BMWs I've Loved
Ever since reading reviews and articles in the likes of Car & Driver and Road & Track while in high school, I was fascinated by the automotive creations of the Bavarian Motor Works. German cars typically receives enormous heapings of praise, but the examples from Munich seemed to garner an extraordinary amount of favorable press and superlatives from the pen of David E. Davis and the rest of the editorial staff at Car & Driver. Even as a teenager, I decided I must possess one. Or two. Maybe three...
My 1976 530i
As an undergraduate in college with little money and not much need for driving on a daily basis, I found a nine-year old Polaris silver 530i one summer and purchased it. Coming at a time when the United States was producing dismal examples of automotive engineering, the middle Bavarian sedan was a different beast altogether. With its austere styling, no-nonsense appointments, but tasteful leather and real walnut interior trim, there was nothing comparable coming out of Detroit. After driving it, I knew this was a machine bred from a different genetic lineage. Twisting two-lane roads became a joy even though the recently imposed anti-pollution and safety regulations marred an otherwise wonderful design. Manufacturers still hadn't come to grips with designing within the new laws.
My 1991 525i
After trading in the 530i for a more mundane, but economical form of transportation (I'm still trying to block that experience from my subconscious), I once again set my sites on obtaining a BMW after completeing graduate school and finding gainful employment. The days of being part of a small cadre of owners was over (other drivers rarely waved or flashed their lights in recognition after BMW found a larger audience and status-seeking owners started calling their cars "Beemers"). I miss those simpler times when owning a BMW made you part of a small, cult-like following...
Having always had a soft spot for the 5 series, I looked for a good, used example and found a Kashmir beige 525i. I was amazed that sliding behind the steering wheel felt so comfortable and familiar even after nearly nine years spent on the Dark Side of the automotive spectrum. The 525i was at once similar and significantly more advanced than the 530i I remembered. Two generations of refinements made this truly a world-beating automobile.
My 1998 528i
As much as I loved the 525i, it eventually racked up a large number of miles and was beginning to show its age. After reading about the new generation (E39) 5 series and seeing that it was awarded Import Car of the Year in 1997 by Motor Trend piqued my interest. The fact that it was also described as "quite possibly the best car ever made" in the one hundred-year history of the automobile just convinced me even more that this car deserved consideration.
Happily, a number of used 5 series were coming off lease about the time I decided it was time for a new BMW and I found a very low mileage Jet black 528i. On my first test drive I again had that sense of deja vu as the E39 felt at once the same as the previous (E34) 525i, but light-years ahead of the older 5 series and other competitors in sophistication, technology, and safety. BMW was instrumental in development of the airbag and anti-lock brakes, but they were also the first to develop the head-protection airbag. Additionally, all BMWs include heated windshield wiper washer jets, heated side mirrors and a heated driver's side door lock (Why have these features been standard on German automobile for years yet nearly unheard of on cars built right here in the frozen icebox that is the United States?). Heck, the 528i even had a heated steering wheel—another great feature in winter when driving with bulky gloves or mittens is cumbersome. Even after three years, the black 528i remains my favorite car and others hold it in high esteem, too—the 2003 model was called "the best car we've ever tested" by Consumer Reports.
My 2004 325Ci
Sadly, the price structure and limited availability of the latest 5 series resulted in a dilemma—I couldn't afford a new 5 series with all the features I felt I needed, but a used 5 series was basically the same car that I had. The new 3 series coupe, however, had a number of the same features as the new 5 series, but at a significantly lower price. I decided to make the switch and purchase a new Alpine white 325Ci ordered to my specifications.
Is it a great car? Absolutely. It hasn't won a spot on Car & Driver's 10 Best poll 15 years in a row for nothing. It is a joy to drive, has the characteristic feel that seems to be woven into the company's DNA, and enough technological advances to keep any technophile happy. Safety? Sure—airbags everywhere, stability control, adaptive headlights that turn with the steering wheel, etc. Performance? How about a six-speed sequential manual gearbox derived from Formula 1 that has no clutch, but is shifted using paddles. Lots of gizmos and a host of legitimately useful features.
