German Car Zone

Actually it's not.
Americans are like this:

- 99.99% bigger is better (automatic)
- 0.xyz old school enthusiasts (stick boys)
- 0.abc new school enthusiasts (semi-automatics boys)


BMW somehow tries to please all, and IMO it's wrong. And BMW have admitted that in the USA M is now seen as the most upscale BMWs.

If you guys expected the new M3 to be as raw as the last M3 CSL, then you need a reality check. I'm still waiting for the other reviews to come to make final judgement (too bad we don't get the M3 press cars in SA yet, or else I'll give you guys feedback).

All in all, you have to see what BMW is doing. They are moving the M3 along with its bigger brothers up-market. There will be plenty of other cars to fill the smaller gaps.

I still have 100% confidence in ///M. Notice my avatar, you know where my head is at

Much Ado About Nothing

The perception that a newer generation car is going to be more hardcore, rawer and less refined than its predecessor is completely delusional.

Remember all the criticism that the E36 got for going the 210 kW straight six route in an altogether more civilised and elegant bodyshell, coupled with luxurious appointments and a much better ride? At first it got lambasted, too refined they said... then in practicality an instant it turned the "supercar for the masses", 911-beater, darling of everyone out there...

Oh look here, this one's now gained a V8 in the interests of competitive advantage, some additional refinement and a slightly heavier bodyshell. Strewth, the recipe is destroyed! Burn your BMW apparell, archive your favourite BMW pics and arrange to have that ///M tattoo removed. The end is nigh!

...such superficiality.

Face it: Refinement is synonymous with Progress.

Every consumer out there wants their new car to be better in all aspects over the previous car. No one wants to say that the ride is less supple or the engine delivery is less linear.

Whether it's a 599 GTB, GT3 RS, M3 or C63 AMG - you can be assured that the improvement is applied in all areas and this is perceived as the car coming across as having gone "soft".

He needs to take something. Maybe a few beers would help!

Just_Me your avatar is hilarious!

But you are dead to me!

Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware of the bias towards autos in the US. Not at all defending it. I just don't like broad generalizations like that. What would be a more useful stat for me though is of cars that are "performance" cars what percentage of those sold in the US are manual vs auto. Looking at all cars sold is pointless.

Having never driven the E60 M5 can't speak much to that. From what I've gathered from reading the engine was designed with the sequential gearbox in mind.If that's the case, bmw should have stuck to their guns and left it with only the SMG tranny.

Manual M5 isn't available in Europe because there is NO demand for it. But I'm guessing I'm supposed to infer that it's because Europeans know better than Americans. I'm sure those that wanted the manual M5 didn't also say, by the way, please make sure to bump up the annoyance of the electro nanny's as well. That would be a little

Anyways, we're getting off subject, but I had to drop my .02 euros on the americanized comment. Time to go check out the Top Gear review...

hell according to this..its not even as raw as the previous M3 let alone the CSL..
so thats not the point of bitchin here..

but i see much defensive posts here.. so im not gonna say something.. until ive seen more reviews.. but damn this far.. its not sounding nice..

Holy Moly the board has gone mental [face_shock]

Guys, please. read the Top Gear report or something.

I tell you right now that the M3 will be twice as hardcore than the C63. Either this, or hell freezes over....and that will never happen.

Finally some sense.... WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A QUICK FIRST DRIVE HERE

Come on now Yannis we both know the A5 wasn't made to be hardcore like the M3! That's the job of the RS5, and I don't see RS5 disappointing like the M3 has!

Come on now people you can't possible be defecting so easily! These reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, it's not like the car was put through it's paces people. I'm not the biggest fan of recent BMW's but I find it highly unlikely that the new M3 (coupe/sedan) with be anything short of perfect!