Took an opportunity to photograph some E92's, engines and other new BMW equipment of fall 2006 while at the dealer waiting for a tiny warranty fix on my new 130i.

You can find the pictures at:

Wow lol...those cars go against everything BMW has established over in the U.S....

...630i? The E63 never got an engine smaller than a 4.4 V8. 325i coupe? No, our coupes are 328i or 335i as of now. Thats it. We havent gotten any 4 cyl engines since the 318i/Z3 died off.

X3's 3.0TT diesel HOPEFULLY will reach the states by 2008!! A twin variable geometry turbo direct injection engine gets major thumbs up from me!

Well I cant guarentee it, but I will say this: when a fellow tech was shipped off for BMW's school on the E92, he heard they were setting up a diesel class soon for one of the two X's...I think it was X5, but IIRC its the same 3.0TT in E83, X5, E60, etc.

There will be a 3.0sd model of the X5, probably sometime in the US too. And of the X3. On the 3-series it'll be called 335d. 210kW/285hv and 580Nm of torque.

Of course the high-end stuff is available in Europe too, as you could see from M6's and 750i's, but here the lower end is wider, because people buy and like economical cars as well. Having lived 4 years in the US as well, and just by looking at bmwusa.com I can say that the lineup of BMW cars available in the US is heavily lightened from what is available in Europe - on the other hand, everything that's available in the US in the top end, is available in Europe too. And actually in more powerful versions. Remember the E46 M3? It's european model had 343hp and US model 333hp because of emissions rules the US model had to have catalysators installed right on the engine which knocked back a few HP. Same with the new Z4 M Coupe and Z4 M Roadster, in the US they have 330hp, in Europe, they still have the full 343hp.

In summary, yes, selections are different - in Europe you can get everything that BMW produces, in the US you have a limited range of models that their marketing department knows will sell in the US, it would be waste to haul all the models over to the US. But it seems like demand for Diesel engines is hitting the US these days, so perhaps you'll get to enjoy BMW's world class Diesel engines in the future as well.

Best regards,

Jussi

BMW will run two 3er diesels at the 25 hours of Thunderhill (Willows, CA) in December. Might be an indication of more to come.

-FDj

I must however give you a fair warning: even though their Diesels are world-class, the only GOOD reason to buy them is if you're a real penny pincher on fuel consumption, or hate refueling (cause with their consumption, you won't be refueling often.) No matter how good the turbodiesels are (And they are the best - the V8 TD in 745d beats Volkswagens V10 TDI in both power and torque! - and consequently every BMW diesel engine beats it's rivals in Audi/Volkswagen series classes by serious margins, especially in torque), so no matter how good they are, the gasoline engines are still better. Because, as the old BMW saying goes, the only better thing than a straight six, is two straight sixes - that is, a V12. I just wish they would offer the N73B60 V12 on more models than just the 7er. It would fit the 6-series well, since the 6-series is more of a 7-series Coupe than a 5-series Coupe anyway with all it's gizmos and luxury (and pricing.) And the current V12 even consumes less gas than the non-Valvetronic V8's, such as the one on X5 4.8iSA! Perhaps the 760h will offer more people the chance to enjoy BMW V12 luxury with the TRUE hybrid hydrogen/gasoline engine (no gasoline powered electric motors like with Toyota, I mean Lexus, the Toyota with all the options.), whose "hybrid" cars are just a marketing BS term and have no real environmental impact. BMW took things seriously when starting to develop this path over 10 years ago, and as a result, now they're at least 5 years ahead of the competition, with production vehicles out on the road that run on hydrogen and the only emission is WATER! And they can run on hydrogen forever, given that there are enough hydrogen stations to go around. It just never ceases to amaze me how absolutely superior BMW's engineering is on every level compared to anybody else. Other manufacturers might get a point or two done well, but BMW is pure excellence from start to finish. No wonder that when in 2004 they had 3500 job openings, they had 1.5 Million applicants for those jobs. They truly have picked the best people to design the best technology on this planet.

Best regards,

Jussi

Well said! I personally give diesels more credit, but agree with all of that. I know for a fact Toyota is trying the hybrid route for marketing only; diesels have a bad stigma around them in the U.S. from everyone except people with trucks...and those same people are anti-Japanese or at least anti-imports.

Just like Porsche, I also think diesel engines are a far better choice than hybrids. I'm also extremely biased to hydrogen, though mostly because it has an octane rating of 130 at best and has something like 2.5x the BTUs of energy over gasoline per gallon. Coincidentally, it also is 100% clean....so I personally think all disadvantages of hydrogen are overshadowed by all of the advantages.

