tiangco.a

Working at a dealership i drive probably about 4 different cars a day. Some are real lumps and some are way out of my range...but at the end of the day im very happy and glad to jump into my bmw, and really appreciate the car that it is.

craigm1841

i am too lucky to drive a new 535. i made some good decisions in life thus far. at the age of 26 I consider myself one of the lucky few to drive an E60, one with 2 turbos at that. this car will provide me with the extra kick in the butt to work harder and harder over the years, so i can continue to own bmws, upgrading every few years.

i love my car and know that i am leaps and bounds ahead of 95% of the other cars on the street. a lot of cars wont do 100 mph. my car gets its second wind at 100/4th gear.

pukka

In all fairness - you can't compare a 17 year old worn out american luxury car with a new 550.

Look at it this way, from the 50's through the 80's Americans mostly drove big cars that comfortably took them where they wanted to go. It wasn't about cornering or acceleration - it was simply enjoying the drive or perhaps a better term would be cruise.

I remember as a kid riding around with my friend and his dad in the back of a 74 Caddy Fleetwood - I wouldn't even try to compare it to my BMW but to me the feeling is still priceless.

The changes began in the 70's and 80's due to emissions, fuel prices, and foreign competition. Combine that with bad management and foresight from the American Big 3 and its pretty obvious why we are playing catch-up with the Germans auto makers.


As for driving so slow here in the U.S., keep in mind that in Germany, the roads are better, the insurance is higher and the laws are much more strict. You can't do ANY type of modifications to a car without getting a German TUV (inspection) and this will cost you some serious $$$. But the quality of car on the German roads are far better then what you see in the states. I would absolutely love for the speed limits in the U.S. to be raised if not lifted in certain areas. But people here won't pay the money for inspections and higher insurance, governments won't pay money to improve the roads, and businesses like NAPA, Pep-Boys, and Jiffy-Lube would no doubt be opposed to what would amount to their inevitable extinction.

I'll never forget when I was at an Opel/GM dealership a German man approached me about the hood deflector and vent visors on my T-Blazer. I told him that since my vehicle was registered through U.S. SOFA I didn't have to comply with the German TUV and it cost me approx $75 for the stuff and I installed everything myself in about 30 minutes.....The cost for him to get the same thing done in accordance with German law? About 500 Euros!

lawguy

I had an '04 G35 coupe too - a 6MT, which was really fun. It was still a Nissan through and through, but it handled really well. I enjoyed it for what it was, and at $35k, it was pretty good value. But, the 550i kicks the hell out of it at every turn...

tprenaldo

Keep in mind its a democratic gov't that's in place! Remember this qoute:

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening
the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging
thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the
wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by
inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking
away people's initiative and independence.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for
them, what they could and should do for themselves.

.....Abraham Lincoln

swajames

Keep in mind the mess they are dealing with was largely inherited from a Republican administration. And not a very good one at that.

pjinca

"Democratic gov't?" As opposed to the previous 8 years of idiocy? Thanks, Barak might not have been my first choice either, but after the last 8 years I wouldn't have minded bringing Nixon back from the dead.

tprenaldo

I'm sure Bush didn't plan on the courses of action he had to take. Let's see how you would handle having snakes thrown into your lap!

swajames

And that, my friend, is the heart of the issue. Perhaps if he had planned them a little better, we may all have been better for it.

rick circeo

Hard to believe that a new 550 Sport performs better than a '92 Town Car pushing 150k on the odo. You're going to have to provide more proof, because I'm not buying it.