Swayed BMW Owner -- 1st Post and Introduction
04-14-2005, 02:31 AM
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'01 BMW e39 540i, '06 M-B R171 SLK55
Swayed BMW Owner -- 1st Post and Introduction
Hi!
As you can tell by the highly creative title, this is my maiden voyage into MBWorld.
I am a BMW owner who has been emotionally coerced into an illicit and jungle feverish lust for the CLS. And it pains me within the bloody pulp that is my heart to admit this ...
... though I am told that recovery lies first in acceptance -- and so I have come to frolic amongst my newly adopted brothers and sisters!
In order to introduce myself (and thus sound self-important in assuming you actually want to know more,) I have elected to re-post a recent message I had originally written for a bimmer forum that explains, in more words than necessary, the reason I am here.
<It is a little lengthy so feel free to turn back now... {sniff} no, I am not crying...>
"Dear forum frequenters,
I posted a couple of weeks ago asking what other types of cars the e60 owners on this forum had considered and I received a wonderful welcome and response from everyone here.
That is why I now, after having been to the Vancouver Autoshow and being promised a demo drive in a press vehicle, feel obligated to apologize -- for I have been entranced by the Mercedes-Benz rolling oxymoron that is the CLS.
I know what you are saying ... it is a Chrysler, it has bad build quality, reliability, the ****-quarters of an American styling disaster, handles like half-melted pudding, and it is as long as a boat ... among other less savory sentiments. Believe me, fellow bimmerati, that some of these perceptions were the same feelings that pushed me from my CLK430 in '99 to the 540i in '01.
The CLS is not a coupe. It is a very sleek sedan/saloon. I do not care where the Mercedes-Benz Product Manager is trying to cram this vehicle into the automotive perceptual map - it has 4 doors, ergo not a coupe. Having said that, you would be hard-pressed to find another 4 door vehicle with as dynamic a profile this side of a Quattroporte.
And yes, the interior is current E-Class redux -- call me a sucker (my fragile ego dares you) but that huge swath of wood on the dash, car-length console, and highly plush/intimate cabin feel is beyond current offerings in this price range in terms of emotional arousal; like a warm caress rather than a Teutonic handshake.
Of course my calling the CLS cabin 'intimate' can be likened to an honest real estate agent (whoa, there is room for two oxymora in this diatribe?) pronouncing the shack where the Unabomber sniffed glue to be 'quaint', 'airy', and fairly exploding with 'rustic charm'. I am 6'1" and, unless you sheared the top few inches of my skull straight off, the backseat had me staring into my lap constantly with nothing but the cold glass of the rear window pressing against the back of my head as a constant reminder that I am not of Lilliput.
Then there is the trunk lid. I hope every person who is seriously considering the CLS takes a go at manually opening and closing the trunk. Maybe I am too used to the tank-like feel of the e39's solid boot (which, to date, no Bimmer uninitiated person I know has been able to close successfully on their first attempt) but the trunk on the M-B feels and sounds like tinfoil. There is no reassuringly German 'ka-chunk' as you unload your Louis Vuitton luggage; no, it is more like a high pitch metallic 'twang' on the CLS and that left me just a tad more disillusioned with the Chryslerfication of Mercedes' products.
But what is a man to do? The CLS has captured my imagination whereas Bangle's vision has left me partially blind; maybe the '07/'08 e60 re-freshening LASIK will restore my sight so that I may see past the 'flame-surfaced' panels of the exterior, geometrically misaligned furnishings of the interior, and overabundance of fussy gewgaws, to the pure driving machine underneath. Meanwhile, the seductive CLS is beckoning me with its rock-star poseur promises and, according to all reviews thus far, a solid performance when actually driving.
I am weak... I am the weathervane for temptation lightning... I am as loyal to a brand as infrequent Cola drinkers.
And I am now severely torn between the 5-series and the CLS. Though I perused the other offerings from other marques and while some may be quite adequate (e.g. both the Lexus GS and Infiniti M seem light-years ahead of when I compared their respective iterations prior to my e39 purchase) I simply felt no attachment to them. Oh, woe is me...
There will be some of you who may deride this post as nothing more than useless whiny drivel which I should not have wasted your time with. If that is the case - ha ha! score one point for me since it is patently obvious that my sole aim and goal in life is to take time away from your cubicle adventures in Solitaire.