I must however give you a fair warning: even though their Diesels are world-class, the only GOOD reason to buy them is if you're a real penny pincher on fuel consumption, or hate refueling (cause with their consumption, you won't be refueling often.) No matter how good the turbodiesels are (And they are the best - the V8 TD in 745d beats Volkswagens V10 TDI in both power and torque! - and consequently every BMW diesel engine beats it's rivals in Audi/Volkswagen series classes by serious margins, especially in torque), so no matter how good they are, the gasoline engines are still better. Because, as the old BMW saying goes, the only better thing than a straight six, is two straight sixes - that is, a V12. I just wish they would offer the N73B60 V12 on more models than just the 7er. It would fit the 6-series well, since the 6-series is more of a 7-series Coupe than a 5-series Coupe anyway with all it's gizmos and luxury (and pricing.) And the current V12 even consumes less gas than the non-Valvetronic V8's, such as the one on X5 4.8iSA! Perhaps the 760h will offer more people the chance to enjoy BMW V12 luxury with the TRUE hybrid hydrogen/gasoline engine (no gasoline powered electric motors like with Toyota, I mean Lexus, the Toyota with all the options.), whose "hybrid" cars are just a marketing BS term and have no real environmental impact. BMW took things seriously when starting to develop this path over 10 years ago, and as a result, now they're at least 5 years ahead of the competition, with production vehicles out on the road that run on hydrogen and the only emission is WATER! And they can run on hydrogen forever, given that there are enough hydrogen stations to go around. It just never ceases to amaze me how absolutely superior BMW's engineering is on every level compared to anybody else. Other manufacturers might get a point or two done well, but BMW is pure excellence from start to finish. No wonder that when in 2004 they had 3500 job openings, they had 1.5 Million applicants for those jobs. They truly have picked the best people to design the best technology on this planet.

Best regards,

Jussi

Dang you really love BMW!!! I don't blame you. Haha. All of my friends just thought I just liked BMW becuase it was "German luxury" when "German luxuruy" only was the tip of the iceberg with this company. Go BMW!!! :redspot

I've driven them all (over 200 different cars and makes) and the only ones I would accept as personal drivers besides BMW's would be Maserati and Ferrari, because of styling, and yes, they have a few points done well now (especially with the F430 - even though if I had the cash for a Ferrari, I'd go for a V12 model) And RUF, because their versions of Porsches are just insane. Regular Porsches are too tame and everyday.

I love BMW because they don't bullshit, and they do not compromise, and they have true tradition like nobody else. Everyone else copies what BMW does, and BMW does what they please. And most of the time it's excellent.

Best regards,

Jussi

P.S.

And I must give BMW diesels a bit more credit. If I had a fleet of BMW's, I would surely have the 745d as one of the vehicles. It's V8 Diesel is just amazing with over 300hp and staggering 750 Nm of torque.

It's just that their gas engines are more lovely. The sound, the response, the way they just rev up incredibly. Like I said, the only better thing than a straight six, is two straight sixes - a V12. I almost never listen to the stereo on my car even though I have the best DSP Hifi system, because I love to listen to the N52B30 straight six and conduct my own music with it!

Having driven the 760i, that one car is just amazing even though it is very heavy. For civilized cruising, it is one of the quietest cars I have ever known, the engine is so smooth and civilized. (No wonder even Rolls-Royce buffs tend to call it the best engine that any Rolls-Royce has ever had - the RR Phantom has a 6.8L enlarged version of it.) But if you kick it on sport mode, and press down the pedal, it'll show you it has AUTHORITY. Of 600 Nm of torque and it'll shoot you right from 0 to 62 in 5.5 seconds. Not bad for a car that weights well over 4000 pounds. I've driven heavy cars like the Cadillac Escalade (had it as a personal company car for a year in the US) and it was also heavy, but in no way civilized, and the cockpit was just basically full of cheap plastic. It had a 6-liter V8 but still wouldn't go anywhere when you did a kickdown. Booo-ring.

I'm just waiting for the time when BMW's automated concept of hydrogen stations will be adopted by all car makers (like they adopt all other BMW-first technology with joy) and I can get a hydrogen straight six, like you said, with the 130 octane and the power, we'll be having F1-class straight sixes on the roads instead of boring electric razors that Toyota would have us drive.

Best regards,

Jussi

Great shots! Im so torn on the E92's. I thought they were horribly ugly when they first arrived, now they're starting to grow on me. The 335i is tempting!

bye bye
serilously please leave this forum...you dont belong here...every post you have is like at most 3 words long!!
BAN

Well I cant guarentee it, but I will say this: when a fellow tech was shipped off for BMW's school on the E92, he heard they were setting up a diesel class soon for one of the two X's...I think it was X5, but IIRC its the same 3.0TT in E83, X5, E60, etc.

screw that put it in a 3,5, or 7

I would like to see BMW field a diesel that could beat Audi at Le Mans

I would like to see BMW field a diesel that could beat Audi at Le Mans
That would be sick

screw that put it in a 3,5, or 7
Well the class was 100% for the X. Its more than likely we'll also see at least 3s and or 5s as well.
I would like to see BMW field a diesel that could beat Audi at Le Mans
Hell I'd like to see every other auto manufacturer do that too!