PICS: Here comes the 2010 BMW X5 M

From AB

***** No one ever said that evolution is pretty. Take the best-of-breed BMW M Division product: the E30 M3. Little more than a homologated race car, the first generation M3 was potent, nimble, and with its small displacement 2.3-liter inline-four fed by a retweaked M1 intake, it was light, too. Long story short, the OG M3 remains an ideal performance car.

Today, we have the X5 M. Looking at the bright blue truckish thing parked in the driveway, it's difficult ? if not impossible ? to see any sort of relation to BMW's vaunted and aforementioned M3 beyond its badges. You can't imagine what the missing link between the two might be. However, perhaps even mentioning the E30 M3 is being too puritanical. After all, very few vehicles could compare ? let alone compete ? with the street version of history's most winning road-race car. And you can bet your Roundel subscription that BMW will never competitively race an X5 M.

What then? It's not a newsflash, but the 2010 BMW X5 M doesn't remind you of sporty BMW products of yore. Of course, going back almost 25 years and looking at the first M3 through 1986-eyes, you would notice the hopped-up street car bears basically no resemblance whatsoever to BMW's hottie 1961 product, the Isetta 600. For those of you not up-to-date on your bubble car history, the Isetta 600 was a stretched, four-seat version of the 297cc, one-cylinder Iso-derived Isetta 300. The 600 featured a two-cylinder 0.6-liter moto engine and semi-trailing arm rear independent suspension. Actually come to think of it, the Isetta 600 and the E30 M3 at least shared a rear-suspension design. The X5 M then, in terms of BMW's history, is truly an alien from another world. A world where family haulers thrash muscle cars for pinks. But does any of that matter? Are companies not free to reinvent themselves, especially here in America, where the X5 M is built? Perhaps most importantly, is the X5 M any good, let alone worthy of the vaunted M badge?

*****

Pictures below View the attachments for this post at:

formatting link

Reply to
JLA
Loading thread data ...

Ha, you need to get out of the dark age and join the 21st Century! The X5M is designed to compete against its closest competitor the Porsche Cayenne. With 550hp, the 2-ton BMW will run circles around just any other SUV on the market!

The 2010 X5M and its sister X6M will sell out every single one made as that is what Americans want today - Big V8 engine, automatic tranny and power galore. Stop talking about the E30M3 and the Isetta. Forget those has-beens and get yourself a 550hp family hauler. What's not to like?....

Reply to
bfd

The fact that it's a pig?

I thought that "Americans" finally want to be more "green". I suppose there's still those "I don't give a shit about anything but ME" folks on the right. Need cheap oil? Drill baby drill! Or occupy some country in the Mideast.

Reply to
dizzy

I think you forgot to add the word "SOME" in all of your rather offensive comments. keep the topic on cards and not 350m some odd people

Reply to
r

No it is a common [or garden] shed with a wheel on each corner...

To be slightly less uncharitable it is slightly better looking than previous models, but whatever happened to the gorgeous lines of the E34 5 series?

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

Hey, if the *British* Petroleum spill taught us anything its that we are definitely not running out of oil. BP is trying to keep it secret, doesn't want anyone to know how much oil is down there, but supposedly

2.5 MILLION gallons of oil is leaking out EACH DAY! There is no shortage. Imagine if the spill never happened? It shows the oil companies are falsely trying to make a shortage so they can keep prices high. Supply and demand baby!

And what's the deal with "occupying" another country? If we going to be "oppressors" and invade countries like Iraq, shouldn't we have benefited by taking their oil? It is weak that we didn't and shows someone got it first!

Reply to
bfd

Have you driven an X5? I have and found it to be the best handling SUV ever. Of course, I never driven a Porsche Cayenne so that may even be better.

I still have an E34 535i, 5 spd, 125K miles. Needs a set of control arm bushing, but drives great! Hmm, thanks for reminding me, I need to get some synthetic oil and change the tranny and diff fluids. Good Luck!

Reply to
bfd

Recently I learned that oil is pouring out in the Niger delta, but because it isn't off the coast of the US nobody is shouting.

formatting link
formatting link
DAS

To reply directly replace 'nospam' with 'schmetterling'

Hey, if the *British* Petroleum spill taught us anything its that we are definitely not running out of oil. BP is trying to keep it secret, doesn't want anyone to know how much oil is down there, but supposedly

2.5 MILLION gallons of oil is leaking out EACH DAY! There is no shortage. Imagine if the spill never happened? It shows the oil companies are falsely trying to make a shortage so they can keep prices high. Supply and demand baby!

And what's the deal with "occupying" another country? If we going to be "oppressors" and invade countries like Iraq, shouldn't we have benefited by taking their oil? It is weak that we didn't and shows someone got it first!

Reply to
DAS

SOME would buy a 5200 pound pig barge like the X6 to haul their asses around.

I can't believe that BMW doesn't have something better to do with their money than turn-out garbage like the X6.

Reply to
dizzy

Why not? People are paying $85-90K+ for one of these garbage barges! If you're BMW, what's not to like?

Reply to
bfd

There you go, what shortage?

Reply to
bfd

Have you driven an X5?

Yes.

I have and found it to be the best handling SUV ever. Of course, I never driven a Porsche Cayenne so that may even be better.

Well it is a LOT better than a Land Rover, but wallowed about compared with my 7 series (I did a swap with someone to compare cars).

I still have an E34 535i, 5 spd, 125K miles. Needs a set of control arm bushing, but drives great! Hmm, thanks for reminding me, I need to get some synthetic oil and change the tranny and diff fluids.

Very nice/ At 2025mm I need a 7 series (currently E38 and would thinking about replacement if it wasn't going so well!)

Good Luck!

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.