GreenMonster

Depending on pricing, the 135i might be the new boy racer weapon of choice... if not when it's first released, most certainly when it starts hitting the used car market in a few years...

With the success of the new Mustang and G35c, there seems to be a decent niche for coupes if they are built (and priced) right...

Bmw has been pushing that retro theme... the old 2002's (e10), E21's and E30's were extremely light...

One thing that the new 1-series might also do is spark interest in older lightweight bmw's...

GreenMonster

I'd love to see a lightweight rwd 2+2 hardtop coupe from honda/acura...

West6MT

Another short vid of the long one posted at the top of the page (has sound).

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...arch&plindex=1

Fibonacci

You're probably pretty close. IMO, 37k for a 135 doesn't represent much value, but people don't really buy beemers for the value quotient do they. :wink:

Don't hold your breath too long...

LiQiCE

It might be popular with the tuner crowd, but I still think the image of the car will be more BMW than EVO/STi. The 135i isn't going to come with a huge ass wing... I'm not trying to insult the EVO/STi, it just isn't my cup of tea. The 135i doesn't have that look, and hopefully it won't end up with the EVO/STi reputation.

charliemike

$8k would probably make a lot of people pause for a moment ... That's nearly $200/mo higher car payments for a 335i coupe.

Will they do it anyway? Probably. I think $37k for a 135i is too high. I don't care how good it is, I don't see it being $12k better than a Mazdaspeed3. Don't get me wrong, it's better. It's just not 50% better IMO.

BraveDemon

Wow. It looks awesome in the vid!

I project the 135i being in the upper 30s. As for the previous post, I don't think it'll be $12k better than a Mazdaspeed3 either - with that being said, I'm sure the market that BMW will reach with the 135i will hands down agree that it's $12k better than a Mazdaspeed 3.

charliemike

95% of the iPhones sold last weekend (500,000 of them) were the $599 8GB model.

Never bet against American consumption

F23A4

....not to mention the moronity of American consumers, with respect to iPhone sales. IRONY

Should be a sick car performancewise but, upper $30k would be a little much for the boy racer crowd IMHO. (Although fully loaded Jettas can run low/mid-$30Ks!!)

BraveDemon

Lol. Right you are. I'm sure many will opt for the 135i even with the (what I believe to be overpriced) high price tag.


My girlfriend is in the market for a new car and I took her to a VW dealership for a test drive in an 08 GLI. I was doing the math and a GLI is DOUBLE THE PRICE of a base model Jetta.

$31k for a GLI Jetta is wayyy overpriced. Now, a small 2+2 coupe from BMW with RWD and 50/50 weight balance? Definitely worth $31k... hopefully the 135 will still be in the $30k's after taxes and fees.

Brandon24pdx

I like the idea of this car and wish more automakers had small, turbocharged rwd coupes in the lineup for guys like me that dig that sort of thing, but this car is unfortunately being offered by BMW, which basically means it will be a slightly nicer, rwd mazdaspeed 3 that will touch 40 grand if you're not careful.

I guess I'm too value conscious to be sprung on this thing.

SRK85

If its less than 20k, I will buy one probably. That thing is hot. I hope its reasonably priced because it has a small engine.

alex2364

There is no way it's under 20k. It has the same engines as the 3 series. The cheapest stripped models will probably be 26-28k.

charliemike

Hehe, there's no way it's that cheap.

If it were, I'd buy two

BraveDemon

Lol. one in black and one in white. I don't think a BMW was ever below 20k. Not even the craptastic 318ti was below 20k.

GreenMonster

I'm thinking 128i= mid to high 20's, 135i= mid to high 30's... the 128i has to be higher than the MINI Cooper, but lower then the 328. The price difference between the the 328 and 335 coupe is about $5500, so I'd expect to see a similiar spread in prices on the 1-series.

One interesting thing I think will happen is that CPO (and used) 3 series prices are going to be affected... Who is going to want to buy a 330 coupe (with 225hp) used for $33K when you can get a new 128i with the same engine for under 30K new...

You can't make blanket statements like that... I don't know what the original MSRP for the BMW Isetta was, but with a 236 cc engine that produced about 10hp, I'm sure it was well below $10K back in 1959

Python2121

omg Steve Erkel!!!

GreenMonster

...even Steve Urkel was a "badge whore", but at least he drove a lightweight RWD BMW

lscld

Wow that is a very good point! I never thought of that.

acutsx

Have you guy seen the new BMW 1 series?

I love my 04 TSX but I am seriously thinking about buying a new BMW 1 series next year. I have two main reasons. First is the Acura dealer's poor service (Yes, both dealership in Baltimore, MD).The mechanics always break something or spill de-greaser on the carpet and don't clean up the crap. This happened to me 3 times. Of course they fix it but it means another day in the shop for my TSX.Second is the poor paint quality ( I have too many paint chips to count), it just makes me mad when I look at the paint chips. Until Acura acknowledges and fixes the problems..I am buying something else.

Shoofin

Crazy Bimmer

Simple, dont go to the acura dealer unless its warranty related.

alex2364

How do you know the BMW dealer isn't worse? Switching cars because of poor dealer service isn't a very good reason IMO. You should find a different dealer or try independent shops.

