Stepping out of the 550 - MAJOR EYE OPENER
06-09-2009, 12:51 PM
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My Ride: 07' 550i sport; Sapphire Black/Auburn; sport package; steptronic; navigation with R.T.T.I.; heads up; cold weather package; Logic-7; BMW MOST ipod kit; Motorola V3 snap-in adapter; rear heated seats and rear shades; anthracite headliner; sirrius sat. radio; M-aero kit; OEM style 166 Wheels with 245/35-19 front and 285/30-19 rear Michelin PS2s.
Apparently, jaded best described me as a driver. For the last 9 years I have driven new BMW sedans all with sports package, summer tires (excluding winters) and DSC. Like many of you, it has boggled my mind 1) how the speed limit has remained at the oppressive 55 mph mark for so many decades; 2) How or why the average driver goes as slow as they do and 3) why BMW drivers get such a bad reputation.
My questions were answered. I get it now. Enter, the 1992 Lincoln Town Car I am currently driving while the 550 is in the body shop.
To put this into context, its a 92' Town Car with 145,000 miles. Its on its second engine and has had approximately $10,000.00 in repairs over the last 4 years. In other words, its condition is as good as any 92' Town Car gets. The shocks were recently replaced and the tires are of modern construction with only 10,000 miles on them.
Here is a bit of a comparo:
In the wet: In this Town Car I slow down from an already modest (essentially legal) speed, increase following distance, round corners on pins and needles for fear of sliding and increase braking distances because the tires lock up very easily. In the 550, there was no need to slow down from @90 unless standing water presented a hydroplaning risk. The braking and cornering thresholds are seemingly 80% of what they are in the dry, so you can still break every speed limit without approaching the car's limits even in the wet. And if you do push it too far, the DSC reigns you in 99% of the time. I enjoy driving in the wet in the 550.
Phone use while driving: In the Lincoln I find myself returning a lot of voicemails with my phone up to my ear (illegal here) and I think this is because I'm not missing anything by being on the phone, and it's a higher use of the time (like working on a commuter train). In the 550 I frequently deny incoming calls on i-drive because I don't want to waste precious seat time talking to clients about less than urgent issues. I relish the time I have in the car and don't want that experience tainted by stupid calls.
Driving in traffic: In the Town Car its like I'm a mid-pack driver fighting tooth and nail for inches. Nobody lets you in, every soccer mom in a minivan is gunning it to get ahead of you. I'm in the thick of the battle. But with the 550 you have the brakes, cornering and acceleration to take it to another level. You don't deal with traffic, you dispense with it. A driver won't let you merge, no problem, hit the gas and you're a few cars ahead so quickly, you aren't "asking" to merge anymore you do it and nobody even knows it happened. Someone's tailgating you. Wait to brake really late before the next corner and then watch their car nearly roll over in the rear view as they attempt to keep pace with you in the corner. Most drivers back off in fear afterwards.
On the highway The Lincoln's gas cuts off at 95 mph whereas the 550 can still put you in the seat accelerating from that speed. And 95 may be too fast for the Ford's chassis. A good sized dip in the highway will bottom the suspension at that speed.
The radio: In the Lincoln you need to look away from the road and focus on tiny buttons to change channels etc... The 550 steering wheel controls combined with the use of an ipod to alleviate/minimize the need to change channels is truly a huge safety factor aside from a luxurious indulgence.
What I'm getting at here is that sitting behind the thick rimmed wheel of various BMWs, I forgot how poor other cars handle the challenges of ordinary use. The laws that govern our roadways must be based on the lowest common denominator. Based on what I've experienced driving this Town Car, I now understand why so many people 1) blabber on the phone while driving; 2) consider 80 mph "fast enough"; 3) drive so unnecessarily defensive in traffic and 4) slow to a snail's pace in the wet.
Now that the capitalist principles of survival of the fittest have sealed the fates of the big three car companies, do you think we can collectively stop making cars like the one I described above. Maybe a new GM will design and produce smaller, more driver oriented cars with features that work in harmony with driving (like navigation and lane departure warnings), not against it (3 cupholders per seat, curb weights close to an adult elephant and torque-rich giant lifeless gas guzzling motors to push them along effortlessly). We need to build cars with more manual transmissions to involve the driver and smaller engines that need to be revved which are better on gas and have more soul. In other words, make cars that are tools to experience the roads with, not automated lazyboys.
Does anyone think the recent reshuffling in Detroit will provide an opportunity for some phoenixes to rise out of the ashes?
Happy and Safe Motoring,
DRP
My questions were answered. I get it now. Enter, the 1992 Lincoln Town Car I am currently driving while the 550 is in the body shop.
To put this into context, its a 92' Town Car with 145,000 miles. Its on its second engine and has had approximately $10,000.00 in repairs over the last 4 years. In other words, its condition is as good as any 92' Town Car gets. The shocks were recently replaced and the tires are of modern construction with only 10,000 miles on them.
Here is a bit of a comparo:
In the wet: In this Town Car I slow down from an already modest (essentially legal) speed, increase following distance, round corners on pins and needles for fear of sliding and increase braking distances because the tires lock up very easily. In the 550, there was no need to slow down from @90 unless standing water presented a hydroplaning risk. The braking and cornering thresholds are seemingly 80% of what they are in the dry, so you can still break every speed limit without approaching the car's limits even in the wet. And if you do push it too far, the DSC reigns you in 99% of the time. I enjoy driving in the wet in the 550.
