There will literally be less than 10 components shared if you count the long block as one component. It’s been confirmed by Toyota exec interviews. 2 of those components are the rear view mirrors.

The C Class is a compact luxury car with not much pretense of sport, but it’s still got a great solid chassis. It’s not bad to row your own gears in.

I’m hoping BMW improves the steering rack. Other cheaper cars have better steering. Even the Lexus IS has better steering feel even though it uses EPS.

They’re still dropping the manual transmission in the regular 3 series. The upcoming M340i will be lighter, have a mechanical LSD, 360-370hp and about 370 lb-ft of torque. Yet they only offer it in an automatic.

The C class was available with a stick up till about 4-5 years ago. No one bought it.

The owner is actually an experienced driver who tracks his actual Zonda. 

That’s how it’s always been. The CLK was an E class coupe based on the C platform. But it used the interior and everything from the E Class.

I think they look good. They’re not quite as blocky as the old ones on the old AMG sedans. They are a modern interpretation of those old monoblock wheels. 

Why would you put historically AMG wheels on non sporty cars? That’s the point of these. 

I think it’s important to make a distinction between people complaining that Americans didn’t get the real E36 M3 and people who just think power is the most important aspect of a car. I could say that I wish BMW hadn’t tried to lower the price of the American E36 M3 by gimping the car, but that doesn’t mean I can’t…

I don’t think the other person is saying it’s bad to want a big engine. I think they’re just saying that it’s stupid to shit on engines with less power on a car that’s meant to focus on handling. Holistically, the E36 M3 is a good car, even if it had less power than its Euro counterpart.

You can also look at it from the perspective that BMW is the only automaker that’s still making inline 6 engines. Well, Mercedes has one now, but who knows how that will end up. And the chassis is just a computer designed piece of welded sheet metal that was co-developed by Toyota and BMW.

ooh, so that’s why all Scion tCs have that trim piece missing. I never knew it was the handle to open the hatch. It’s dumb that they made that a big handle. They should have hidden a smaller, more robust handle under that piece like most other cars do, be it anelectronic or mechanical latch. Making a large flimsy trim…

Actually, there are some large differences in initial quality. A lot of people cannot stand having a brand new car that has a lot of issues. It is indicative of poor build quality and potentially more problems down the road. If I buy an FCA product and I have to take it in for warranty work multiple times in 90 days,…

If SHE wants a BMW, why not just let her get a BMW? That way, you’ll get less pushback when YOU get a car. 

Eh, I dunno. Would you consider the difference between a Porsche or BMW only 10% different from a Nissan or Subaru?

Subaru loyalists are a small fraction of Subaru owners. 

From what I hear, pre 1990 Mercedes actually were very reliable with a reasonable amount of maintenance.

Geez man, it just sounds like you have an axe to grind with BMW. German cars have always been about incorporating new technology. The N54 was one of the first high output GDI engines sold in America.

To be fair, BMW provided 120,00 mile warranties for the HPFP issue and also made the N55 (the successor to the troublesome N54) a fairly reliable engine.