Our recent trip through the charred American economic landscape involved three rental cars and five Uber/Lyft rides. Nobody in Detroit wants to work, apparently, so it was tough to get rides. We ended up having to pay over $100 for a 20-minute trip in a “luxury SUV” because nobody was available at 5 pm in any of the other options. One out of five Uber/Lyft drivers wore a mask correctly and consistently.
Our National Ford Fusion in Cleveland smelled like it had been owned and driven for all of its previous 50,000 miles by a chain smoker. Hertz in Niagara Falls didn’t deliver the car to the airport as promised (“we don’t have enough staff”), but then “upgraded” us to a BMW X3. The ride was harsh, the electronics were confusing, and the kids gave the prestige SUV a thumbs down. As an example of how bad the user interface on the car is, here’s the key fob. Unlock is an unlock symbol. To lock the car, press the BMW logo:
Note that they still had to put a subtle lock symbol next to the logo, as a guide for the bewildered. That the interface had to be patched like this did not prompt any second thoughts!
In Oshkosh (Appleton, actually, since we wimped out on the KOSH VFR arrival), Enterprise gave us a new BMW 530i, offering some dual instruction on how to change gears “because nobody can ever figure it out.” I was prepared to love this expensive machine, but the suspension interacted horribly with slight waves in the Interstate 41 pavement. The BMW bucked for every highway mile and let us feel every pothole. Maybe it was the suspension configuration? We found a “Comfort setting” next to the gear selector, which didn’t seem to help, but led to a fun exchange with the kids. “Put in on Comfort” they shouted when we entered the highway. “I don’t have any comfort!” said the 7-year-old after a minute or two. Thumbs down on this one too!
Maybe the answer is that BMWs offer race car-like performance and therefore we shouldn’t expect the suspension to be compliant? The 530i didn’t seem to corner especially well or handle nimbly. The thing weighs as much as our Honda Odyssey minivan and seemed to have almost as much body roll in corners, a poor showing considering that it is 2X the price and 1/2 the interior volume.
Can someone explain why BMWs are good?
Bonus: Niagara Falls…
Related:
- Car and Driver on the 5-series (a mediocre rating)
- Car and Driver on the top-of-the-line 3-series (beaten by an Alfa Romeo sedan)
- Department of Minimal Inflation: The $70,000 Tesla S is now $91,000+.
- Department of Automotive Karenhood: “New York Auto Show Officially Canceled for 2021” (“The show had been rescheduled to August but is now off due to the COVID-19 Delta variant and increasingly stringent restrictions in New York City.”)
> Can someone explain why BMWs are good?
Ho, ho, ho. BMW can, I guess! It’s a shame they just didn’t give you a Ford F-150 Platinum. That would have been a fun trip and probably more comfortable. And if the kids get too loud, you can tell them: “Do you want to ride ALL the way in the back?” Do they offer any Audis?
A BMW 530i starts at $54,200 for the entry level car. An F-150 Platinum starts at $58,795 so less than 10% difference. Check out the interior and standard features on the F-150P:
https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/models/f150-platinum/
Leather seats, plenty of rear seat room for the kids, standard features to the moon, a huge infotainment screen, 400 horsepower of variable-displacement V8 power, and a huge trunk. I’ll bet it rides better than the 530i, also. And a gigantic trunk.
I own both a BMW M3 (the V8 kind) and an F-150 (King Ranch)… Well, I found that M3 became,a garage,queen since I got F-150. I take it out for a drive mostly to keep my stickshift driving skills current, not because it’s more fun to drive.
@averros
Combo FTW
I have V8 E92 as track car
F-150 King Ranch as tow/chore car
And Tesla as an actual daily driver 😂
Time to sell the Greenspun-20 & just get a Tesla instead of renting all those cars. Then you could drive the KOSH VFR. That landing takes a lot of testosterone.
My folks buy BMWs religiously… I’ve been very unimpressed with the last few. Give me a Honda or Toyota myself.
American roads are sadly in very poor repair compared to European ones, but I think the bad ride is mostly caused by the disgusting run-flat tires they put in, so they can remove the spare tire and reduce fuel consumption to squeak by CAFE fleet economy ratings. As far as I am concerned, dieselgate has convinced me “German engineering” stands for fraud, pollution and corner-cutting.
+1
Watch. Normally I don’t dig Hoovie, but he has these rare moments of clarity.
“Here’s Why BMW Mechanics Are Richer Than Most BMW Owners”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjBwejZQios
“The Car Ninja Needs a Break”
Did you land at KIAG? Enterprise works well with them.
Yes, KIAG. After the debacle had unfolded the FBO did mention that Enterprise booked through them would have been a smarter way to go. (And the FBO rescued us by driving us to Hertz, which wasn’t answering its phone, to pick up the car.)
I know it could be just me here, but I don’t understand why anyone would spend over $10k for a car in which is primarily used of it is to get you from point-A to point-B and you spend on average 1 hour a day in it (far, far less in the #LockdownSavesUs age) if your primarily need is to get to work.
I’d much rather and always have bought used cars and drove them till the engine fell apparats. I don’t care much about how it drives or what it comes with. As long as it gives me at least 25 mpg and keeps me safe on the road, I’m good with it. If you are wondering, right now, I drive a 2011 HHR that I bough in 7 years ago for $5.5K.
That said, my preference when it comes to buying a care, a used car of course, and I don’t care about the brand, is as follows: a) American, followed with b) Japanese, followed with c) Russian and finally, followed with d) German.
Yep, I much rather buy and drive a Russian car (if I can find one in the USA) than German. German cars are over priced and over engineered making them hard to maintain, keep up and repair. A simple oil change is 3x+ over similar non-German cars.
