: Sure, lots of people bought Z3 1.9's, which IMHO had nothing to recommend them over the Miata except for the BMW "feel." In that particular vehicle, I happen to think that the "feel" is misplaced, but a lot of people really like the vault-tight, solid, heavy feel of a BMW no matter what the context. The intoxicating smell of leather doesn't hurt either.

:
: A few readers posted statistics siting otherwise, but these were for 328i, 528i, 540i, and M5 models that are manually shifted, and therefore cannot be compared to their classmates (which are automatics).

: What? There are no manual transmission competitors to the 3-series? First of all, you're being US-centric, but even then I suppose VW, Audi, and Lincoln are disqualified somehow?

: Besides, the availability of manual transmissions is a major factor in purchase decisions for me. To say that you can't compare against the competition because they don't have sticks is bogus. It's a valid point for comparison, and one where most of the competition that's offered in the US falls flat.

:
: : Acceleration is the most significant real-world performance statistic in American driving conditions.

: I can't agree one bit with that. Read on

:
: 75% of all driving is done between stoplights in straight lines, with speed limits of 30-50 mph. 20% is done on freeways, which have speeds limited to 70 mph (therefore negating the significance of top speed). The remaining 5% is done on winding roads. For purpose of argument, let's say .1% of driving is done on race courses.

: In this suburban hell you consider typical of America, how often do you use maximum acceleration? Do you really go blasting from stoplight to stoplight in a cloud of tire smoke?

: : Certainly, BMWs excel on winding roads and at race courses, but as I've made clear here, winding roads and race courses compose only a small percentage of all driving conditions.

: Speak for yourself. 30 of the 38 miles of my daily commute are over two-lane winding mountain highway, and I go to the track 6-10 times a year. I own BMWs (and Miatas) for a reason.

: In the overwhelming majority of driving conditions, a better performing vehicle (in real-world terms (ie, acceleration)) is available for less money.

: Given the current driver education and licensing system in the USA, ("Do you have a pulse? No?...well, we'll let you slide this time.") I would argue that the most important performance parameters have nothing to do with acceleration and everything to do with cornering and braking. Some idiot is going to do something stupid in front of you, and if you have the skill to avoid joining the fun, and hardware that's capable of the evasive maneuver, everyone is better off.

: : "So the whole point of this long-winded post is to say that BMWs are not the best accelerating cars in their classes?" you say. No, that's only the support for my point. My point is that acceleration is really the only relevant real-world performance statistic.

: And I think that you're absolutely wrong. Further, if you actually believed that, you wouldn't have a C5, you'd have a Hayabusa. If acceleration is everything, what are you doing in a cage?

: But I point out that the 98% of the time that you're not racing your car, you're accelerating from stop light to stop light.

: Again, step out of your suburban hell. When I'm driving my car on the street (my commute), I'm blasting over mountain highways about 50% of the time, and in heavy traffic about 50% of the time. (time, not distance). Straight line acceleration is of no interest to me. Putting power down at the apex is of interest to me. Braking performance is of interest to me. Well-behaved transitions matter, so I can successfully avoid the idiot who launches out of the 7-11 parking lot in front of me. Blasting from stoplight to stoplight? Not in my world.

: And in those conditions--the preponderance of all moments you and your car spend together--your BMW is a less than "ultimate" driving machine.

: You and Your Car. Not me.

: In commercials, most models are shown screeming through tight turns in a mountainous country side. I can't imagine that BMW owners get such an opportunity more than a few times a year.

: Assuming I get a vacation (bad assumption) I get that opportunity 500 times a year.

: I think I've made clear that most of what makes a BMW special and unique is put to no good use on American roads.

: And I think I've made it clear that you need to get out more. I really don't understand the enviroment you describe. I would think that the majority of American drivers live either in urban/suburban environments where traffic is dense enough that maximum acceleration is irrelevant, or in semi-rural and rural areas where there's lots of open road. This twilight zone where there are stoplights to accelerate between but nobody in front of you is a rare thing indeed.

: -Zandr
: '66 MG Midget
: '67 Lancia Fulvia Zagato
: '75 Jeep DJ-5D
: '79 Camaro Berlinetta
: '85 VW Vanagon Westfalia
: '90 Miata (x2)
: '95 540i
: '99 Miata
: '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee
: '00 740i Sport
: '00 M Coupe

: Stick that in your Market Research and smoke it. ;)