W89coupe: First, let me say I sympathize with your plight, and I think blind devotion and loyalty to any inanimate object like a BMW SUV is just silly. Unlike some others on these forums, I am not obsessed with BMW, and will readily admit that they have a LOOOOOOONG way to go to catch either Toyota or Honda in relaibility.

Please take comfort in knowing that the global market is the ultimate equalizer. Brands that do not make the effort to improve reliability will suffer in sales as their poor reputation spreads. Case in point: Look at the hit Mercedes took after they merged with Chrysler in the 1990s. Their sh&t reliability and their use of sub-standard Chrysler parts (instead of German components) quickly knocked them off their pedestal as a premier German car maker. Both Audi and BMW were only too happy to take over the mantle from Daimler-Chrysler. Only now is Daimler slowly trying to claw their way back to respectability after divesting from Chrysler.

BMW should heed this lesson well. They could easily find themselves in a similar situation if their reliability continues to drop. They are not at the bottom of the pack right now(Range Rover and Jaguar have that dubious honor), but BMW has had their share of well-documented issues in the X5 product line.

For example, I'm about to take my 2006 4.4 to the dealer for the 4th time in 2 years for the same exact problem, which keeps coming back: condensation inside the headlamp housing, causing short-circuits in turn signals and headlights. And we all know about the CV Boot issues and the A/C issues.

As for the E70, even the most loyal X5 fanatics are ticked off about the useless rear camera. And I'm hearing more and more about E70 transmission "gremlins", which is not something you want to see in a brand new product line. All these things may be "minor" on their own, but they will keep adding up to eventually taint the brand if BMW does not sit up and take notice.