m630

...i hear you, but as some had spoken about at other times, atleast here in the US, i think (hope) that they will move the 550i up market a bit more to make room, I also believe i've heard or read that the 550i will move more than the 750 moved, so it can be several thousands higher, the 750 was a little more than 1K

...so in the US, currently the 530i is about 47K to start after the new engine, and the 545i was 56+K, so if the 550i moves to 59-60K base with added options included, there is plenty of room for a 540i, say around 52K+ to start...

i think the bigger point is the power and numbers that the 540i can compete on paper vs. most of the competion that the 530 is currently losing to...

cobradav

To E60Speed - does any of your find apply to 650i or is there additional press releases about the new 6er??

TIA

JARRETT

So will the 525 and 530i/xi models still be made? And will they be getting the option of the pushstart button too?

soc_fans

I'm wondering whether there will be a 640i as well?

UUronL

why do you say so? There is a big gap between 258bhp and 367bhp, perfect for the ~302bhp of the new 4.0. I think BMW NA HAS to bring the 540i to the US, the new MB E350 has about 300hp, they need to have a 300hp car to compete, the new R6 w/ ~258bhp is ok for the E90, but already its understood that since it doesnt have any more torque than the previous 530, the engine upgrade is minimal in terms of usable power... i think we will see the 540i here in the US, possibly with the drop of the 525i which now makes no sense with its detuned 3.0

the answers have to be out there....anyone have any further info in the US?????
[/quote]


Uhh, compete with the E350? It has 268 hp, which is marginally more than the current R6. It is also 3703 lbs, which is 300 lbs heavier than the 530i. Everyone always forgets the new E90 330i sport is only 24 lbs lighter than the 530i manual, which means that if the new engine is good enough for the E90, then it's good enough for the E60.

It would be nice to see the 540i here, but I think it might cannibalize the market in the US. Unless they plan to radically increase the cost on the 550i, they might lose a lot of borderline buyers contemplating the big dog.

"Already it's understood" that the R6 is a worthless upgrade in power? How dismissive. I suppose I fall into the camp of people defending a purchase they've made, but I'd argue against such an assessment. Thinking along such lines, I could make an equally valid argument that the 2-tenths of a second advantage the 540i has is unimportant and rather minimal in terms of upgrade over the 530i with the R6. (BMW quotes 6.4 for the manual 530i, 6.2 for the manual 540i)

I don't know about axing the 525i... I'm sure BMWNA sells a boatload of these. I know I see a lot of them where I live.

m630

already heard rumblings on this, im sure all the world will have a 630i, 640i, 650i E63 lineup in the fall, but as with all things here, BMW NA makes the call

m630

i didnt say those exact words, but my point on the new R6 is that even though BMW went thru all the trouble of creating this newer/lighter engine, they did not up the torque??? Now even though the hp increased, the power that most people feel when driving day to day has everything to do with torque. The new R6 is 258bhp/ 225ft/lbs while the new MB E350 is 268/258, so thats 30 more ft/lbs for the MB which is considerable since it will be felt the most day in and day out

...as for the E90 use, i'd say firstly that the E60 is a higher class car so they shouldnt be compared as equal needs, but as many E90 test drivers/potential owners have reported, the E90 330i feels no faster that the E90 325i which both feel no stronger, if not weaker than the former E46 330i. The E90 330i is way behind the numbers game with the competition and it will affect sales in that market segment here in the US, especially with infiniti upping the G35 to 299hp.

on the canabilization, i dont think this is a big issue as the 545i doesnt sell a whole lot compared to the total of the other models in the line up, there will always be those who want the top car (other than M of course) and if the car starts off 3K higher, its no loss of customers.
On the positive, they can possibly increase market share as there is a big gap in performace in todays MY06 530i and the upcoming 550i. Why wouldnt they fill the center of the gap with the 540i?

The 525i in the US makes no sense to me. With the new, bigger E90, BMW NA can push those on the fence to the 330i, and leave the E60 as a higher class car (price speaking) and start with the 530i. Theres only a few thousand between the 525/530 anyway so I can see it happen.... (I hope of course since this is what I specifically want)

I understand some of your frustration, as I got caught the last time around when engines changed and I didnt know everything that was on the horizon, so thats why I made it my goal to gain as much info as possible before commiting for another 5-6 years of ownership...i've had to patiently, sometimes painfully wait over the last year, but knowing that changes were happening in the fall has forced me to do such.