For the more educated/less Neolithic among us, I hope you can understand my need for your opinion and your intervention. I implore you to help save me from myself.
In the end, if it makes any of you feel any better, I will flagellate myself mercilessly (mea culpa... mea culpa... mea maxima culpa...) before plunging into the Aegean until I come to my senses and place a deposit on the M5 instead.
Oh, and thanks for reading -- feel free to continue that game of Solitaire or Hearts at your leisure.
--------------------
2001 540i Sport -- Vanessa
*Steel Blue / Grey leather
*NAV/DSP/PDC/Shades
*M-Technic Front/Rear bumper aprons
*Racing Dynamics roof spoiler
*M5 rear trunklid lip spoiler
*Dual 76mm round SuperSprint exhaust
*Hamann 18" HM2 wheels"
As you can tell by the highly creative title, this is my maiden voyage into MBWorld.
I am a BMW owner who has been emotionally coerced into an illicit and jungle feverish lust for the CLS. And it pains me within the bloody pulp that is my heart to admit this ...
... though I am told that recovery lies first in acceptance -- and so I have come to frolic amongst my newly adopted brothers and sisters!
In order to introduce myself (and thus sound self-important in assuming you actually want to know more,) I have elected to re-post a recent message I had originally written for a bimmer forum that explains, in more words than necessary, the reason I am here.
<It is a little lengthy so feel free to turn back now... {sniff} no, I am not crying...>
"Dear forum frequenters,
I posted a couple of weeks ago asking what other types of cars the e60 owners on this forum had considered and I received a wonderful welcome and response from everyone here.
That is why I now, after having been to the Vancouver Autoshow and being promised a demo drive in a press vehicle, feel obligated to apologize -- for I have been entranced by the Mercedes-Benz rolling oxymoron that is the CLS.
I know what you are saying ... it is a Chrysler, it has bad build quality, reliability, the ****-quarters of an American styling disaster, handles like half-melted pudding, and it is as long as a boat ... among other less savory sentiments. Believe me, fellow bimmerati, that some of these perceptions were the same feelings that pushed me from my CLK430 in '99 to the 540i in '01.
The CLS is not a coupe. It is a very sleek sedan/saloon. I do not care where the Mercedes-Benz Product Manager is trying to cram this vehicle into the automotive perceptual map - it has 4 doors, ergo not a coupe. Having said that, you would be hard-pressed to find another 4 door vehicle with as dynamic a profile this side of a Quattroporte.
And yes, the interior is current E-Class redux -- call me a sucker (my fragile ego dares you) but that huge swath of wood on the dash, car-length console, and highly plush/intimate cabin feel is beyond current offerings in this price range in terms of emotional arousal; like a warm caress rather than a Teutonic handshake.
Of course my calling the CLS cabin 'intimate' can be likened to an honest real estate agent (whoa, there is room for two oxymora in this diatribe?) pronouncing the shack where the Unabomber sniffed glue to be 'quaint', 'airy', and fairly exploding with 'rustic charm'. I am 6'1" and, unless you sheared the top few inches of my skull straight off, the backseat had me staring into my lap constantly with nothing but the cold glass of the rear window pressing against the back of my head as a constant reminder that I am not of Lilliput.
Then there is the trunk lid. I hope every person who is seriously considering the CLS takes a go at manually opening and closing the trunk. Maybe I am too used to the tank-like feel of the e39's solid boot (which, to date, no Bimmer uninitiated person I know has been able to close successfully on their first attempt) but the trunk on the M-B feels and sounds like tinfoil. There is no reassuringly German 'ka-chunk' as you unload your Louis Vuitton luggage; no, it is more like a high pitch metallic 'twang' on the CLS and that left me just a tad more disillusioned with the Chryslerfication of Mercedes' products.
But what is a man to do? The CLS has captured my imagination whereas Bangle's vision has left me partially blind; maybe the '07/'08 e60 re-freshening LASIK will restore my sight so that I may see past the 'flame-surfaced' panels of the exterior, geometrically misaligned furnishings of the interior, and overabundance of fussy gewgaws, to the pure driving machine underneath. Meanwhile, the seductive CLS is beckoning me with its rock-star poseur promises and, according to all reviews thus far, a solid performance when actually driving.
I am weak... I am the weathervane for temptation lightning... I am as loyal to a brand as infrequent Cola drinkers.