My 2004 530i
Eventually the siren song of the 5 was too great to resist. As the lease of my 325Ci was reaching maturity, I decided to check into the availability of a pre-owned 5 series and happened to find a silver-gray 2004 530i that had just come off lease with only 25,000 miles on the odometer.
Not only does the car have very low mileage and is in like-new condition, it has more options than most of 5 series available on the market: premium package with full leather and poplar wood trim, cold weather package (heated seats that have variable settings for both the seat and back, heated steering wheel, and headlight washers), 12-way power comfort seats with lumbar control and two memory settings that also automatically adjust the steering wheel and mirror positions for each setting, auto-dimming mirrors, adaptive bi-xenon headlights that turn with the steering wheel, satellite radio-ready with Logic-7 concert hall sound system and speed sensitive volume control, front and rear park distance control with audible indicator and in-dash LCD graphic, programmable timed ventilation controls that adjust the car's interior temperature while parked, tire inflation monitor, auto-dimming mirrors, and a host of safety features and conveniences far too numerous to mention. Suffice to say, there are very few things the car cannot do or does not have.
How does it drive? Take everything that was the previous 5 series and refine it to be twice as good (even getting over 34 mpg on the highway!) As every auto manufacturer makes cars that are more and more refined, the engineers at BMW somehow manage to perform feats that seem to border on magical. One reviewer once said "A maneuver that in another car is a matter of speculation, in a BMW becomes a matter of limbic certainty." That about sums it up.
If you can read this, thank an
astronomer.
As for styling, I'm personally tired of hearing everyone from the press to other BMW owners whine and complain about the design direction the company has taken. Not everyone will like the style, but basing criticism on pictures is as ridiculous as trying to appreciate a piece of sculpture by looking at a picture of the artwork in a book instead of visiting the museum to see it up close. If you still don't like it, fine, that's an opinion, but studying the flow of the new 5 series' lines clearly shows purpose as accent lines move along the entire length of the car. I like the looks of the previous models, too, but the minute they are parked by the new models, the older body styles look instantly dated, not timeless. Why ask BMW to stick with the previous body style? Why not ask them to still build 2002s or 501s? Heck, maybe they should still make Austin Sevens—they're all timeless in some sense and characteristic of the company "style." In a specific era. No company can survive if it fails to anticipate the future and design for it. BMW's design cycle means they must not only design automobiles that are appealing today, but continue to look fresh for six or seven years.
And one more thing: it's "Bimmer." Really, no kidding. Regardless of what you hear on TV, in the movies, or read in less knowledgeable sources. The Bavarian Motor Works—actually Die Bayerische Motoren Werke AG—began life in 1913 as an aircraft engine manufacturer founded by Gustav Otto, the son of the inventor of the Otto four-stroke gasoline engine. In fact, the Red Baron flew a Fokker tri-plane with a BMW engine and the familiar blue and white emblem is a representation of a spinning propellor in the state colors of Bavaria.
After the end of World War I, the company was forbidden under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles to build aircraft engines (since they could be used as an implement of war) so turned to manufacturing motorcycles and became quite famous for their motorbikes. At the same time, a British company called BSR had a loyal following of riders who called their bikes "Beesers." It's believed that the BMW riders in the early 1920s came to call their machines "Beemers" after hearing of the "Beesers."
BMW did not begin manufacturing automobiles until 1928 when it introduced the BMW Dixi that was based on the Austin Seven and eventually the autos were referred to as "Bimmers" by their owners. According to the archivist at the BMW headquarters, "Bimmer" always refers to an automobile while "Beemer" or "Beastie" exclusively refers to a motorcyle. There you have it—two modes of transportation, two unique names.