geko29

Not in my opinion. My dad has an outback sport, and my wife drives an AWD RX350. I'll still stick with my RWDs, despite living in Chicago, which gets just under twice the annual snowfall that VA does.

I might change my opinion (to a truck with 3-diff 4wd) if we moved somewhere that gets 120+ inches per year, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.\

A FWD BMW? Not in this house.

IS-SV

That's exactly the point, you can never clean it up completely. The salt, grime, dirt, grit that's hidden cannot be easily seen or cleaned. And the surface damage to the paint and exterior trim is gradual but it's there from constant exposure to caustic sand-blasting kind of conditions.

IS-SV

AWD and 4WD with extra ground clearance is preferred in CA for the areas of heavy snow for the following reasons:

1. The snow areas are high mountains with steep roads, especially the western slopes (major ski resort access) of the Sierras which get more snow than the eastern slopes. Snow accumulations can be huge (much greater than 140" per year).

2. CA has heavily enforced chain requirements in those snowy mountain pass areas for RWD and FWD cars and almost nobody wants to deal with tire chains.

mmarshall

Agreed. Many people don't do it properly in the winter (they either don't really know how, or forget to clean those hidden areas). That's why I take my time, and WORK when I do a hand wash, especially in the winter (when above-freezing temperatures allow it). I DO get all the hidden areas......but it takes time. You can't rush through it....takes me the better part of 2-3 hours, if it is really dirty.

In general, you're correct about sand-blast effects over time (I've seen it a number of times), but my Outback's paint/glass/trim, so far, has been more resistant to that than any car I've owned (yet). It was clearly designed for winter use.

Automatic car-washes, IMO, are sometimes worse than doing nothing at all, because they DON'T get many of those hidden areas (even with the underbody flush), use recycled water full of salt, and grind some of the sand/grit into the paint/trim. I learned my lesson with them many years ago.

Don't want to get too far off-topic though......we were originally talking about possible FWD BMWs.

IS-SV

Back on topic, BMW offering choices of FWD and RWD is not a problem.

DustinV

Eh, BMW has made tons of turbocharged cars in the past, most of them in various racing series. Their most famous turbo car was the 2002 Turbo of the 1970s.

And if you want to get really technical and silly, then consider that BMW has made turbodiesels for decades.

I fail to see what is so negative about forced induction. It increases output while improving efficiency - both of which are good results. At the moment forced induction might be the most efficient (also from a cost perspective) means of achieving these two positive results.

All this talk about forced induction being "cheap/cheating/low tech" is downright silly.


If you don't like this upcoming FWD BMW, then go for a 1 series, 3 series or 5er (etc.), which will very likely remain RWD for eternity. This FWD BMW will most likely be for Europe. And if we're honest, most consumers out there don't care if their car is FWD or RWD. And if you do, then there are other cars from BMW (etc.) out there that can quench your desire for purist performance.

mmarshall

Agreed, especially when they offer it both (combined) in their AWD products.

mmarshall

DC/MD/VA-area winters, and snowfall, unlike the more-constant Chicago, can vary enormously from one year to the next. Some years (such as this one) we actually get more snow than Chicago. Other years, much less. Chicago, though, on the average, DOES get MUCH colder than D.C...it is rare in this area to go below zero.

GFerg

Well, I guess to most, it wont even matter...


BMW: 80 Percent of 1-Series Owners Think Car is Front-Wheel Drive

Och

iTrader: (3)

I don't think anybody is saying FI is somehow cheap/cheating/low-tech. I think the problem is, M3 die-hearts much prefer a high revving NA engine in the M3, as opposed to FI. They are not having a problem with FI in general.

spwolf

so basically people are buying it for the badge....

(Cj)

wow..........

DustinV

I don't know much about BMW M enthusiasts. Personally, I have no interest in performance cars.

But, with the ever changing situation manufacturers are forced to respond and I suppose even BMW has realized that using forced induction can be beneficial to them, their cars and their consumers. In that case, a statement from a few years ago promising never to use forced induction can go to you know where.

LexFather

Let me begin by saying I am not surprised by these findings and MMarshall and myself have said for years that people simply don't drive as sporty as people on the internet say/think. People buy into the looks, image/brand, price, marketing. They don't track



lol

See below

Also if BMW THEMSELVES didn't puff their chest and shout how F/I is not pure and they won't do it is laughable since they now offer tons of F/I. I think that is why people are making a jab at them. They tried to diss Benz who had F/I at the time.

STIG

Most BMW owners know very little about their cars. They are just buying them for the badge, and 1 series would be the perfect example.