Now its up to BMW NA as to what I am allowed to buy....

BangleBox_530d

520d - that's a new model. For the UK at least. Obviously there's plenty of interest in a cheap (low tax) E60.

E60Speed

Yes thereis some info about the 650i ( no more Ci in the name )
No 640i yet

Same specs as th 550i but 0.1 seconds faster to 62mph

new 19" wheels available

Start/Stop button

UUronL

i didnt say those exact words, but my point on the new R6 is that even though BMW went thru all the trouble of creating this newer/lighter engine, they did not up the torque??? Now even though the hp increased, the power that most people feel when driving day to day has everything to do with torque. The new R6 is 258bhp/225nm while the new MB E350 is 268/258, so thats 30nm for the MB which is considerable since it will be felt the most day in and day out

...as for the E90 use, i'd say firstly that the E60 is a higher class car so they shouldnt be compared as equal needs, but as many E90 test drivers/potential owners have reported, the E90 330i feels no faster that the E90 325i which both feel no stronger, if not weaker than the former E46 330i. The E90 330i is way behind the numbers game with the competition and it will affect sales in that market segment here in the US, especially with infiniti upping the G35 to 299hp.

on the canabilization, i dont think this is a big issue as the 545i doesnt sell a whole lot compared to the total of the other models in the line up, there will always be those who want the top car (other than M of course) and if the car starts off 3K higher, its no loss of customers.
On the positive, they can possibly increase market share as there is a big gap in performace in todays MY06 530i and the upcoming 550i. Why wouldnt they fill the center of the gap with the 540i?

The 525i in the US makes no sense to me. With the new, bigger E90, BMW NA can push those on the fence to the 330i, and leave the E60 as a higher class car (price speaking) and start with the 530i. Theres only a few thousand between the 525/530 anyway so I can see it happen.... (I hope of course since this is what I specifically want)

I understand some of your frustration, as I got caught the last time around when engines changed and I didnt know everything that was on the horizon, so thats why I made it my goal to gain as much info as possible before commiting for another 5-6 years of ownership...i've had to patiently, sometimes painfully wait over the last year, but knowing that changes were happening in the fall has forced me to do such.

Now its up to BMW NA as to what I am allowed to buy....
[/quote]


I'm not frustrated, I frankly wouldn't want the 540i. None of the underlying reasons I purchased my car have changed and this announcement has not made me rethink anything. I guess we're not in agreement over how to characterize the 06 330i and 530i and this is the reason I'm debating. You are correct that the numbers are better for a G35 than a 330i, but the performance isn't really much different. I've driven several of my friends' G35s in various flavors, and none really knock you over. Besides, we are totally ignoring the exclusivity of the BMW marque. The Japanese can't buy that kind of pedigree with price or performance. There will always be a percentage of buyers who will value this over all else. I see an awful lot of middle aged women driving 5s where I live. For some if not all of them, I would imagine that the attraction to the car is probably more about looks and status than anything else. It is probably no coincidence then that many of these cars happen to have 525i badges on the back. I'm sure BMWUSA has the marketing data and will decide accordingly.

Torque is often very misunderstood. I'm not saying I disagree with anything you've said about it, but there is more to it than just the bottom-line figure. It's the torque curve - how flat it is, how early it's available, etc... In these respects, the R6 is stellar and able to provide improvement over the previous engine. Countless cars that we would all consider classic sports cars (that are also very fast) did not have gobs of torque. If you really want to talk torque, I don't think any of these tiny-block V8s has what I'd consider a lot of torque. You just can't get it without displacement - just look at the E60 M5, the torque is barely higher than the E39 M5's figure (384 lb/ft vs. 369 lb/ft). The new 911 as another example - only 273 lb/ft of torque... not available until 4250RPMs!!! If torque were the only measure, one might write it off yet it goes like stink.

Regardless, I'm sure the 540i will appeal to many. If BMW thinks there is a place for it here, I suppose we'll see it.