desertdudeshj wrote:Thats the thing, your choices are so baised because you just can't see past the badges anymore. You wouldn't know a god car if it came and rammed you in the rear end.
Anything with a BMW, MERC or Porsche Badge at it has to be good and expensive. Yes BMW and Merc did make good cars and once and their build quality was lengendary. But have you actually driven or owned any thing from this century. Its like they were put together using kids gum. Door panels start peeling, dashboards start to go wobbly. Not to mention the over engineered electrics, array of sensors and ecus start to act up. Then your very sleek and smart car is just a dumb fcuk left stranded on the roadside. Because the LED in the dashwent out and the main ECU went into critical error mode and shut itself down Maybe these hunk a junks do well im the european climate but here usually melt away in a couple of years
I've usually seen europeans have this sort of mentality. If BMW put four wheels on a turd and stuck a badge in front it would considered exotic !
Truth of the matter is these people made good cars like the top end Merc S series and the budget E190's still going strong. And BMW a decent one every now and then too. But not anymore.
Yes the americans have their faults too, but atleast they don't pretend to be somnething they are not and dont cost an arm and a leg for 1 second less.
For the price of M5 I can buy a couple of CR8s and smoke the M5 to kingdom come and still have change left over for a corolla.
You really don't want to talk shop about cars with someone whos been in the industry for sometime and is a petrol head and not to mention cars are his hobby, passion and work.
Allright we're going here! This is an interesting discussion and trust me, I know my share of what I talk about. So bring it on DD
First of all, you are right. It aint all black and white like that. There's grey also.
BMW and especially the S-Class Merc's have issues with electronics. Way to many tricks and shit that got to their reputation(s). But, if you're a leading car manufacturer, its necessary to acknowledge some mistakes and actually learn from them. And if there are two brands in the world that follow Strict German Protocol
in engineering practices (read: discipline), then it would be BMW and Mercedes Benz.
Those faults and errors are mostly engineered out of the system already, logically. And yes, the 1 series is produced cheaper than a family 3 series or a 5 to 7 series or 6 series sports coupé. You can buy any options you want to upgrade, but thats a market too... thats where the real money is made (aftermarket, customization). I presume its daily business for you (although jobless like me
)
Anyways, sure there are nice American brands, but in the end, I rather pay something more for a car that drives 15 years without too many recurring maintenance issues (and I'm not talking about racing, but normal driving) together with economical fuel usage numbers (especially important in Europe with fuel prices around $7.50 per gallon (US) of fuel)
If you pay my gasoline prices here in Holland, you start thinking about endurance and economical performance. Even a M5 V10 guzzles way less than the Average American Muscle. And recent BMW engine updates (Merc also) have 15 to 20 percent increases in power with 10 to 20 percent decreases in fuel consumption.
Now thats what I call proper engineering and use of technology (piezo injection systems etc)
Wanna talk more about specific engine technology now? My passion starts dripping....