Apologies in advance, but if this Roundel article wasn’t written as satire, then i think it was in very poor taste and suggests Michael Bird to be the type of BMW driver that lends truth to the common attitude that BMW drivers are A-Holes.
I read the article because I. Am an X5 owner and intend to be so for a long time, and did. It find humor in his inability to understand why anyone would want some utility combined with a nice luxury DD. Not everyone has a 6-car garage where every car is a vehicle optimized for a single purpose.
But let me me first start with his comments on his driving style.
“frontal collision warning…. scares the bejesus out of me”
He laments that you can’t permanently shut it off, and that it surprises him when it activates. The last two loaners I had had this and it never surprised me in both urban and suburban driving. In fact, I think it would have prevented the last 2 cases when someone else ran into me and wish it was federally mandated.
Am I a being a jerk to assume Mr. Bird drives too fast and threshold brakes at the last possible moment when approaching slower or stopped traffic (which is often accompanied by habitual tailgating)?
Then he says, the lane keeping assist resisted his desire to drive outside of his lane without signaling, “in order to … accelerate around someone (admittedly without signally).”
Whre I grew up, use of turn signals was mandatory (obviously NOT in MA). I consider turn signals the most basic form of driver2driver communication and courtesy. The only place I don’t use turn signals religiously is when I’m racing. Am I mistaken to think people who don’t bother with them are self-centered thoughtless, types who put individual over neighbor and society (I call them “meme” people)?
Overall, his assessment of the vehicle as a composite utility vehicle was ok, maybe even somewhat informative. I though the comment, “456-horsepower engine …. but honestly, you don’t need it.”
maybe he doesn’t know the x5 can tow >6000lbs and is used by many guys like me to haul airstreams, 6000lbs enclosed race car trailers with aerodynamics of a brick, and power boats. When you are moving 11,000lbs against a headwind up a steep grade in the heat of summer , you need every single HP and ft-lbs you can get.
Or, maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon today, having just driven 175 miles with 6000lbs trailer in tow, and dealing with hordes of idiot New England drivers who think nothing of changing lanes 3ft off my front bumper (without turn signals) the slamming on the brakes to make their exit, tailgating me so close I can’t see them in my extended tow mirrors, and wandering into my lane because they are playing with their damn phone. I am 110% in favor of maximum non-defeatable driver assistance nannies in new cars, as most of the driving population really need them … including the typical BMW driver .
John
I read the article because I. Am an X5 owner and intend to be so for a long time, and did. It find humor in his inability to understand why anyone would want some utility combined with a nice luxury DD. Not everyone has a 6-car garage where every car is a vehicle optimized for a single purpose.
But let me me first start with his comments on his driving style.
“frontal collision warning…. scares the bejesus out of me”
He laments that you can’t permanently shut it off, and that it surprises him when it activates. The last two loaners I had had this and it never surprised me in both urban and suburban driving. In fact, I think it would have prevented the last 2 cases when someone else ran into me and wish it was federally mandated.
Am I a being a jerk to assume Mr. Bird drives too fast and threshold brakes at the last possible moment when approaching slower or stopped traffic (which is often accompanied by habitual tailgating)?
Then he says, the lane keeping assist resisted his desire to drive outside of his lane without signaling, “in order to … accelerate around someone (admittedly without signally).”
Whre I grew up, use of turn signals was mandatory (obviously NOT in MA). I consider turn signals the most basic form of driver2driver communication and courtesy. The only place I don’t use turn signals religiously is when I’m racing. Am I mistaken to think people who don’t bother with them are self-centered thoughtless, types who put individual over neighbor and society (I call them “meme” people)?
Overall, his assessment of the vehicle as a composite utility vehicle was ok, maybe even somewhat informative. I though the comment, “456-horsepower engine …. but honestly, you don’t need it.”
maybe he doesn’t know the x5 can tow >6000lbs and is used by many guys like me to haul airstreams, 6000lbs enclosed race car trailers with aerodynamics of a brick, and power boats. When you are moving 11,000lbs against a headwind up a steep grade in the heat of summer , you need every single HP and ft-lbs you can get.
Or, maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon today, having just driven 175 miles with 6000lbs trailer in tow, and dealing with hordes of idiot New England drivers who think nothing of changing lanes 3ft off my front bumper (without turn signals) the slamming on the brakes to make their exit, tailgating me so close I can’t see them in my extended tow mirrors, and wandering into my lane because they are playing with their damn phone. I am 110% in favor of maximum non-defeatable driver assistance nannies in new cars, as most of the driving population really need them … including the typical BMW driver .
John
