I keep thinking it looks just like an M3 sedan with more torque. Will BMW make 4wd and stick shift versions? How much will the ring Taxi tire bill increase next year? .
BMW makes their cars more like Audi and Mercedes with every generation, Audi and Mercedes make their cars more like classic BMW with each generation...
Brilliant comment from Anonymous #1. Its so true. I now seriously desire an AMG far more than an large M BMW, and watch with disbelief how BMW doesn't have a single halo sportcar in their lineup while Audi came up with the wonderful R8 and Merc with the SLS.... How long until there's almost no difference between BMW and Toyota/Lexus? That's the ruin of going mainstream and loosing your personality when you try to be everything for everyone. You know bad things happened when a X6M is THE Halo car...
Why the hell is it more likely that there would be a manual version in the USA, where half the country can't use it, instead of in Europe where half the continent prefers a real manual to a paddle shift??
I don't think most Europeans in the market for this type of car give a rat's ass about a stick because it makes little sense. In America there is there is a fetish because for years driving a stick was a rare, "enthusiast" thing to do.
AWD is almost a certainty... and possibly a requirement to compete in this market segment.
A stick shift? Nope. Not needed. Not really. Not any more. For those who want a stick, and rear-wheel drive, and great driving dynamics, there's always the M3. Hell... no matter how great the last M5 was, the M3 was better, despite not being as powerful... simply because it was the right size.
To compete in this segment, the M5 has to do a better job of being an executive express. The last one was a great track car, given its size, but who really wants a big luxury car with a ride that'll rattle out fillings and an SMG harsh enough to slosh champagne all over you on every upshift?
A small fraction of the people who buy these cars will ever turn a wheel in anger, and you guys all know that. The rest are either deluded wanna be playboys who don't have the $$ to get separate track toys and commuter cars (not that they have to be separate but let me get to that) or truly just poseurs who want to bust out 'I've got an 'M' at the bar).
I don't know what the true market demo is for actual buyers but I've got a gut feeling, given how many I see parked in the insurance/financial complexes around here, that most of them are driven by people who have likely never learned how to shift a manual anyways. In America, luxury is decided by how many nanny devices can be stuffed into an ECU so the driver can sip a latte while trying to look stylish on the morning, bumper-to-bumper commute. Heaven forbid any of that horsepower actually got to the wheels, or they'd have a hard time texting and driving. Sad, really. I've got some issues with the way auto companies have decided to just stuff as much HP as they can into any old platform...just so people can speed from stoplight to stoplight all day long. The true enthusiast car is just a marketing gimmick at this point, and if you're the type that wants it off the showroom floor without any effort on your part, you don't need it.
BMW makes their cars more like Audi and Mercedes with every generation, Audi and Mercedes make their cars more like classic BMW with each generation...
ReplyDeleteWheres the Touring version? We need a RS6 competitor.
ReplyDeleteRumored that the manual is going to come to the US.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant comment from Anonymous #1. Its so true. I now seriously desire an AMG far more than an large M BMW, and watch with disbelief how BMW doesn't have a single halo sportcar in their lineup while Audi came up with the wonderful R8 and Merc with the SLS....
ReplyDeleteHow long until there's almost no difference between BMW and Toyota/Lexus? That's the ruin of going mainstream and loosing your personality when you try to be everything for everyone.
You know bad things happened when a X6M is THE Halo car...
Is that the new 335i Sedan? I'm confused.
ReplyDeleteWhy the hell is it more likely that there would be a manual version in the USA, where half the country can't use it, instead of in Europe where half the continent prefers a real manual to a paddle shift??
ReplyDeleteI don't think most Europeans in the market for this type of car give a rat's ass about a stick because it makes little sense. In America there is there is a fetish because for years driving a stick was a rare, "enthusiast" thing to do.
ReplyDeleteAWD is almost a certainty... and possibly a requirement to compete in this market segment.
ReplyDeleteA stick shift? Nope. Not needed. Not really. Not any more. For those who want a stick, and rear-wheel drive, and great driving dynamics, there's always the M3. Hell... no matter how great the last M5 was, the M3 was better, despite not being as powerful... simply because it was the right size.
To compete in this segment, the M5 has to do a better job of being an executive express. The last one was a great track car, given its size, but who really wants a big luxury car with a ride that'll rattle out fillings and an SMG harsh enough to slosh champagne all over you on every upshift?
A small fraction of the people who buy these cars will ever turn a wheel in anger, and you guys all know that. The rest are either deluded wanna be playboys who don't have the $$ to get separate track toys and commuter cars (not that they have to be separate but let me get to that) or truly just poseurs who want to bust out 'I've got an 'M' at the bar).
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the true market demo is for actual buyers but I've got a gut feeling, given how many I see parked in the insurance/financial complexes around here, that most of them are driven by people who have likely never learned how to shift a manual anyways. In America, luxury is decided by how many nanny devices can be stuffed into an ECU so the driver can sip a latte while trying to look stylish on the morning, bumper-to-bumper commute. Heaven forbid any of that horsepower actually got to the wheels, or they'd have a hard time texting and driving. Sad, really. I've got some issues with the way auto companies have decided to just stuff as much HP as they can into any old platform...just so people can speed from stoplight to stoplight all day long. The true enthusiast car is just a marketing gimmick at this point, and if you're the type that wants it off the showroom floor without any effort on your part, you don't need it.