Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Most popular vehicles
Popular New Cars
- New Acura MDX
- New Acura RDX
- New Audi Q5
- New BMW 3 Series
- New BMW X3
- New Buick Enclave
- New Cadillac Escalade
- New Chevrolet Equinox
- New Chrysler 300
- New Dodge Challenger
- New Ford Edge
- New Ford Escape
- New Ford Expedition
- New Ford Explorer
- New Ford F-150
- New Ford Focus
- New Ford Mustang
- New Honda Accord
- New Honda Civic
- New Honda CR-V
- New Honda Fit
- New Honda Odyssey
- New Honda Pilot
- New Hyundai Elantra
- New Hyundai Santa Fe
- New Hyundai Sonata
- New Hyundai Tucson
- New Jeep Compass
- New Jeep Grand Cherokee
- New Jeep Wrangler
- New Mazda 3
- New Mazda 6
- New Mazda CX-5
- New Nissan Altima
- New Nissan Maxima
- New Nissan Rogue
- New Porsche Cayenne
- New Ram 1500
- New Subaru Crosstrek
- New Subaru Forester
- New Subaru Impreza
- New Subaru Outback
- New Tesla Model S
- New Tesla Model X
- New Toyota 4Runner
- New Toyota Camry
- New Toyota Corolla
- New Toyota Highlander
- New Toyota Prius
- New Toyota RAV4
- New Toyota Sienna
- New Toyota Tacoma
- New Volkswagen Jetta
- New Volvo XC60
- New Volvo XC90
Popular Used Sedans
- Used BMW 5 Series
- Used Chevrolet Impala
- Used Chevrolet Malibu
- Used Chrysler 200
- Used Dodge Charger
- Used Ford Fusion
- Used Ford Taurus
- Used Honda Accord
- Used Honda Civic
- Used Hyundai Elantra
- Used Hyundai Sonata
- Used Tesla Model S
- Used Toyota Camry
- Used Toyota Corolla
- Used Volkswagen Jetta
Popular Used SUVs
- Used Acura MDX
- Used Acura RDX
- Used Ford Edge
- Used Ford Explorer
- Used Honda CR-V
- Used Honda Pilot
- Used Hyundai Santa Fe
- Used Jeep Compass
- Used Lincoln Navigator
- Used Mazda CX-5
- Used Nissan Rogue
- Used Subaru Crosstrek
- Used Subaru Forester
- Used Tesla Model X
- Used Volvo XC90
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Huge leap forward, IMO. Thus the reason I placed the link.
Glad you liked it, too!
TagMan
Well . . . it is obvious that the author has identified the situation, but has failed to truly understand the nature of it . . . which has nothing to do with genuine enthusiasts.
Phonies, wannabees, pretenders, and counterfeiters are generally not enthusiasts, for goodness sakes.
TagMan
True, very true. Something we can definitely agree on.
M
Nope, I never bought that either. There are (as thegraduate pointed out) other plants in AL and all across the U.S. the turn out better quality vehicles. The only other plant the comes to mind from a foreign make is Nissan's plant in MS. It has been very troubleseome for them.
M
Well they are definitely trying to cross each other on those goals, somewhat. Lexus will only go so far with their quest to take on BMW. Infiniti has them beat by a country mile in that respect, but they'll still try to capture some of the BMW market. The IS350's suspension calibration and the lack of a manual tell you how far they're going to go. On the flip side most car companies are trying to match Toyota in reliability. BMW has the money and smarts to do it if they're serious about it.
M
Uhh...not quite IMO. On the S-Class I'll stick my neck out and say yes. Also the more serious things that went wrong with the E-Class (Nav, SBC brakes) have been resolved so we'll have to see how the 07' E and S models do. This will be crucial in determining whether or not MB has truly turned the corner. The ML and R being from a different plant and thrown together in a different situation than German Benzes don't inspire any belief in MB having fixed their problems with that plant and those models.