Phone use while driving: In the Lincoln I find myself returning a lot of voicemails with my phone up to my ear (illegal here) and I think this is because I'm not missing anything by being on the phone, and it's a higher use of the time (like working on a commuter train). In the 550 I frequently deny incoming calls on i-drive because I don't want to waste precious seat time talking to clients about less than urgent issues. I relish the time I have in the car and don't want that experience tainted by stupid calls.
Driving in traffic: In the Town Car its like I'm a mid-pack driver fighting tooth and nail for inches. Nobody lets you in, every soccer mom in a minivan is gunning it to get ahead of you. I'm in the thick of the battle. But with the 550 you have the brakes, cornering and acceleration to take it to another level. You don't deal with traffic, you dispense with it. A driver won't let you merge, no problem, hit the gas and you're a few cars ahead so quickly, you aren't "asking" to merge anymore you do it and nobody even knows it happened. Someone's tailgating you. Wait to brake really late before the next corner and then watch their car nearly roll over in the rear view as they attempt to keep pace with you in the corner. Most drivers back off in fear afterwards.
On the highway The Lincoln's gas cuts off at 95 mph whereas the 550 can still put you in the seat accelerating from that speed. And 95 may be too fast for the Ford's chassis. A good sized dip in the highway will bottom the suspension at that speed.
The radio: In the Lincoln you need to look away from the road and focus on tiny buttons to change channels etc... The 550 steering wheel controls combined with the use of an ipod to alleviate/minimize the need to change channels is truly a huge safety factor aside from a luxurious indulgence.
What I'm getting at here is that sitting behind the thick rimmed wheel of various BMWs, I forgot how poor other cars handle the challenges of ordinary use. The laws that govern our roadways must be based on the lowest common denominator. Based on what I've experienced driving this Town Car, I now understand why so many people 1) blabber on the phone while driving; 2) consider 80 mph "fast enough"; 3) drive so unnecessarily defensive in traffic and 4) slow to a snail's pace in the wet.
Now that the capitalist principles of survival of the fittest have sealed the fates of the big three car companies, do you think we can collectively stop making cars like the one I described above. Maybe a new GM will design and produce smaller, more driver oriented cars with features that work in harmony with driving (like navigation and lane departure warnings), not against it (3 cupholders per seat, curb weights close to an adult elephant and torque-rich giant lifeless gas guzzling motors to push them along effortlessly). We need to build cars with more manual transmissions to involve the driver and smaller engines that need to be revved which are better on gas and have more soul. In other words, make cars that are tools to experience the roads with, not automated lazyboys.
Does anyone think the recent reshuffling in Detroit will provide an opportunity for some phoenixes to rise out of the ashes?
Happy and Safe Motoring,
DRP
06-09-2009, 12:57 PM
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Great post.
I rent cars all the time on business. A6s, A4s, Volvos, Lincolns, Infiniti Ms, Infiniti Gs, etc. The 550 is head and shoulders above all of them. What a joy it is to slide into mine at the airport when I return after having driven one of those buckets for a week. The Infiniti Ms and Gs are probably the most fun sedans I have rented but they are still not on the level of a 550.
Whenever I slide behind the wheel of my 550, I am reminded of how truly fortune and lucky I am to be able to afford one.
I rent cars all the time on business. A6s, A4s, Volvos, Lincolns, Infiniti Ms, Infiniti Gs, etc. The 550 is head and shoulders above all of them. What a joy it is to slide into mine at the airport when I return after having driven one of those buckets for a week. The Infiniti Ms and Gs are probably the most fun sedans I have rented but they are still not on the level of a 550.
Whenever I slide behind the wheel of my 550, I am reminded of how truly fortune and lucky I am to be able to afford one.
06-09-2009, 01:01 PM
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My Ride: 2008 550I LOADED, all options except HUD and NV
Having owned a wide range of cars (the last SRT8 Jeep, before that G35 coupe) this is the best handling and most comfortable car I have ever owned. I don't think I could stand driving a Lincoln even for a minute. So I feel for you.
06-09-2009, 01:08 PM
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My Ride: 2008 550i sport
Interesting perspecitve, thanks for sharing. I wonder though if the town car was immediately at a disadvantage, with the 550 have 12-17 years of german engineering and technology improvements/enhancements. The town car was never made to perform. Is this a fair comparison?
06-09-2009, 01:50 PM
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My Ride: 2004 (07/03) 530i, Mystic Blue Metallic, Beige Leather, Premium Package, Sports Package, Steptronic, Adaptive Xenons, euro red reflectors, K/N air filter, Falken 452's
"You don't deal with traffic, you dispense with it"
This is the quote of the day! Awesome!
BTW- to answer your question- no, GM will do no such thing, government bureaucrats have no idea how to run a business and will do nothing but produce government mandated CRAP that no one wants to buy. The principles of free market capitalism are seen as a hinderance to their agenda. When people refuse to buy the junk they are preparing to stuff down out gullet they will mandate compliance.
If THIS administration is allowed to continue down this path we may never recover.
This is the quote of the day! Awesome!
BTW- to answer your question- no, GM will do no such thing, government bureaucrats have no idea how to run a business and will do nothing but produce government mandated CRAP that no one wants to buy. The principles of free market capitalism are seen as a hinderance to their agenda. When people refuse to buy the junk they are preparing to stuff down out gullet they will mandate compliance.
If THIS administration is allowed to continue down this path we may never recover.
