Quote:
Originally Posted by 1speedbike
Exactly. I think these "horsepower wars" are getting pretty ridiculous. Ever since the 90's, every company with a market in the US has been upping the output of all the cars to ridiculous levels. Do we need a 580 HP camaro from the factory? Or a 650 HP Mustang from the factory? Fuck no. That's a recipe for disaster on the roads. If you TUNE your Mustang/Camaro to those levels, I'm fairly certain you know what you're doing and in all likelihood can handle that power. I've seen M3 owners who don't even know how many cylinders their car has. They just bought it because "ooo BMW M3!" I've seen GT500 owners who don't know who Carroll Shelby is (RIP). Yeah, that's random knowledge, but it's basic stuff about the CAR YOU BOUGHT and don't seem to really care about other than "look at me in my car!" How many of these irresponsible idiots are going to endanger everyone else with their 500+ factory horses (400+ in the M3's case)?
You don't need scores of horsepower to be an enthusiast and love your car. If you're an enthusiast with a lower-output car then that's even more awesome. You're obviously not just in it for the dick extension.
I test drove a manual 128i and that's what made me fall in love with the car. I ended up with an automatic 135i due to a few reasons that kept me from holding on to my custom ordered car. I'm happy now, and I love the power, but it's not the same as the happiness the 128i gave me while accelerating and changing gears and man it just felt awesome. The 128i driver who appreciates their car (and didn't buy it because it's the cheapest thing with a roundel on the front) is ten times more an "enthusiast" than the guy who buys the auto 135i and mashes the gas pedal in "D" mode (not even Manual mode! I don't get how people with this AWESOME, fast, responsive steptronic don't use the manual mode and just guess what gear they're in!). Maybe that's the ONE thing I'd say is a legitimate complaint about the 128i. The ZF auto in the 135i is leagues beyond the GM auto in the 128i. And this isn't right.
Yes, tuning is fun, and 135is (and pretty much all turbo cars) are so easily tunable. It's a hobby, and if you don't want to break the bank turbo cars are easier on the wallet (somewhat negated by the "BMW tax"). But unless you're one of those "housewives of NJ" I see every week wearing their oversized white sunglasses in the 128i their wall street husband bought them, anyone who dismisses a 128i or it's driver is a complete tool and a moron.
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well said. I think your argument extends to the 1 series as a whole.