M
M
There will be no S-Class convertible. Maybe a CL convertible or a Maybach 4-door convertible, but a S550 droptop..never!
As I recall, he'll be eating the brochure shortly after its release. merc - will that be with Ketchup, Mustard, or Bar-B-Que sauce?
LOL....maybe I'll make a pizza out of it with the Ketchup.
M
Compared to the Lotus, a skateboard is a soft ride. Seriously, as I recall it should be OK. But, I'll absolutely test carefully before final dollars exchange hands. The GT3, however, would be totally out of the question.
The SL and XK are much more comfortable as far as ride quality is concerned. A 911 is still a sports car, you're cheating...lol!!
OH yeah!
TagMan
AMG
Scroll down to episode 21 and then Mercedes-AMG.
Well you know my vote is for the SL.
M
I'll be here lurking. Don't make me join the fray now, OK ? We surely don't want this board shut down again now, do we ? :P :shades:
Then why is BMW switching over to designs that involve run-flats?
BTW, taking subway is probably more dangerous than driving one's own car, when disease and mugging are taken into account :-)
32 visits to the repair shop in a year and half is not the kind of risk everyone can afford to take with their primary cars.
This recalls a fellow I met 15+ years ago. He kept referring to "my M3". When I saw the back of his car, the badge was "318is".
Seriously, take care of yourself and I hope you will be in the market for another Lotus before long. If you remember a while back I asked about your QP? I had that confused with the Lotus.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
;-)
Hey thegraduate:
I hope you move up to the real thing some day.
If you love driving, you will find there is nothing comparable in its price range across the BMW line.
Remember, the cheaper the BMW, the better the performance.
Perhaps you should be thinking of going for a post-graduate degree!
Hey thegraduate:
I hope you move up to the real thing some day.
If you love driving, you will find there is nothing comparable in its price range across the BMW line.
Remember, the cheaper the BMW, the better the performance.
Perhaps you should be thinking of going for a post-graduate degree!
Yeah, well, at the moment, I'm going into Broadcast Journalism (not a high-paying field, but I aboslutely LOVE it)...maybe I'll be lucky enough to make the big time and make some actual $, and buy a Bimmer.
And I've always heard the more basic the BMW, the better!
That's why hpowders is about to trade in the 5 for a new twin-turbo 3 next March.
This is the one he will get:
link title
TagMan
One of our regular posters here has one, in addition to his high-end stable. I plan to test drive the EX V6 sometime soon.
PS:
1.You can get a low-mileage 2003 325i for less than $25k.
2. I have read your informative posts over on the various Accord threads for quite a while. Good to see you here!
I am seriously thinking of going back to the 3-Series.
The 545 just doesn't have the same thrill in the corners.
Dewey seems to be very happy with his.
I still have many months to think about it. I would do the 335i coupe, not the sedan. I love the look of the coupe....unless BMW comes out with some diesel models in 2008.
One thing about BMW's, I never have issues with the seat, steering wheel, foot well or console. Always perfect. A real pleasure.
At this point in time, half-way through my lease, I can decisively say, for my next vehicle...I am completely indecisive.
Hope your PT is helping you feel better!
Have you driven each?
I sure would like to know your comparative impressions.
I guess that "reliability" argument has now gone up in flames . . . literally.
I'd rather have a Mercedes and risk some mechanical trouble than risk being grilled well-done in one of these babies.
Source: link title
TagMan
Among almost every manufacturer of HELCs small is not beautiful. Less is not more. A small Jag (X), a small Lexus (IS), a small Cadillac (CTS), and a small Benz (C Class) just does not cut it IMO.
While a large BMW in the form of a 7 series does not seem to be as representative of its marque as the S Class is to the Benz marque. I love my 335i far more than the 530xi touring that my wife now drives on a full-time basis. In the case of Bimmers small is beautiful. Less is more.
AND, IMO . . . In the case of Porsches . . . small is beautiful.
TagMan
LOL....maybe I'll make a pizza out of it with the Ketchup.
