No SGM for 09, put my order on hold.

[ulrichd]

Completely agree on the colors. I have an 09 production number and the SGM delete has really left me hanging. Based on the original BMW pics, which looked like a nice metallic red, I was all set to love Sedona Red. In person I did not care for it. This last weekend I drove 40 mins. to look at a fellow 1er's Montego since there are none to be found on dealer lots. I liked it more than I thought I would and it suits the car's character better than the 3-series. Pic below is in bright sun.

Originally Posted by BeamerDreamer

I just visited my local dealer and the salesman confirmed with me that SGM is gone for '09 and Space Grey would be the replacement. I looked at a couple of 5 series that he had in Space Grey and wasn't impressed at all. I'm not very happy about it either since SGM is definitely my first choice. Now I have to choose a new color. I'm leaning toward TiAg now.

I also saw the 135 in Montego and Monaco blue. The Montego was too bright for my taste and the Monaco was too dark. The Monaco was half in the shade and the sun. If you saw it in the shade, you might mistake it for black. In the sunlight you can definitely see that it's a dark blue. After having black cars for the past 15+ years, I think I want something lighter in color.

Here is some other pieces of information that I got:

I was told that there hasn't been confirmation of the new iDrive system for '09 in any models other than the 3 series sedan. I found this pretty hard to believe. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Glacier Silver Aluminum trim will be discontinued. He said the response has not been good and they will get either the Titanium or Brushed Alumium for '09. (Good news because I really didn't like the fish scale effect of the Glacier Silver Aluminum but I like the contrast that it gives with the black dash.)

I mentioned the DCT coming to the 3 series and he had no idea what I was talking about. I am pretty sure that it won't come to the 1 series but if it were, I would definitely pay the extra money to get it.

I know that some other dealerships don't have much information about ordering a car with Lemon or Terracotta leather and you have to educate them that it's available. The salesman that I spoke to said it was no problem to get either and had a SGM '08 with Lemon leather to show me. He also told me that Coral Red is special order only which is understandable.

I asked him about breaking in the car since I plan on doing European Delivery and wanted to really push it out on the Autobahn and through the Alps. He said he has spoken to BMW engineers and they say to push it fairly hard. The cars that were pushed hard during break in are usually more powerful. (I have my doubts about this but I am sure I will push the car pretty hard during my ED.)

He mentioned a chip that he uses in his 335i. It called the Turbo Tuner from Split Second. http://www.splitsec.com/ He said he gets 80hp and 100lb/ft of torque from this plug and play chip that he can install or remove in about a minute. I think he was exaggerating a bit. Does anyone have experience with this part?

So that is what I got out of him. If anyone can confirm any of these rumors or has other information please chime in.

[aitsu]

I'm in the same boat about the loss of SGM. Space Gray in pictures looks too similar to the color I have on my RX-8 which wasn't as dark as I wanted. Ironically, after the 2nd production year, titanium gray on the RX-8 was canceled. A year later it was replaced with the now available galaxy gray mica which is much darker... so I'm going from a car that wasn't dark enough where they added a darker variant to a car that had a darker color like i wanted that removed it for a lighter variant...

just my luck..

Montego is also my next option. I'm trying to find out if we can get Euro headlights here in the US because it just looks better with those... and shadowline grills... and the ash tray delete.... screw it.. i'm moving to europe.

[PA135i]

I guess this is a moot point but, I have SGM and it looks dark on a cloudy day and looks light grey in the bright sunlight. I did see a space grey on my dealers lot on a 3 series and I liked it, but not as much as SGM.

If I was buying an '09 135i it would be between space grey and silver. FWIW

Here's a pic on a sunny day after a fresh wax. And one at sunset.

I love this car..

[BeamerDreamer]

I'm extremely frustrated now. When I was at the dealership, I saw a 5 series in Space Gray and it looked kinda greenish. I really don't think I want that color. I would go for either of the blues but Montego seems too bright and Monaco seems too dark. My other choices are TiAg or Apline White and my interior color choice depends very much on the exterior color. I don't know what to do now.

Who knows, maybe BMW NA will have a sudden change of heart and keep the SGM around for one more model year.

