BMW 535 GT - opinions?

[jmackro]

The latest issue of Hemmings "Sports & Exotics" has an editorial on how BMW has lost its way. Written by the editor, Craig Fitzgerald, the article focuses on the difference between the purely functional 1994 M-Technic, and the 2010 535 GT. Basicly, Fitzgerald says the 1994 model was built for enthusiasts, while in 2010 BMW is building cars for the doofus market.

Fitzgerald writes: "Up front it looks sort of BMW-y, but when you get around to the back, its got a big, giant lard butt that a million years on a Stairmaster wouldn't cure". Wow, how the mighty have fallen!

Here's a picture of the 535 GT - I haven't seen one "live" but from the photos I have to side with the critics who characterize it as a second generation Pontiac Aztek.

 

[budge96]

535 GT opinions

Looks like BMW is catching the same design virus as porsche AKA Panamera!

 

[Stan]

550gt

I saw one live. I was impressed. Nice execution of a plan, beautiful detail spacious cabin.
That said it is built on a 7 series platform so it is a big big car. If you need a grand tourer this is the one and at about half the price of the Porsche. Sadly I was rushed and when I returned the car was gone to the next dealer so I never drove it. The one they had was the 550GT with a big V8. About $70K
Bucket seats front and rear.
This beast would dwarf our coupes.

 

[lip277]

And the curb weight of the GT makes the 'real' 7-series seem like a size bargain..... unfortunately. I think it is almost 5,000 lbs... (a 750i is 4,500lbs - so even more than that car)

 

[jmackro]

I saw one live. I was impressed. Nice execution of a plan, beautiful detail spacious cabin. That said it is built on a 7 series platform so it is a big big car. If you need a grand tourer ......This beast would dwarf our coupes.

Maybe they look better "live".

I think the "Sports & Exotics" editor's point wasn't that the 535 GT was a bad car - it is probably great for impressing the other parents while dropping off the children at their private school. I think he was saying that BMW used to build cars for the performance market, and now aspires to fill the niche that Cadillac & Lincoln used to occupy.

 

[CSteve]

The new BMWs are designed to take their owners in genteel comfort to the Wine & Game Shop on Nassau St. in Princeton NJ. Where all the stray dogs are poodles.
These over-priced, cut-every-corner-possible barges....don't get me started.

Look behind the cheap plastic panels and faux wood and nose around under the dash and hood and trunk. They are cutting corners everywhere they can that the average owner will never see.

 

[bernardo]

I could not agree more with oneills...this fancy cars also designed to brake up and fail every certain amount of miles.....in order to promote business for dealers...(not with japanese)

 

[x_atlas0]

Based on their market research, they have changed their target demographic from enthusiasts (from the 2002 to ~E34 era) to women. They did this because they saw that women influence almost all automotive purchases, even the automotive purchases of their husband.

I've got to say that it has worked, given their sales figures. However, that doesn't mean that I like the new designs at all. It has looked like a designer had a seizure with a straight edge on the inside, and the cars were already wrecked on the outside since ~the end of the E38 run. Heck, I thought the E39 was utterly forgettable, even if it was a lot of fun to drive. (a 99 540i/6 with a UUC SSK and flywheel is most certainly a lot of fun to drive)

I wish they would split the brand. I want my ultra-functional, driver-centered cars again! Right now, I don't want any of the new BMW line-up, I'd rather have a Jaguar XFR or XJR.

 

[Stan]

For the money, I would rather have a Tesla model S

 

[bernardo]

For the money, I would rather have a Tesla model S

Yeah! for sure...100 times better

or an Atom!!

http://www.arielatom.com/

 

[x_atlas0]

For the money, I would rather have a Tesla model S

As much as I would like to get behind Tesla as a whole, after the major shafting of their entire engineering department, I can't bring myself to do so.

Plus, I got to see up close and drive behind a Tesla Roadster recently. The build quality was horrific. The panels were flapping in the wind when the car was in motion.

 

[Stan]

Tesla

Hmmm, maybe it had sustained some damage. I drove behind oa Roadster on 101 from San Francisco to Redwood City, black. No flapping observed.

Also went to see the one at the showroom in LA. looked pretty sound to me. They offered to let me drive but I was short on time...

I didn't know about the engineering department issue though...

 

[dave v. in nc]

535 gt

I like cars. I like station wagons. I don't like camels.

 

[x_atlas0]

Hmmm, maybe it had sustained some damage. I drove behind oa Roadster on 101 from San Francisco to Redwood City, black. No flapping observed.

Also went to see the one at the showroom in LA. looked pretty sound to me. They offered to let me drive but I was short on time...

I didn't know about the engineering department issue though...

Here is what I'm talking about:
http://jalopnik.com/5064700/electric-car-maker-tesla-lays-off-most-of-metro-detroit-office-with-blog-post

 

[piezopaul]

I think BMW still builds cars for enthusiasts, but the market demands that they also build cars that Ward and June can drive to the Club. If they don't build both, they will be able to build neither. The 135i, the 335, the M3, the Z4 and others are cars that can be driven and enjoyed by enthusiasts. The 550s and such as in between. They can be set up for enthusiastic driving. The big cars that say "I can afford a BMW" are a necessary product so they can build the rest.
Because of governmental regulations the sporty cars will be heavier than their predecessors, but they are also faster and more efficient. I love driving my CSL and the sounds and involvement, but I also enjoy driving my M3 as a daily driver.- Paul