Well at least our E Class vs. 5 Series sales bet was a gentlemen's bet. Put a lot of Pepperoni on it and it shouldn't taste that bad.
Absolutely! A large barge-like Porsche Panamera is not my cup of tea.
boy, if only money & smarts could get you class leading reliability, BMW would have had more reliable cars years ago(just so it's not taken out of context, I'm not saying BMWs are unreliable) not to mention a whole lot of other makers would have had equally reliable cars. for example benz, ford, GM. But quite frankly, making reliable cars is not as easy as saying "we got the money & the smarts". hey, Benz can't make cars that handle and feel like a BMW, Audi can't and nor can Lexus. At the same time, BMW, Benz, or Audi can't make a reliable car to the degree that Toyota can either. Most carmakers have certain strengths, BMW has driving dynamics, Audi has AWD, Lexus has quality, and then you got some that have only intangibles to fall back on like a benz or Jaguar. If reliability were soo easy to emulate as you think it is, MBs reliability wouldn't have fallen off the wagon like it did thru most of the 90's and the first 5 years of this millenium, and Lexus wouldn't be the most reliable car 17 years running. And if BMW could do it all, wouldn't it already be "done" by them?
Hi Designman/Howard:
The story is real simple. My 14-yo daughter hates my LS, but likes the 'Trix. She is the one next in line to start driving by 2008. So we figured why not wait till when she gets her license (in 18 months), we'll then get rid of the LS, and flip a coin for its replacement - heads she gets the 'Trix and I get a new car, OR Tails she gets a new car and I keep the 'Trix. My wife and my daughter are all for this "deal", so with reluctance I had to kill the LS460 deal I had on the table.
but... but... but... I am supposed to be lurking.... so back to my rocking chair.
I have a number of misgivings about ever buying a Mercedes, but if I demand a manual transmission, that's my (one) choice for that
marque, excuse me, car.BMW is at the top of my short list, but I have this one Merc on there as well.
The 545 is a great vehicle but I can run rings around it with a 325i. (Not talking about acceleration).
Compact cars are simply more agile than mid-sized vehicles.
Can't dispute those laws of physics.
I can see myself comfortably down-sizing next time around.
No more 5 Series unless BMW comes out with a diesel in 2008 which achieves raves.
Man is that ugly! Shocking!
The 550i should be one sweet ride. Try it with the comfort seats if you can. Comfortable without being too soft.
You can't beat the BMW warranty- all factory recommended maintenance for 4 years, 50,000 miles. If you ever do need help with the BMW, you just press a button and you are blue-toothed to BMW. I have never needed to use it.
However, if you decide on the LS460, enjoy it.
On a not unrelated topic, I see a lot of people (although less now) driving American SUVs who clearly could afford a HELC, I wonder if, in addition to all the other reasons advanced for their popularity, some of the success of SUVs is the perceived rugged simplicity, won't complicate your life with electronic gizmos?
Talk about being misinformed.
Yet I see it every day. The people driving most recklessly are the SUVers. Driving them like BMW 3 Series. Guess they didn't take physics 101.
Morning moms with the kids on the way to school. :surprise:
One hand holding the Starbucks, and the other holding the cellphone . . . look!...no hands on the steering wheel! :sick: ... Get outa the way!!!
TagMan
On the flip side most car companies are trying to match Toyota in reliability. BMW has the money and smarts to do it if they're serious about it.
