This is my first post here. :huh:
I have owned a 540I and am looking at the new 545i.
I called today and the salesman said that he would gather some dates and more infromation and call back. I told him that my lease runs out the 3rd of december and asked if I could get a "loaded" 545I in time. He said that we might be sucessfull. He thought that we could order soon and get on a October build for a late Nov early Dec delivery.

He was nice and mentioned that there were no firm pricing (or brocheres) yet even though he heard they were just slightly more than the previous models.

What do you folks think? Will I get a loaded 545i early Dec in Michigan?

If you want a 545i by December, you will likely not able to get NAV, HUD, and the DVD video entertainment system. All these options are scheduled for March 04 production. SMG could be in question as well. So it might not be as "loaded" as you would like. Other than that, everything else should be available. Good luck!

I was assured that SMG was going to be included for the 545 in Oct. production. If I get a call from my dealer stating it won't be made till March production with SMG they will loose my order. MB E500 can be ordered now with nav and all the other stuff BMW is stalling on. I'd rather have the 545, but, I can't wait till May 04 to get a car here in the States.

SMG? Is this something to do with the 6 speed manual? What is it?

Take a look at this thread:

http://e60.doit.wisc.edu/forums/index.php?...t=ST&f=2&t=112&

Well, you better call back your dealer.

BMW has been speaking out of the two sides of its collective mouth for months regarding SMG and other options. Their internal updates state that SMG will be available, but dealerships say probably not. There are several other options that can be included in the "not ready for prime time roll-out" list: lumbar support seating option, anthracite trim package, satellite radio option, bluetooth and cell phone options et etc etc.

Well I got a call back from my dealer. He said that I would be able to get on the October/November build for a early Dec delivery. He also said that NAV and the HUD along with the SMG would all be delayed till March'ish. WOW. I am going to go in to talk more about it.

Is SMG better than a Manual for a sports car???

SMG is cooler technically, thus might be associated with better performance. It can change gear faster than any human can. But choosing between the different transmissions is mostly a personal preference.