Time to buy a new Beemer

[Mr__Bill]

Well, not just yet, perhaps in a year when they have the kinks out of them and a year old leased one becomes available.

BMW's confirms four-cylinder diesels for U.S. market


Bill.

Some Star Wars Street Art Humor for those of us who are a bit warped.

[cabinetman]

Bill - Just some fun facts:

Definitions:
Bimmer - proper accepted slang for BMW cars. Most people don't know this.
Beamer/Beemer - proper accepted slang for BMW motorcycles. You will hear this term used incorrectly by many people.
Bummer - When you get a speeding ticket.
Bitter - Another German car. Very rare; hand built.


So just why is a BMW car called a 'bimmer' not a 'beemer' or 'beamer'?

The answer in part lies in knowing some BMW history and what came first.

All real BMW enthusiasts know that BMW got a big start on two wheels, what many call the real BMWs.

In those days, BMW motorcycles were quite active in racing, and one of their competitors at the track was often the BSA bikes.

Well as things would have it, a track slang developed, and the BMWs were usually referred to as 'beemers' and the BSAs were referred to as 'beesers'.

So, of course for any true enthusiast, there is no way that a BMW car could be called a 'beemer', so they were called 'bimmers'.

Unfortunately, in the US and Canada, and perhaps other countries, there was a time (kind of still is) where for various reasons, a BMW owner was considered an upwardly mobile person, and of course due to the fun in driving their BMWs most all of them had big grins on their faces.

Hence it is little surprise that the non enthusiast types out there incorrectly labeled BMW cars and their owners as 'beamers' or 'beemers'.
.

[Richard in Smithville]

That's LOML's madien name. So I think for my own safety, I won't be looking at anything that involves replacing a Beemer

[crokett]

Thank stricter environmental regulations here for more small diesels not being available. They are more fuel efficient and do less harm than gas and last longer but can't be imported unless they have additional exhaust treatment on them. Of course that makes them more expensive.

[herb fellows]

correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember diesel being $5.40 a gallon when regular gas was $4.00?
Maybe if you can afford a 'bimmer" that doesn't matter to you?

[tseavoy]

If I had extra money I would get a VW Jetta. That new diesel with common rail fuel injection and no urea injection for exhaust cleanup seems to be a winner. And the direct shift gearbox is just as efficient as a manual transmission.
Around here, diesel fuel is about the same as gasoline in price -- didn't use to be. Some users report 50 MPG from the Jetta.
Speaking of fuel economy, I once rented a Geo Metro with the three cylinder engine. It was a great little car, lively and got tremendous fuel economy, over 40 MPG. It was a **** of a lot better than that stupid Smart Car.

Here is a factoid: The petroleum used in the US for transportation is about twenty percent of all the petroleum used. If we assume that fifteen percent is used in automobiles, a doubling of MPG for automobiles would result in a total petroleum decrease of seven percent of all petroleum used.

Tom on Marrowstone

[jackellis]

I believe a diesel engine is around 30% more efficient than a gasoline engine. Even when diesel was more expensive, the differential around here was not enough to overcome the efficiency advantage. If a 4 cylinder diesel Tacoma had been available when I bought one, that's what I'd be driving, and around 32 MPG instead of 25.

If I remember correctly, transportation accounts for at least half of our total petroleum use, or 10 million barrels per day.

[Mr__Bill]

Bummer, I'm a Bimmer but I'm not Bitter!

We have a 328 ic it's now 10 years old and running just fine. It's about due for another new top mostly because of the rear window. I was thinking in a few years when the diesels hit the used car market I could get a new car with high MPG and a glass window!

Ya know I thought a Bimmer was a Skimmer that got sat on


Bill, over here in the rain.

Bill - Just some fun facts:

Definitions:
Bimmer - proper accepted slang for BMW cars. Most people don't know this.
Beamer/Beemer - proper accepted slang for BMW motorcycles. You will hear this term used incorrectly by many people.
Bummer - When you get a speeding ticket.
Bitter - Another German car. Very rare; hand built.


So just why is a BMW car called a 'bimmer' not a 'beemer' or 'beamer'?

The answer in part lies in knowing some BMW history and what came first.

All real BMW enthusiasts know that BMW got a big start on two wheels, what many call the real BMWs.

In those days, BMW motorcycles were quite active in racing, and one of their competitors at the track was often the BSA bikes.

Well as things would have it, a track slang developed, and the BMWs were usually referred to as 'beemers' and the BSAs were referred to as 'beesers'.

So, of course for any true enthusiast, there is no way that a BMW car could be called a 'beemer', so they were called 'bimmers'.

Unfortunately, in the US and Canada, and perhaps other countries, there was a time (kind of still is) where for various reasons, a BMW owner was considered an upwardly mobile person, and of course due to the fun in driving their BMWs most all of them had big grins on their faces.

Hence it is little surprise that the non enthusiast types out there incorrectly labeled BMW cars and their owners as 'beamers' or 'beemers'.
.

[tseavoy]

I guess I was wrong in that factoid I put out. Rather than a percentage of petroleum used it probably should have been a percentage of energy used. Here is the best reference I could come up with this morning.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pecss_diagram.html

From this, it looks like transportation uses about 27 percent of our total energy consumption and like 70 percent of our petroleum usage.

[JR]

I was disoriented the first time I did a PowerPoint presentation in Germany. My host asked if I needed a beamer. Suffering from jet lag, I just sort of stared at him.

Eventually it became clear tht he was refering to the projector you hook up to your laptop to display the presentation.

JR

[master53yoda]

correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember diesel being $5.40 a gallon when regular gas was $4.00?
Maybe if you can afford a 'bimmer" that doesn't matter to you?

there was the space of about a year that diesel was more expensive then gas and it was due to a change at the beginning of 07 to a low sulfur content diesel that required a revamp of some of the refinement process. Now that that change has been incorporated the diesel is back down to about the same price as gas or a little cheaper as had been the case historically.

[jziegler]

there was the space of about a year that diesel was more expensive then gas and it was due to a change at the beginning of 07 to a low sulfur content diesel that required a revamp of some of the refinement process. Now that that change has been incorporated the diesel is back down to about the same price as gas or a little cheaper as had been the case historically.

That is still somewhat a regional thing. Here in the northeast, Diesel runs a bit higher than gas in the fall and winter. Since diesel and heating oil are basically the same thing, and there are still many houses heated with oil, diesel prices tend to be higher in the winter. Diesel is hovering around $2.77 right now, with gas around $2.40

Jim

[Rand]

Reason not to buy a BMW.

My friend drives a 740i and it needed a new battery. You can't just put in any battery from the auto parts store either. He paid $900.00 for a new battery!!!! Ouch.

[germdoc]

I have always wanted a BMW--when I was stationed in Germany, looked at a bunch of them on the "Lemon Lot", ended up getting an Audi.

Even if I had the money, around here they are not ideal because they're rear wheel drive. A colleague of mine in Germany spun his new 525 off the exit ramp of the autobahn when it was icy. Totalled it.

OTOH, I did test drive some Mini Coopers last week, and they are pretty cool! I could see getting one of those...

[unknown poster]

Most BMW models are available with 4WD. I know a lot of people in the northeast who drive them in the snow without significant problems.

I would like a 335d with 425 ft lbs of torque at 1700 rpm. Unfortunately they want 42 grand for that car and I just can't imagine parting with that much money for a vehicle, no matter how cool it is.