The reduced power of four

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 01/16/2015 at 06:50 • Filed to: None

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In the days of my childhood four was a significant number in car design. You would almost always have four cylinders, four gears, four plugs and very likely four doors.

Now we find the new BMW 1 series. If you tick the right boxes you can have three cylinders, eight gears, five doors and no plugs.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Cé hé sin 01/16/2015 at 07:56

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:(

i'd rather have four doors , four gears , 8 cylinders & plugs.

DipodomysDeserti > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/16/2015 at 08:59

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Four gears sounds terrible.

Cé hé sin > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/16/2015 at 09:49

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Given the current obsession with CO2 and its reduction, it's likely to be a choice between this kind of BMW, a hybrid BMW or no BMW.

Cé hé sin > DipodomysDeserti 01/16/2015 at 09:49

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Not that long ago, you got three an an automatic BMW!

FromCanadaWithLove > DipodomysDeserti 01/16/2015 at 10:16

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It is. I had an '01 Impala as my first car. 200hp, twinkie suspension, and a (painfully slow) 4sp automatic.

duurtlang > Cé hé sin 01/16/2015 at 13:39

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In that era you shouldn't have bought an automatic BMW to begin with. Even my first 1989 E30 Touring had a 4 speed autobox.

Cé hé sin > duurtlang 01/16/2015 at 14:20

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They began to use four speeds in the 1980s and I had a 4 speed 320i from 1989 as well.

I recall driving a 3 speed 520 many years ago. Interestingly each time ZF added another gear BMW claimed a reduction in fuel consumption of several per cent. If you were to combine all of the cumulative improvements from three to eight gears you'd end up with a car running on thin air!

duurtlang > Cé hé sin 01/16/2015 at 14:23

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Isn't that exactly what they're doing? The 'official' fuel economy statistics for BMWs in Europe are outrageous(ly inaccurate)

pip bip - choose Corrour > DipodomysDeserti 01/16/2015 at 18:07

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it's what you got in a 1970's Holden HQ/HJ/HX/HZ Monaro GTS or XW/XY/XA/XB Ford Falcon GT. which i would rather have than any recent BMW.

DipodomysDeserti > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/16/2015 at 21:38

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If someone sold a modern muscle with those specs today it would be laughed at. Even the Hellcat shares a transmission with BMW.

pip bip - choose Corrour > DipodomysDeserti 01/16/2015 at 23:13

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i wouldn't.

DipodomysDeserti > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/17/2015 at 00:54

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Maybe Chrysler should have offered the Hellcat with a four speed box from the 70's? It would have saved them a bunch of money. They could have dropped some leaf springs there, and installed an eight track instead is a modern stereo. They could offer free Thalidomide for when your wife gets queasy from all the body roll.

pip bip - choose Corrour > DipodomysDeserti 01/17/2015 at 02:02

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who needs a radio?

not me.