Do you have an old Russian mechanic? Trained to work with car parts deficits they can do wanders for relatively few $$ but they never read model manuals and make add a scratch or two to the car interior while fixing power mirrors. Most of them are in or at retirement by now.
With cheap mechanic and less one hour per day of drive older Soviet cars are OK to own – they were made so owners could do their own repairs, mostly right away after buying it new.
And some old Soviet 4 wheelers and trucks are even older American knock-offs and may be very reliable
I’m still driving my ’01 Ford Taurus SES, purchased in ’02 w/ 20K miles on it for $11,900 from National Car Rental. It’s now got 130K miles and runs like a top.
@LSI, of course, there are no Russian cars in the USA or a sales dealer. 🙂 My preference of listing to by a Russian car over a German was to make my point of how much I dislike owning a German car.
In the 90’s, I owned a VW Jetta, my bother owned and Passat and his son owned a Jetta. All three were a pain and ended up in the shop multiple times a year. I knew folks who own German cars and I keep hearing stories of how expansive they are to own, upkeep and of course spending too many days in the shop (your local mechanic doesn’t know how to fix them due to complex and over design with electronics). I ask them why do you keep the car and why do you keep buying German? The answer, German engineering and German style, they love it.
And for a moment I thought you were serious about Rusian cars but then thought it were a hyperbola. But there are some Russian cars in the USA: Canad had Lada dealerships https://www.auto123.com/en/new-cars/dealers/lada/ and some of the vehicles get resold across the border. Lada was originally a version of Fiat compact car built in Russia during USSR times at a car plant also built by Fiat. It was very popular but later models required some mechanical know-how from the owners. I do not know what car is Lada now.
Modern Russian technician/programmers are very good at hacking Fords and producing comprehensive diagnostic software that costs $10 / year for the extended license. Use PayPal to pay. Fantastic software, I use it on my 2010 Escape Hybrid to keep it running long and strong. Head and shoulders above everything else under $750. You can see the entire network, all the modules and DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes), all the PIDs (sensor readings and such) in real-time, and run the Service Procedures. Supports old laptops back to Windows 2000!
https://forscan.org/home.html
@Everyone: Also I’m seeing some of the pictures coming out of Afghanistan with the Taliban rolling around with flags and AK-47s and heavy machine guns in the back of what looks like nice, relatively newish Ford pickup trucks that are running very well. They probably use FORScan, too.
Yes George A., some of my relatives own Mercedes and rent expensive German cars when traveling, and curse the expense and low fuel economy. But it is a status symbol and a finally realized dream for them, long time ago they dreamed the could buy a Volvo driving an analog of Hugo that starts each other time. I buy only reliable functional cars, American and Japanese, new or used. One day when I retire I will buy a Corvette if I still retain motor skills and normal cars could be easily bought, not location ans speed reporting electric toasters that need to be recharged for an hour or two after 4 hours of driving.
You’re surprised nobody wants to continue being ripped off by Uber?
https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/10/unter/#bezzle-no-more
Small BMW’s are for driving, the rest are status symbols. If you don’t go to the track, probably no reason for one.
Mercedes are more luxurious and soak up the bumps better. I my friend used to drive over the speed bumps in our neighborhood in his wife’s C280 at 25mph and the chassis would barely move other than the suspension.
Audi is in-between with better interiors than BMW.
VW is a poor man’s Audi/intro to German cars and used to offer great gas mileage TDI’s in the U.S. until a nosy professor nixed that problem. Their Golf is probably the best ugly car sold in the US if you like to drive.
Oh and almost noone needs an SUV, but everyone wants one, though they can’t quite explain why.
” and almost noone needs an SUV”
Thanks Sam for easily deciding for all consumers.
Who needs a Dear Leader when we have well and ill wishers
Anon –
You’re welcome. You can see why I voted for myself for President instead of the tactless and demented narcissists.
No thank you. I think I will stick to my 2005 Prius at 150k on the original hybrid battery. 42 mpg. Except for replacing a stolen catalytic converter, maintenance has consisted of oil changes, windshield wipers, and replacing tires. Reliable ride.
BMWs are more of a religion than a rational choice, it seems like. Anyway, they are seriously underrepresented in my Northern California suberb. The flashy cars are either giant SUVs, Tesla or Mercedes.
Since I’m on a Ford kick recently, here’s the key from my lowly 2010 Escape Hybrid. Simple, uncluttered. UNLOCK on the left, LOCK on the right, PANIC lower left, HATCH/TRUNK lower right (you have to hit it twice.)
The Ford emblem is on the other side and this is an anti-theft PATS security key.
Simple and clean.
https://i.ibb.co/XYCSFCs/FORDKEY.jpg
Sorry, lock and unlock the other way ’round. Dyslexia is a horrible disease lol.
The bright yellow thing on the right side of the photo is my rechargeable LED keychain light with carabiner, bottle opener, MAGNET on the back and a little stand that unfolds so it can sit on a desk, etc. On the back (you can barely see it) I’ve snapped a very small (but very sharp) folding knife, useful for opening packages. That’s didn’t come with the light.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N4BJDTM
The light has 4 modes (superbright, bright, dim, flash) and the USB recharge has a red/green LED. Honest-to-god 800 lumens. Weighs 1.5 ounces. Chinese, of course. Americans struggle to make things this nifty, which saddens me greatly.
Here’s the key to the car Jay Powell was kind enough to get us:
https://ibb.co/CbFYgX0
@George A: I barely spend an hour a week in it, but it’s a blast.
If Middle+Senior+Junior Management cannot get behind a Corvette or an F-150, maybe they could all agree on this: