Indeed the looks are polarizing. I didn't like it at first, but years later it grew on me. I didn't care much for Bangle's styling, but in my opinion, the flame surfacing looked nice on the Z4.
IMHO Chris Bangle ruined BMW design
Indeed the looks are polarizing. I didn't like it at first, but years later it grew on me. I didn't care much for Bangle's styling, but in my opinion, the flame surfacing looked nice on the Z4.
The ignition switch problem popped up when the people had heavy items on the key ring. The ignition switch assembly had a spring I believe it is that was too small to handle the weight. The weight would cause the ignition to turn out of the run position.
If all you had was the ignition key, fob, and a few keys( house key, etc) on the key ring, the ignition issue most likely would never expose itself.
GM knew of this issue all the way back during development of the Delta platform( Cobalt, HHR, etc) and did nothing about it. And you bet the CEO change from Ackerson to Barra was a calculated move before they finally did recall it.
I felt the same, but their sales numbers skyrocketed. Beauty is subjective, I suppose. I was a huge fan of the E39 M5. I think that car was perfect.
I just saw that article now about the fine. My overall point is nearly all cars have recalls. In most cases the number of people affected is very small. There's no such thing as a perfect vehicle. Not even a Daewoo.It was also caused by faulty gas pedal assemblies as well as floor mats.
Ummm.... Toyota did the same thing. They hid the floor mat and gas pedal issue until the SUA accidents got more national attention. Why do you think the DOJ fined Toyota $1.2 billion over the SUA fiasco? Because they failed to disclose the issue when they knew about it. GM just got away with it for longer and they knew about it since development of the Delta platform where Toyota discovered it after the fact and hid it from there. Which is why their fine is expected to exceed the $1.2 billion that Toyota got.
I am not going to discount Toyota's reliability. They are reliable. But they are a company and like GM, Ford, etc hid defects because it was cheaper to deal with the issue individually than issue a recall.
I think the most reliable engine BMW ever made was that small I6 they put in the 3 series before the change over to forced induction
I was eying a mint 1 owner 2011 BMW 328XI with nearly 71,022 miles, and I'm still hesitant on trading in my Chevy Cruze (loves this car for what it is) for it
They also have a 2013 BMW550I MSport with 86,000 miles for like $36,000... (talk about resale value)
I really want this car but that twin-turbo V8 is garbage and thirsty from what I read on the bimmer forums.. it will stay in the shop, So I can afford 3 series maintenance.. if I can take apart a Pratt & Whitney JT8 than an NA I6 should be cake, but 5 series maintenance would bankrupt me lol with that high pressure fuel pump, twin-turbos and valves crapping out
I just saw that article now about the fine. My overall point is nearly all cars have recalls. In most cases the number of people affected is very small. There's no such thing as a perfect vehicle. Not even a Daewoo.
If that were the case, no one should buy a GM ever again. They knew about the ignition switch issue while it was killing people.Agreed. Never judge a company on the amount of recalls. Judge them for how they handle it because every single automaker will have recalls.
Too many miles to buy into a German car, IMHO.I was being sarcastic about the mileage... $36,000 is horrible for a 2 year 80,000 car... The 3 series is not that bad though
If that were the case, no one should buy a GM ever again. They knew about the ignition switch issue while it was killing people.
But GM deserves the scathe it gets from its handling of the mess. They should have fixed it when they knew about it in development. They should have issued a recall earlier than they did. They should not have thrown Barra to the wolves with the CEO change right before the fiasco unfolded.
IMHO Chris Bangle ruined BMW design
I felt the same, but their sales numbers skyrocketed. Beauty is subjective, I suppose. I was a huge fan of the E39 M5. I think that car was perfect.
I agree
The cool part is I'm allowed to live in the past. I simply don't have to buy something I don't like because it's new.stop living in the past. the pre-bangle era cars looked great and the E39 was a beautiful car, but this was 15 years ago now, the cars look horrendously outdated by today's standards.
Not that what BMW is building today looks anything but cheap/gaudy/same old worn out M-sport bumper ******** shoehorned into everything from a 2 series to an X6, but still. The box era is long, long, long gone.
Those were great engines. Silky smooth, sounded good, and the powerband was very usable.
stop living in the past. the pre-bangle era cars looked great and the E39 was a beautiful car, but this was 15 years ago now, the cars look horrendously outdated by today's standards.
Not that what BMW is building today looks anything but cheap/gaudy/same old worn out M-sport bumper ******** shoehorned into everything from a 2 series to an X6, but still. The box era is long, long, long gone.
The GM ignition switch was said that it would ONLY cost $.50 more per car to fix it when they knew about it!And no one would be buying Ford's or Toyota's if judgments always meant a lost sale. But oddly enough the consumer doesn't seem to have an issue with either recalls or a company acting negligent. Neither GM's or Toyota's sales have been negatively impacted by these scandals.
But GM deserves the scathe it gets from its handling of the mess. They should have fixed it when they knew about it in development. They should have issued a recall earlier than they did. They should not have thrown Barra to the wolves with the CEO change right before the fiasco unfolded.
The Pinto was befor my time so i cannot comment on that.The whole GM handling sounds like the infamous Ford Pinto memo from the late 70s-in other words, it's cheaper to deal with the wrongful death suits than to fix the problem.
I agree with you 100%. I don't like what "new" cars offer. If I were to ever get one the 1st thing i would do was disable/remove all the bogus stuff. An example would be having the factory stereo ripped out and replaced with a simple aftermarket CD Deck.The cool part is I'm allowed to live in the past. I simply don't have to buy something I don't like because it's new.
Ever drive a 2011 or newer Mustang with a manual trans? It looks like it would be a fun second car.
Ever drive a 2011 or newer Mustang with a manual trans? It looks like it would be a fun second car.
I hear the getrag 6 speed manual has horrible reliability cause it's sourced thru China
But the auto is flawless with a tune
Wow; I see that's been a widespread issue. I can't find out if there was a fix for it or not, so that's a deal breaker. Thanks for the heads up!
a aftermarket shifter will "de-value" the car,I think the problem may be in the shifter itself. There are good aftermarket shifters, so that could be an option.
Wow; I see that's been a widespread issue. I can't find out if there was a fix for it or not, so that's a deal breaker. Thanks for the heads up!
I believe there was a later "silent revision" that squared some of this up. Maybe '13+ models? My buddy's GT convertible has been solid as a rock, I know it's at least a '12, and another friend who runs a Boss 302 pretty regularly on track beats the heck out of his, no issues to speak of.
That being said, it's comforting the GT500 uses a Tremec 6060.
When did Ford start sourcing Getrag trannys from China? There's a factory about 10 miles from my house here in no where Bavaria and their HQ is about a 30 minute drive from my work apartment.