Buying a new car; any suggestions?

[The Rock]

Damn, your a wealth of good BWM information. That being said, whats the design differences between the sedan and the coupe? I find it hard to tell since I haven't been able to find 2 similar photos to compare.

Bart

[Jorden]

Without reading this thread, TR, go for the car that has at least 5 tires, an engine, and is a classic, like a nineteen-twenty-nine Duesenberg.

"Manufactured from 1928 until 1936, they were considered by many automobile conncoisseurs as the handsomest cars ever built. Only about 480 chassis and engines came out of the factory and were sent to the most esteemed coachmakers in the country (US) who produced magnificent designs. They sold as high as 20,000 USD when a Ford Model A sold for around USD 400.-
They were owned by the wealthy celebrities of their day, particularly the Hollywood crowd. who bought Duesenbergs as a show of pride and prestige. If you drove a Duesy, you had made it big time!"

"The engine was an outgrowth of the Duesenberg engines. A straight 8-cylinder engine displacing 420 cubic inches, it produced 265 HP when most engines at the time put out less than 70. Under the right conditions she could touch 140 miles an hour."

Everyone who knows which book I copied the above from, gets a signature

Jord.

[This message has been edited by Jorden (edited 19 May 2001).]

[Gurm]

Bart,

The differences:

1. The coupe is more aerodynamic looking than the sedan. More "slung back", as it were.

2. The sedan seldom came equipped with the sports package (not never, just seldom) which consists of the lowered suspension, the better wheels (16" dual-spoke), and sometimes the better body work and/or spoiler.

3. The coupe has smart windows - they automatically lower a bit when the doors are opened, and raise themselves when the doors are shut... to prevent breaking or a bad seal.

Like I said, I'll post some pictures (of both mine and my friend's 325i sedan) tomorrow.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Johnny Ray]

Actually, the new BMW 325xi and 330xi are full time four wheel drive. Yuck. I just got a great raise (I work hard) and if my company's stock holds through next week (it should) I should be able to write a check for the full amount of a new 330ci. Yeah baby. Wish me luck.

John

[Indiana]

The main difference between the sedan and the Coupe (besides that the coupe has only two doors and costs more, of course ) can IMHO be seen when looking at the rear end of the car. The coupe looks much better here. I think it also looks a bit smarter overall (even if in general I don't like coupes).

The BMWs don't tolerate the cold as well as a Mercedes (don't have much other comparision here), but the BMW still starts at the first try at least up to -30°C, just not as "willing" as a Benz would.
But then the BMW is much nicer to drive and so much better looking....

[This message has been edited by Indiana (edited 19 May 2001).]

[Gurm]

John:

Actually the 330Xi isn't too bad. Performance is off only the slightest bit from the non-AWD vehicles, and the extra snow 'n' ice traction doesn't hurt at all.

Plus the AWD can be disabled quite easily if you're in the mood to play boy racer.

- Gurm

P.S. However, a 330Ci would also be awfully nice. No arguments there. And it races most excellently.


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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Johnny Ray]

So........as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I went ahead and did it. Went and picked up a new BMW 330i sedan. Didn't write a check for the whole amount, but for a lot of it. Test drove it and bought it right there, on the spot. They're that impressive.

It's really an unbelieveable vehicle.

I was driving it around Saturday, so that's why I missed the big UT reunion. A good enough excuse? I won't miss the next one.


John

[This message has been edited by Johnny Ray (edited 27 June 2001).]

[impact]

Try not to mow down many people, unless of course you're famous enough to get away with it.

[Topha]

as for fwd and rwd, i think the bigger cars all have rwd.
bmw is planning to bring out the 100 series, and it will be the only car in its class (audi a3, golf, a-class and some other manufacturers) that will have rwd, because they are using the 3's axis and a lot of other technology.

I dont think you will ever find rwd in a german car that costs more than 30,000 $ as a base price, but i might be wrong here

[Gurm]

Topha,

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I dont think you will ever find rwd in a german car that costs more than 30,000 $ as a base price, but i might be wrong here </font>

You meant fwd, right?

- Gurm



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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Topha]

yep, oops

[Gurm]

Actually, it's an interesting phenomenon, this FWD.

Americans, who as a rule are easily duped into believing anything they are told on TV, think that ABS, FWD, and airbags make them safer. And in certain situations all of those things are true.

But FWD was originally an engineering choice on the part of the Japanese makers of little tiny shitboxes, and the British makers of a certain breed of... well... little tiny shitboxes with character.

At this point, the ONLY reason any carmaker uses FWD on a larger car is because the buying public perceives it to be "safer", or "better". It's like an automatic transmission. What started as an aide to weak and lazy people has become the de facto "standard". And yet it still costs $1000 more because it's an "option". Go figure.

I was severely disappointed when Volvo discontinued the last of their RWD vehicles... and for them it was 100% a marketing decision. They were, are, and likely will be for some time to come the safest cars in the world, and yet they felt that the only way to market their cars as "safe" to the American buying public was to make them FWD-only.

How sad. The truth is that my Volvo 960 has, to date, the world's best safety record. When new, it came with a $500,000 insurance policy on the driver. Volvo has NEVER had to pay. You can wrap this thing around a tree or a locomotive and still not die. And it has RWD, is made entirely from sheet steel, and weighs two and a half tons. The ABS gave out a year ago and I didn't bother to get it fixed until last month because the car stops better without it.

*sigh* I know I'm ranting. But it's an interesting phenomenon - driven by the same people that refer to the Dodge Neon and the Chevrolet Cavalier as "safe".

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Indiana]

Johnny Ray, congrats on your new shiny car. Really a nice choice.

[Nuno]

Actually rwd can be safer, but only with a *very* experienced driver, who knows how to counter-steer (is this way you say it?).

On the hands of the average joe driver fwd is actually easier to control if something goes wrong.

[cjolley]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Gurm:
...the ONLY reason any carmaker uses FWD on a larger car is because the buying public perceives...</font>

No, No, No!
Car makers do this because it is cheaper to build a car with FWD than it is RWD.
chuck