jamiepstewart

I am half tempted to move to another country just so I can buy a Diesel, MANUAL, X-Drive, 5 series wagon!! I called BMW Customer Service to inquire and they laughed at me. B*stards. Does ANYONE know of this car, newer than 2005 existing on the streets of the United States? I WANT this car. Do you think they will ever import it? We always get the crappy models in the US. How much fun would a M-Wagon be, in a manual tranny? With X-Drive?

norsecarnut

I'm not sure what the point is of your post? If it's to rant about our lack of options in the US market, fine. If it's sincerely asking if "anyone knows of this car", no, nobody knows of a car that was never, ever, sold here. You already know that so what's the point of your post?

The future does not bode well for manual transmissions period, it is less and less common as technology moves forward.

My dealer here GM thinks we will get the next iteration of the 5 series touring again. Whether it will be diesel or not is unknown however he was keen to point out that as of now, most models have a diesel variant by the end of the year, excluding M of course.

There is almost no chance the next 5 touring for the US will have 6 spd manual though.

You say we only get "crappy" models in the US..... I don't think I would call the E61, x drive, mt6, twin turbo, inline 6, a "crappy" model! I have a large wagon with all wheel drive, fun manual transmission, 380 hp/420 lb-ft torque, that gets 27 mpg on the highway. crappy??!

jamiepstewart

My point was more rhetorical with the hopes of someone knowing more than I. HOWEVER, there are a number of gray market vehicles in the United States. For example, the Mercedes G-Wagon has been in this country for years, prior to MB officially importing it as G500 or AMG. A number of them were diesel but also came in other iterations. I dont believe it is a stretch to consider that there may importers out there who federalize certain cars for the US market. Given the ubiquitousness of the awesome BMW diesel wagon in Europe and elsewhere, it is not inconceivable they would be here in the United States.

Unfortunately my friend, you would be correct in that the manual transmission is a dying breed, at least in the United States. To be clear, I have had two BMW Wagons...both 530XIs. The first was a manual! Had to sell it, and a year later seriously regretted that decision. We looked high and low and couldn't find another manual wagon, so settled for the automatic. According to my BMW dealer, he does NOT think they will bring back our coveted wagon anytime soon. Not everyone wants the newer, progressive shifting technology to scoop up kids from school or take the dogs swimming. Some of us prefer to grab the knob and downshift through the twisties... and feel the car. Be in more control. Its about the experience, not necessarily speed in which you do it.

Perhaps you didn't pick up on my tongue and cheek reference to crappy model offerings. By no means are our cars crappy...far from it - BMW has one of the best cars on Earth. That aside, WE, in the US, do NOT get the depth of choices offered in other countries. BMW isn't the only manuf. guilt of this either; Audi does the same thing. If you were to look at the BMW German website..have a look at the range of 5 series offered there. And yes there is a diesel M wagon! It IS bad-ass. We will NEVER see that car here. This is my frustration.

I spent some time in Germany and had the pleasure of driving an E60 Diesel... I was baffled as to why that car wasnt (at the time) offered in the US...nor more popular. The fuel mileage was incredible...not to mention was a blast to drive. Of course it isnt a TT 380HP XI...

BTW...if you ever want to sell your wagon... let me know.

norsecarnut

The GM here thinks we'll get the next 5 touring because of the loss of sales to other brands rather than how they hoped the GT would pull people and that really, the GT took a handful of 7 series folks.

You'd think the closest replacement for the 5 touring would be the x5 but having driven it, I do like it but it's just not the same. Is this due to where/how it's built ? Who knows but I don't mind at all that the e61 is built in Germany rather than SC.

As for the old pre MBUSA G500, it was way overpriced such that a person with similarly deep pockets could now just have a diesel e61 built here out of other parts. Just get an x5d and pull what you need While you're at it, pull the driveline so the wagon can have 13" wide rear wheels !

I love my e61, pined for one since late 2007 when the newer version was released. Liking lots of options I couldn't justify paying for a new one and time moved on. When I came across this one it just happened to be nearly full optioned and in the colors I'd "chosen" years before.

After an additional $16,000 in mods and stuff, it's just about right!