[stressdoc]

http://www.insideline.com/bmw/3-seri...rst-drive.html

[5soko]

Peak of 10 psi for the N55 to get the 300hp # and 8 psi for the N54 to get it ( but this is long shot thinking)

[John 070]

Glad to hear the N54 is still alive in the 335is. In a way, that means the N54 was not scrapped just to eliminate its issues.

Probably sounds like the new 335i will be fine for most people. It used to be night and day in sound between the 328 and 335, perhaps some of that is eliminated.

A nearly $1000 price increase, what a laugh, the cars don't move very well off the lots today. Imagine how relatively cheap 335's were in 2007, but back then, they seemed quite expensive. Today, a 3 Series seems very expensive.

[noro]

Originally Posted by John 070

Glad to hear the N54 is still alive in the 335is. In a way, that means the N54 was not scrapped just to eliminate its issues.

Probably sounds like the new 335i will be fine for most people. It used to be night and day in sound between the 328 and 335, perhaps some of that is eliminated.

A nearly $1000 price increase, what a laugh, the cars don't move very well off the lots today. Imagine how relatively cheap 335's were in 2007, but back then, they seemed quite expensive. Today, a 3 Series seems very expensive.

I like the price hike. Makes it more unattainable. The reputation BMW had in '80s what that you had to have a descent paycheck to afford one. That's not a bad thing. I know for many the fact that 3ers are now everywhere you look is a turn-off.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by noro

I like the price hike. Makes it more unattainable. The reputation BMW had in '80s what that you had to have a descent paycheck to afford one. That's not a bad thing. I know for many the fact that 3ers are now everywhere you look is a turn-off.

Yeah around here there's more 3s than camrys. Still I'm fine with them upping the price as long as they are adding features, but no. They hike up the prices and remove more standard features. Now IMO that's BS!

[noro]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Yeah around here there's more 3s than camrys. Still I'm fine with them upping the price as long as they are adding features, but no. They hike up the prices and remove more standard features. Now IMO that's BS!

Price hikes are driven by good reasons. It's not like somebody decides that it's time to piss the consumers off. Volume is key, volume is down so the price needs to go up to sustain the business. With inflation factored in the 3 series today is cheaper than a comparable 3 series 10-20 years ago.

[mbhforum]

The new Idrive features are pretty cool. Wonder when it can start reading your BBM's

[Weaselboy]

The change in shocks is encouraging. First I heard of this change.

[galahad05]

"Sachs dampers"....this is interesting. They claim it makes a real difference too.

Also, apparently "GM has used this technology for years". Huh.

[jopa489]

Repost: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=361594

[John 070]

The way I feel about it all is it's nice to see what they are doing. I've been at the unveilings of the E90, new 7 Series, and GT550. But when all is said and done, I'd rather have a paid-off 2k7 and kind of shrug-off the poor resale and high list prices and hang on to what I've got. It still provides driving pleasure which is the only reason at all anyone would go through the BMW experience!

[Zero.7]

Nice read. So, the exhaust note from the new N55 2011 335i will be more tamed than that of the N54 engine? Too bad, because the stock exhaust note from the current 335i sounds really good IMO.

[BayMoWe335]

"GM has used this technology in the U.S. for years."

No way. By our counts here, GM is 10-15 years behind the world in engineering.

[Top_Gear_Fan]

"The output rating remains much the same at 302 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. (BMW North America converts these actual ratings to "300 hp and 300 lb-ft" because they sound good; it's a marketing thing.)"

So doesn't this technically mean the M3 and the 335i have the same torque? So why do some 335i drivers claim the 335i is easier to drive around town than the M3? Some of the reasons I've heard was the power down low was easier to access and more torque. But according to insideline, the they have the same amount of torque at 295 lb-ft.

Note: I've never driven an M3, so excuse my ignorance.

[Jlomb436]

WHOOOO thinks we'll be able to "upgrade" so us 09+ can have our texts read out loud?

[John 070]

Originally Posted by Top_Gear_Fan

"The output rating remains much the same at 302 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. (BMW North America converts these actual ratings to "300 hp and 300 lb-ft" because they sound good; it's a marketing thing.)"

So doesn't this technically mean the M3 and the 335i have the same torque? So why do some 335i drivers claim the 335i is easier to drive around town than the M3? Some of the reasons I've heard was the power down low was easier to access and more torque. But according to insideline, the they have the same amount of torque at 295 lb-ft.

Note: I've never driven an M3, so excuse my ignorance.

I don't know how true that statement is. Hyundai had a class-action against them about 10 years ago. They said their Elantra had 140 hp while a comparable Sentra had only 125, yet the Sentra felt to most people more powerful. Hyundai's HP ratings were done a differfent way and were not valid when compared to the Nissan's 125. So you can't just round up when you feel that it will benefit marketing.

[cotmfk]

Good read. The new coupe is 1.3 inches longer than the old one! Random.

Originally Posted by John 070

The way I feel about it all is it's nice to see what they are doing. I've been at the unveilings of the E90, new 7 Series, and GT550. But when all is said and done, I'd rather have a paid-off 2k7 and kind of shrug-off the poor resale and high list prices and hang on to what I've got. It still provides driving pleasure which is the only reason at all anyone would go through the BMW experience!

A paid off car is the best type!

[DASHOCKER]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Yeah around here there's more 3s than camrys. Still I'm fine with them upping the price as long as they are adding features, but no. They hike up the prices and remove more standard features. Now IMO that's BS!

Gotta pay to play.. There is always the Lexus IS series if you want more standard fluff for cheap

[5252rpm]

Originally Posted by John 070

I don't know how true that statement is. Hyundai had a class-action against them about 10 years ago. They said their Elantra had 140 hp while a comparable Sentra had only 125, yet the Sentra felt to most people more powerful. Hyundai's HP ratings were done a differfent way and were not valid when compared to the Nissan's 125. So you can't just round up when you feel that it will benefit marketing.

They can fluff up the numbers to a certain extent. I believe the SAE runs the tests on the horsepower and torque ratings, and then gives the manufacturer a bit of flexibility on what they want to advertise. I think they are allowed to advertise a 5% difference from the actual numbers that the SAE gets, so advertising 300 is legal because it's only 1.7% off.

[cstavaru]

Originally Posted by Top_Gear_Fan

So doesn't this technically mean the M3 and the 335i have the same torque? So why do some 335i drivers claim the 335i is easier to drive around town than the M3?

You have to drive the M3 at 6000RPM to have the maximum torque, whereas you have to drive the 335i at 1500RPM...try driving the M3 at 1500, it will barely move.

[cstavaru]

The only tested the DCT gearbox...we will probably not be able to find out real N54-vs-N55 comparisons until real people buy them.

[Kerosene Hat]

Originally Posted by noro

Price hikes are driven by good reasons. It's not like somebody decides that it's time to piss the consumers off. Volume is key, volume is down so the price needs to go up to sustain the business. .

What kind of warped logic is this? Volume's down - people are buying fewer vehicles. Therefore, we'll drive the price up and --- sell fewer vehicles.

The only way this works is if you keep enough customers to offset your lost sales & profits.

Wonder if BMW is actually looking at price elasticity of demand here...not too sure about this.

I've been in several boardrooms where the solution to low sales was to increase price without even thinking about market elasticity. Uh, not so much, guys...