Siddig

1) lots of people will choose a car based on dealer/service experience. Take lexus for example. The win a lot of customers because of their renowned service.

2) BMW will/should have service that is much better then that of Acura, but there are some bad ones out there.

10-1 odds the bimmer service is better then the Acura's.

amadeus303

iTrader: (2)

I'll definitely be checking out both the 128 and 135... that's a lot of performance for $25-35k. The TSX has been a favorite of mine, but you can get a very well equipped 128 for ~$30k. My biggest concerns are space (I've never owned a coupe), and reliability... although BMW does have that "free maintenance" program. With that said, I'll still be keeping a watchful eye on what Acura does w/ its next gen TSX too.

GreenMonster

It really is tough to talk about the 1 series until final pricing is known

Like I've said in the 20 page, 5 year old 1-series thread, I'm considering the 128 and 135 as my next car... https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62547

I never really had a huge issue with acuras service, but my main motivation for considering the 1 series is RWD. I really want to get back into a rwd car and anything that is close to 3000lbs would be even better. We'll see what pricing is like, and I'll probably wait till late 2008 or 2009 to see what else is out there. I've only got 62K miles on my CLS 6spd, so I'm not in any rush. The depreciation curve has leveled out on my CL, so I'm only losing about $1K per year in value now.

I think you're going to see alot of people crosshopping the TSX and 1 series... Even tho' the 3 series is more of a TL competitor, the knock on the 3 series vs. the TSX has always been pricing. The TSX is a better bang for the buck vs. the 328. If the 128 is under 30K, I don't know why any performance enthusiast in their right mind would choose a TSX 4 cly. FWD car over a 128 w/ a 6 and RWD. And I don't want to hear any of that "fwd is better in snow" shit from pussies that don't know how to drive

EuRTSX

sonnyg80

Crazy Bimmer

Never heard you talk like that before.

I like it

EuRTSX

FWD is better in the snow.





:smitler:

Mokos23

now how small is the 1 series compared to other cars in the USA? is it about the same size or bigger than a miata or S2000?

Moog-Type-S

BMW service is night and day compared to Acura.
I dreaded going to get my CL serviced at Acura, but now, going to BMW for service is actually an enjoyable experience.

They actually care about the customer, and get the job done.
.....add to that the maintenance is at no cost.

Python2121

I anticipate that the 2 door will be slightly larger than an s2000 (more like a z4 hardtop) and that the 3 door hatch (which WILL be my next car if produced in USA) will be vw gti or mazda3 sized. I have only seen the 5 door 1 series in person.

Python2121

Also, I feel bad for you guys with bad experiences. Curry Acura in Westchester service is take it or leave it, not bad not great, but Gary Force Acura in Nashville has been great to me. Still, for me its about the drive and my glorified accord is not cutting it.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

You cant really say that either because there are people on bmw websites that complain about there dealers. Any car compnay is going to have good and bad dealers. All you read about people on AZ is complaining about Acura but I am sure there are plenty people who love the dealers but dont bother to post about that part. I am one of those people, Hendrick Acura is a great dealer, but I have also heard great things about Hendrick BMW.

GreenMonster

I'm just tired with that argument... I've driven old rwd v8's with shitty/bald all seasons, and never had a problem. Most of the fools here who drive fwd cars live in the south or out west where they never even get snow. AND to add insult to injury, the southern and westcoast fuckers buy all season tires (because they are cheaper then summer tires).

My CL is my first FWD car in 24 years of New England driving (I'm to counting the 84 Old Ciera wagon I had for a few months back in the early 90's).

Most of the youngsters here have never even driven a rwd car.... EuRTSX, have you ever owned a RWD daily driver ?? AND driven it in winter ??

I just don't think the positives (RWD better in snow) outweigh the negatives (RWD is a better performance platform)...

There is nothing like getting the rear end to kick out with a little too much throttle...

BraveDemon

Lol. Ok you got me. I was thinking more along the lines of modern/recent BMWs. Such as the 318ti.

But good point about the pricing of the 128i: if it really is cheaper than a used 330, I'd think resale value would diminish on the 330s.

mrproul

agreed, i have to say when i had my 91 infiniti m30 when you took out the traction control fuse that was one hell of a rear wheel drive car that could drift a turn no problem. also i love when you are lighting up the tires and they are asking were all the smoke is and you point to the back and they are dumbfounded. it is classic. but i have owened three front wheel drive cars and lived in the snow and i was able to mash up a hill in the snow faster and safer than my buddies jeep. it is classic. also the fact that i love being pushed instead of pulled that is priceless. also the problem with the dealer service is not the techs it is when you come in and act like you know what you are talking about when they are the techs. i mean if they make a common mistake just correct them and not act like they don't know what they are doing. if i had a problem with the acura dealer i would find a great honda dealer and take my car there. plus service is cheaper by 25 bucks usually.

just my

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

to the op- get the 135

Siddig

That is why I followed it up with there are some bad bimmer service places out there. I know because I have been to a shady bimmer service center before. BUT because of what bimmer is you will find more great quality bimmer service centers then you will acura. And since Lexus holds their crown over all their dealers, I'd say its pretty rare, hard to find a bad lexus dealer.