And I am now severely torn between the 5-series and the CLS. Though I perused the other offerings from other marques and while some may be quite adequate (e.g. both the Lexus GS and Infiniti M seem light-years ahead of when I compared their respective iterations prior to my e39 purchase) I simply felt no attachment to them. Oh, woe is me...
There will be some of you who may deride this post as nothing more than useless whiny drivel which I should not have wasted your time with. If that is the case - ha ha! score one point for me since it is patently obvious that my sole aim and goal in life is to take time away from your cubicle adventures in Solitaire.
For the more educated/less Neolithic among us, I hope you can understand my need for your opinion and your intervention. I implore you to help save me from myself.
In the end, if it makes any of you feel any better, I will flagellate myself mercilessly (mea culpa... mea culpa... mea maxima culpa...) before plunging into the Aegean until I come to my senses and place a deposit on the M5 instead.
Oh, and thanks for reading -- feel free to continue that game of Solitaire or Hearts at your leisure.
--------------------
2001 540i Sport -- Vanessa
*Steel Blue / Grey leather
*NAV/DSP/PDC/Shades
*M-Technic Front/Rear bumper aprons
*Racing Dynamics roof spoiler
*M5 rear trunklid lip spoiler
*Dual 76mm round SuperSprint exhaust
*Hamann 18" HM2 wheels"
04-14-2005, 12:21 PM
#2
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Mercedes all the way!
haha, welcome to the club! you've voiced, i think, the exact reasons many of us are fans of M-B. the intimacy, the beauty, the emotion, the power. who cars about whether the car can pull an extra 1g when the subjective aspect is so over-powering? and when you can enjoy more of the car, everyday, in real life.
your heart belongs to M-B, friend, though your mind may think a BMW wins the numbers game. there should be no shame: beauty is priceless; beauty is unquantifiable; beauty is transcendent.
and those who think BMW is built any better than M-B, is more reliable, or uses better materials, should seriously take an objective look at the facts, seeing beyond the common knowledge dished out as cold hard truth by many in the motoring press (with all due respect), and drive these babies, side-by-side, to see for themselves. i've never had a problem with my M-Bs (except one or two very minor stuff) but i can't say the same of my BMW friends
though i'm sure luck plays a part in this =)
but anyway, welcome, and do hope you will stay here for a long time to come!
your heart belongs to M-B, friend, though your mind may think a BMW wins the numbers game. there should be no shame: beauty is priceless; beauty is unquantifiable; beauty is transcendent.
and those who think BMW is built any better than M-B, is more reliable, or uses better materials, should seriously take an objective look at the facts, seeing beyond the common knowledge dished out as cold hard truth by many in the motoring press (with all due respect), and drive these babies, side-by-side, to see for themselves. i've never had a problem with my M-Bs (except one or two very minor stuff) but i can't say the same of my BMW friends
though i'm sure luck plays a part in this =)but anyway, welcome, and do hope you will stay here for a long time to come!
04-14-2005, 03:05 PM
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MB CLS350, Obsidian Black
jd604 - great post and welcome to the forum
I too am (or will be next week!) a convert from BMW to M-B. I've driven BMs for the last 8 years and up until my first look at the CLS my view was that MBs were just not sleek enough (well the one's in my price range anyway!).
But, one look at the CLS and I was hooked and all this culminates next Thursday when I bid farewell to my dear 330 Convertible and jump into my CLS.
Me? No complaints at all about BMW (and I can't be arsed with all the 'BMW is better than MB' nonsense) but MB have pulled a masterstroke IMHO with the CLS and I for one am only too happy to jump over
I too am (or will be next week!) a convert from BMW to M-B. I've driven BMs for the last 8 years and up until my first look at the CLS my view was that MBs were just not sleek enough (well the one's in my price range anyway!).
But, one look at the CLS and I was hooked and all this culminates next Thursday when I bid farewell to my dear 330 Convertible and jump into my CLS.
Me? No complaints at all about BMW (and I can't be arsed with all the 'BMW is better than MB' nonsense) but MB have pulled a masterstroke IMHO with the CLS and I for one am only too happy to jump over
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04-18-2005, 10:24 AM
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Airbus
Same here after 9 yrs No new Bimmers for the time being. The Mini doesn't count. It's a fun little GoKart and the 530i is probably going away this summer.
