Is it just me...
 

Got a question for you guys. Are we as BMW drivers a special breed of driver? Let me tell you why I ask.
I spend time while out and about, discussing the marvels of owning "The Ultimate Driving Machine". There are people in the world that like to debate every piece of info there is. Especially when it comes to performance/technical data. Is there a conspiracy to get BMW drivers to stop enjoying the thrill of driving. Also, why do short school bus drivers.....
( QX56, Armada, Suburban ), and all these other big azz trucks, want to talk about performance. They are in the people moving business, not sport driving. All they like to talk about is On star and 12 damn rows of seats. What's deal? Can you guys help me understand!!!
Again, maybe it's just me................Phil

No one really understands a BMW unless you love to drive and actually own one. I have always had BMWs always an M car though. When i got my X5 i let my 2 cousins my brother and a friend drive one. They all went out and bought one immediately. No exageration. People do not understand until they drive one.

:iagree: I was a BMW playa hata when I drove a Jetta. I would scoff at bimmers and try to convince myself that VWs were more sensible and performed better... I was dilusional. All of my buddies initially said it's (x5) cool for you, but... until I let them drive it. The story is always the same...

My buddy is a Sheriff and trained to drive fast. I was driving and he was in the passenger seat saying how the X was nice but it (the X) did not drive like his ML. After 15 minutes of hearing this lunacy I pulled over on Route 4 heading uphill. He got into the drivers seat and punched it in sport mode. The X climbed to 100 in 4th gear. My other 6 foot buddy was comfortably sitting in the rear seat. He asked him can you believe we are doing 110? Nah, it feels so smooth like we are doing about 40. 20 minutes later his response was... "This is too much car for you. The handing and power delivery is incredible. The ML can't fu-- with this"

It's threads like this that result in people thinking that anyone who owns a bimmer is arrogant. :tsk:

It's one thing to be happy about the car you own, but to suggest that anyone who doesn't own one is incapable of understanding what it's like to drive one is uh, .... well, arrogant.

Does anyone who doesn't own a Z8, Enzo, SL55 or McLaren MB incapable of understanding what it's like to drive them? no of course not....

Sorry guys, but not only are there are a lot of cars out there that outperform BMW's, but there are a lot more BMW owners who don't know jack about their cars and are horrible drivers, than people who don't own a BMW IMHO.

So i guess in answer to your question, yeah, i think it's just you :)


sorry if this offends anyone, but you asked :)

The first time we got hooked was at a Lexus dealer ship. I think at the time we were looking at an ES300 and there was a 98 528i non-sport also there. So the natural reaction was, hmm, this looks, never driven one of these before. So the BMW was driven first. The test drive lasted 30min with a smile on the face the whole time. The ES300 was up next, drive lasted 1/4mile and brought it back. Few months later we proceeded to get our first BMW, our 2001 X5 3.0i Sport.
BMW execs have admitted that they have been spending a lot of money on marketing lately. They have relaized that if they can get people to get in any of their cars for a test drive, they're almost certainly going to purchase one.

I feel the same way as you do, Phil. I have been an enthusiast for 20 years and until 2002, had never been able to purchase a BMW.

I purchased an '02 540 and loved every second behind the wheel. I was amazed at how graceful the ride felt while running on rails. And, the melody of the engine was beautiful. I was hooked. No other sedan came close to driving like my 540.

Now that the kids are taller I needed to move to more legroom and I test drove the X5 4.4. From the seat of my pants the X felt very much like the 540. The linear track, the feel of the road... BMW knows how to engineer the driving experience.

Compared to all other mainstream car lines in the US (MB, Lexus, Audi, etc...), BMW DOES have the lock on the driver's car, IMHO. It's not arrogance; it's the emotion behind the wheel.

We are talking about SUVs... right?
 

I guess one sweeping generalization deserves another. Come on Gresch, have you driven one of these things? You really believe that there are a lot of SUVs that outperform the X series? I have no beef with my neighbor who is a contractor driving a GMC/Ford/Chevy Super Heavy Duty whatever. But I'll be damned if I am going to let my Escalade, Yukon, Cherokee, Explorer, ML or Volvo buddies tell me that their SUV performs better than an X. We all have 2 or less kids and I have noticed that the bigger the truck the less likely they are to haul truck necessary cargo... asking them to haul something to the dump or pickup some bark from the Home Depot in their buses is like asking can you key their door... NO FREAKIN' WAY... so that wasn't the selling point. Tell me you feel like the Terminator, tell me you like driving the biggest thing on the highway, tell you want to ride on 24s... but don't tell you bought if for sheer driving pleasure.

And regarding the Z8, Enzo, SL55 or McLaren... I have driven the SL and a Vanquish (no they were not mine) and though I had expectations of what it would feel like... I was incapable of understanding what it's like to drive them until I sat in the seat and punched it.

PS... I find far more BMW and Porsche owners take additional driver's training classes than most other brands - IMHO

gresch, i think youve got to stay w/ comparing apple to apple, so its unfair to compare a bmw to an enzo. i do believe the bmw driver in general is a different breed of person. merc and audi and lexus all have their own niche, and so does bmw. the one thing about bmw is it is still a leading luxury brand with plenty of good technology and a total driving experience that is 2nd to none. with all winning components under their belt, i think they are able to command a hord of hard core fanatics like us here onthis board, and usually, its for just more than one car...its for life!

The point I was making wasn't to compare the X to any of the cars I listed, the point was that just because someone is driving a chevy or ford or some other SUV does not mean that they are incapable of appreciating nor handling a BMW.

Here's an example, my father drives a GMC Envoy because his 2 dogs are 115 and 125 lbs respectively. So what you say? Well, I'll guarantee you that at the age of 71 he's a better performance driver than anyone on this board and has driven a fine collection of performance cars in his lifetime. Another example is my uncle, he's owned his fair share of performace cars in his life as well, and is an accomplished performance driver, but his SUV of choice is a NISSAN Pathfinder.

The OP's first line of "is the BMW driver a special breed?" and to that I say no, and my original post stands.

Maybe simplifying my point is best "don't judge a book by it's cover".

:thumbup: I agree, well said.
Jesse