My E60 is my 11th. Bought No. 12 (X3 2.5) for the CFO this past weekend.

 

Bought my first Bimmer, an E39 in Aug 2001. I must say I'm now hooked on this brand. I've owned the E65 and the E66 before settling for an E46 (which my elder son is driving) and E60 right now. I have on order, an M6 which should arrive in Nov 2005. Next son on the line is also into Bimmers and he's hoping for the E90 when (and if) he obtains his driving license by end 2006.

 

I don't understand. If SMG has an automatic mode and does not require any shifting, what's the difference between an auto and SMG? At least from the driver's perspective it's the same thing, right????

 

Well, almost. From what i know the Smg has a mechinically clutch with no toruqe converter. I am sure the SMG shifts faster than the automatic but if you look in a confy ride take the steptronic cuz in no way the smg could shift as smooth as the steptronic. If i had a choice i would have taken the smg because i'm more sport oriented.

 

Yes and no.

First, there are multiple implementations of SMG, even across BMW models, so this is a very generic explanation.

Yes, it can "behave" like an automatic, in that it will automatically shift and the driver doesn't have to "do" anything.

But an SMG transmission, as the name sequential manual gearbox implies, is a true manual transmission, but without a clutch pedal, and with the mechanics of the shifting process handled by computer. This means that it is necessarily not as "smooth" as an automatic transmission, which uses a layer of fluid and other tricks to make the transition between gears smooth, and appropriate to the amount of acceleration, speed, and so on. Drive Mode on a BMW SMG transmission tries to mimic this, but it will never be as smooth as an automatic; it's not "pleasant" to drive as an automatic.

Now, if you don't care if some of the shift points end up being a little odd, or not very smooth, yes, it will act like an automatic. But I think the point is you shouldn't get it FOR that reason. You should get it because you want a manual transmission, and specifically SMG.

 

...i've been a 'BMW man' for nearly 20 years now, but with the current way that BMW NA has decided to treat their loyal supporters, im now rethinking my thought process...i may just go for a Cayman S for a few years until the Panamera comes out and say bye-bye to BMW now, i refuse to take their BS marketing schemes that exclude BMWs largest market from their full line of cars :thumbsdown:

 

Nope, not unless you choose D1,D2,D3,etc. Otherwise, you are in control, within limits, of which gear you drive in. You can jump gears up the scale and down the scale, one-two-three at a time if you wish by flipping the paddles as fast as you can click your mouse. With a manual, you can start in any gear you select with the stick. This option is limited to 1st and 2nd with SMG. SMG also will not let you shift into a higher gear too soon (as determined by German engineers), but you can be in 6th speed with adequate torque at 30 mph--a good thing sometimes with high fuel costs.

 

This is my third consecutive BMW in 12 happy years. Graduated from a 1993 325i to a 2005
545i which I now have since August 1st.
Test drove the Lexus LS430 and GS430 and the M35 and M45.
Believe me: Nothing even comes close!
You drive a BMW and you become hooked for life.
I hope I never have to suffer the pains of BMW withdrawal.

 

...i've been a 'BMW man' for nearly 20 years now, but with the current way that BMW NA has decided to treat their loyal supporters, im now rethinking my thought process...i may just go for a Cayman S for a few years until the Panamera comes out and say bye-bye to BMW now, i refuse to take their BS marketing schemes that exclude BMWs largest market from their full line of cars :thumbsdown:
[/quote]
I don't think that NA is the largest market there...yes it is important but in a way it's hard to addapt for the americans...i for one would be so mixed up cuz you really have to know what they want (cuz of gas prices, tendancies, mentallity, tastes, ride and so on...) before you jump in with a model, engine and so on....

It's just that we europeans are a little left out with some american/japaneese cars: pontiac, dodge, infinity, lexus, skylines and so on...not all Europe but some parts yes.

 

...i've been a 'BMW man' for nearly 20 years now, but with the current way that BMW NA has decided to treat their loyal supporters, im now rethinking my thought process...i may just go for a Cayman S for a few years until the Panamera comes out and say bye-bye to BMW now, i refuse to take their BS marketing schemes that exclude BMWs largest market from their full line of cars :thumbsdown:
[/quote]
I don't think that NA is the largest market there...yes it is important but in a way it's hard to addapt for the americans...i for one would be so mixed up cuz you really have to know what they want (cuz of gas prices, tendancies, mentallity, tastes, ride and so on...) before you jump in with a model, engine and so on....

It's just that we europeans are a little left out with some american/japaneese cars: pontiac, dodge, infinity, lexus, skylines and so on...not all Europe but some parts yes.
[/quote]
And as a PS:

there are different types of culture and gas restrictions: for that reason EU doesn't get the Mitsubishi Evo8 280 hp and upwards because it doesn't comply with the emissions, we only get the 265 hp stripped down version with 5 speed manual gerbox.

as for NA: i saw that americans tend to get bmw models with stripped down power....for eg: E46 M3 EU spec 343bhp and NA spec (if i'm not mistaken) 333bhp...the same thing for the E60 545i. And who would want diesels in america? where gas is cheaper than in EU?!? well...i heard now that petrol prices went up a bit because of some internal/external factors.

so in the end: Rammestein-Amerika (english version)