If anyone has any color combination suggestions, I would be happy to hear them.

[ulrichd]

Actually SGM will be around but I understand it will be an M-exclusive color. My current Cooper S is dark grey which is pretty close to BMW Space Grey, so I am ready for a change.

[BeamerDreamer]

Originally Posted by kja325ci

I guess this is a moot point but, I have SGM and it looks dark on a cloudy day and looks light grey in the bright sunlight. I did see a space grey on my dealers lot on a 3 series and I liked it, but not as much as SGM.

If I was buying an '09 135i it would be between space grey and silver. FWIW

Here's a pic on a sunny day after a fresh wax. And one at sunset.

I love this car..

Thanks for rubbing it in kja325ci.
All kidding aside, that looks great. Is that Terracotta leather? Do you have more pictures of the interior?

[PA135i]

Yes, it's Terracotta interior. Sorry, I really have not taken any shots of only the interior. I will this weekend and post here or PM pics to you. I want to put another coat of wax on this weekend and will take a few more pics then. Of all the comments I have received from people about the car, the first thing they mention is the interior color. Terracotta being a dark brown you dont often see that in any car. I was going to get Black Leatherette but, I'm glad I sprung for the Terra Leather.

[volgrad1985]

When I first started looking at the 1er, I decided on SGM as well. However, I waited too long to order and looking at all the other colors, I selected Space Gray. I really like its appearance also, a beautiful shade of gray.

As for the other info on trim, I can confirm that Glacier Aluminum trim is not available in 09, at least with the Premium package. In fact, there was no aluminum trim available at all when I placed my order this week, including brushed or titanium.

[asv]

I'm happy about this, since I already have an SGM 1er. It will be nice to have an 08 exclusive color.

[135iPSU]

Originally Posted by twenzel

So glad I got SGM! But if I had to choose another color it would have been Montego Blue.

twenzel did you take that picture, that is amazing!

[135iPSU]

Originally Posted by BeamerDreamer

I just visited my local dealer and the salesman confirmed with me that SGM is gone for '09 and Space Grey would be the replacement. I looked at a couple of 5 series that he had in Space Grey and wasn't impressed at all. I'm not very happy about it either since SGM is definitely my first choice. Now I have to choose a new color. I'm leaning toward TiAg now.

I also saw the 135 in Montego and Monaco blue. The Montego was too bright for my taste and the Monaco was too dark. The Monaco was half in the shade and the sun. If you saw it in the shade, you might mistake it for black. In the sunlight you can definitely see that it's a dark blue. After having black cars for the past 15+ years, I think I want something lighter in color.

Here is some other pieces of information that I got:

I was told that there hasn't been confirmation of the new iDrive system for '09 in any models other than the 3 series sedan. I found this pretty hard to believe. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Glacier Silver Aluminum trim will be discontinued. He said the response has not been good and they will get either the Titanium or Brushed Alumium for '09. (Good news because I really didn't like the fish scale effect of the Glacier Silver Aluminum but I like the contrast that it gives with the black dash.)

I mentioned the DCT coming to the 3 series and he had no idea what I was talking about. I am pretty sure that it won't come to the 1 series but if it were, I would definitely pay the extra money to get it.

I know that some other dealerships don't have much information about ordering a car with Lemon or Terracotta leather and you have to educate them that it's available. The salesman that I spoke to said it was no problem to get either and had a SGM '08 with Lemon leather to show me. He also told me that Coral Red is special order only which is understandable.

I asked him about breaking in the car since I plan on doing European Delivery and wanted to really push it out on the Autobahn and through the Alps. He said he has spoken to BMW engineers and they say to push it fairly hard. The cars that were pushed hard during break in are usually more powerful. (I have my doubts about this but I am sure I will push the car pretty hard during my ED.)

He mentioned a chip that he uses in his 335i. It called the Turbo Tuner from Split Second. http://www.splitsec.com/ He said he gets 80hp and 100lb/ft of torque from this plug and play chip that he can install or remove in about a minute. I think he was exaggerating a bit. Does anyone have experience with this part?

So that is what I got out of him. If anyone can confirm any of these rumors or has other information please chime in.

is this true about pushing the car hard during break in?