tools on the planet. A lot of them actually think that they're buying sports cars in a luxury sedan shell. That, or they pollute their car's appearance with hideous oversized chrome wheels or Hamann ricer kits or other garbage. 3 series buyers are the worst offenders in that regard. That pretty much sums up the average BMW buyer.........

Man, I realize that Los Angeles is a different kind of place than where most of you live, but I have to tell you that a BMW 3 series is an AVERAGE Car!
With my shiny new e90, I am recognized as a GUY WITH A JOB!
That's all!