Agree with the first sentence, but not the second one. BMW has neither the money nor the smarts nor even the right manufacturing circumstance to replicate Toyota's reliability. BMW is very good at maintaining profit margin, but the overall resource available to BMW is limited. BMW worldwide sales is only about $14 billion, whereas that of Toyota is $160 billion. It takes a lot of raw cash flow to engineer and test vehicle to tight tolerance and high reliability. The devil in the details costs a lot of money to be engineered out :-) BMW probably can't even afford the army of process and quality control engineers that Toyota has. The overall R&D cost of a platform like the Civic/TSX/CR-V/RDX and Camry/ES/Highlander/RX cost $5-10 billion nowadays. If BMW or MB spend that much money on a platform, they'd have to quit making all other models. The overall R&D cost of ML/R/GL for example is less than $1 billion. That's why there are so many more bugs in the ML/R/GL compared to the higher volume platforms from Toyota and Honda. The Honda and Toyota production lines are much more automated. BMW on the other hand touts "flexible manufacturing," which means more work done by human labor on the production line. It's a completely different approach. I do not fault BMW for making that choice; it's a necessity due to lower volume: what's the point of installing a billion dollar of robots if the whole model is only expected to generate a few hundred million dollars in revenue?? However, that decision does have an adverse effect on final product quality. That explains why the domestics are having better luck than the Germans at improving product quality in the past decade. As much as we like to make fun of the domestics, they are better placed in the market place to emulate the Toyota/Honda success on quality than the Germans because the domestics have the volume/cash flow (even if little of that cash flow translates into profit)
More than a couple MB's probably had wind shield wiper failure in the middle of a down poor, like one of the magazine testers found on an ML; more than a couple 3 series probably had DSC failure that almost flipped the car, like another magazine editor found during a test. Not to downplay the significance of cars catching fire, but 2 out of millions of these two models sold is hardly relevent to the statistics. I will change my tune when one of those buggers catch fire during a magazine test :-)
I've noticed that as well. To me it seems that there are more women drivers of those large domestic SUVs than men. I think they make them feel less vulnerable on the road, as there is a perception that these large vehicles are somehow inherently safer than a traditional sedan. Of course its not actually true, a S-class or LS460 will be unbeatable when it comes to active safety. The domestics on the other hand have a poor track record at that.
Next door are an empty nester couple with 2 SUV s. They are expanding their garage and spending thousands, rather than trading in one SUV and getting a sedan. Total lunacy, IMO.
The Jaguar brand has earned the top quality award from the German motoring magazine Auto Zeitung's .
The Jaguar XK was Recommended for the 2007 Award in the Premium Sporty/Performance Car category by Consumer Guide.
The fact that a such a small company like Jaguar which happens to be owned by a financially trouble parent(Ford) is proof that any auto manufacture can be successful in achieving outstanding reliability and sales service success.
Trying to build a car that can mimic the driving dynamics of a Porsche or BMW is another story altogether. Even the most financially well endowed companies in the world cannot mimic these two niche players.
A good Dad.
A not so good Dad would have tried the old Ralph Kramden trick: "Heads I win. Tails you lose."
Not bad, not bad at all. But is it really that good?
The devil in the details costs a lot of money to be engineered out BMW probably can't even afford the army of process and quality control engineers that Toyota has.
As much as we like to make fun of the domestics, they are better placed in the market place to emulate the Toyota/Honda success on quality than the Germans because the domestics have the volume/cash flow (even if little of that cash flow translates into profit)
You wanna analyze the devile in the details? Maybe you should look at BMW's PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING as opposed to Toyota's quality-control engineering. Poor little BMW quality-control engineers ain't good fuh nuttin'. They only put their money where their mouth is with a 4-year warranty with free maintenance and great lease deals, the latter of which has everyone perplexed.
Throwing up $14 bil vs $160 bil isn't what I call facts and figures. It is only being used speciously. Get into the "devil in the details" rather than making generalizations with facts and figures.
More Toyota worship and sanctimony.
With BMW's mere 14 billion, they have managed to engineer some of the best handling cars in the business. Yet, Toyota has that massive warchest and leaves one wondering just how much money could Toyota possibly need to improve the performance of some of its vehicles, and why then does the performance of Toyota/Lexus vehicles not even come close to that of a BMW, even when appropriate such as with the Lexus IS.
I'd have to say that when it comes to vehicle performance, BMW is much more capable with its money . . . especially considering the massive monetary difference between the two companies that you highlighted.
TagMan