Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/06/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Rob, We, not surprisingly, have BMW company cars at work. Last year there was a change of policy regarding them though and any 5 series or above now has to be automatic because the resale value is higher. The people who now have to have an automatic have been extremely disappointed by the considerable loss of performance and very noticeable increase in fuel consumption. Of those entitled to a high spec car the keenest drivers amongst them all now use 3 series cars so they don't have to have an automatic. I am not familiar with the current 7 speed Merc 'boxes but it is true that the older ones only used 1st gear with kick down, however from an engineering point of view, there is little point in using first gear if second has sufficient torque for the performance you are requesting (via the throttle). Frank On 5 Jun, 2005, at 03:55, Rob McClure wrote: > Frank, > > I disagree with your comments about BMW automatics. They are > smooth, quick shifting and give up only a few 1/10ths of a second > in 0-60 and a few MPG in economy. They also have a very nice sport > mode and tap-shifting mechanism for manual selection. In > comparison, many Merc automatics default to a second gear starting > mode unless really thrashed and have a notchy shift gate. That > said, I do prefer manual transmissions in general and find BMW's > manuals to be the best shifting of any car i've driven. I agree > with your comments about Mercedes being ill suited for automatics > due to the foot parking brake; an easy enough fix if they decide to > target the manual-shift buyer segment (and challenge BMW as "the > ultimate driving machine"). > > Regards, > > Rob McClure > Upper Sandusky, OH > > Current BMW: > 2004 325i (5 speed) > Past BMWs: > 2001 BMW Z3 3.0 Coupe (5 speed) > 1996 BMW 318ti (automatic) > > > On Jun 4, 2005, at 3:27 AM, Frank Dernie wrote: > > >> Hi Mike, >> I think different cars appeal to different people. One thing I >> have noticed, as a long time Merc owner, is that Mercedes have had >> to lower quality to keep their prices competitive with other >> brands, some of which have gained a good reputation by marketing >> despite being very cheaply made. >> >> Another point about gearboxes. The Merc cars do not particularly >> suit manual gearboxes, they have foot parking brakes and their >> latest auto 'boxes give away no performance and little economy to >> the manuals. BMW's OTOH are much better as manuals, firstly it >> suits a sporty car well second the BMW autos kill the performance >> and economy. >> Frank >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >