iDrive?

Bradburn Fentress wrote:

> I've only seen the pictures but I have never thought the 3 series
> was a particularly good looking car anyway. I've always been partial
> to BMW's bigger car designs and less thrilled with their smaller
> cars. My e21 was still the best looking small BMW I ever owned.

Eew! To me, BMWs of that period were butt-ugly, except for the lovely 6 Series.
Which shows how much this is subjective.

> But their new cars drive much better than their predecessors and I
> don't think that trend will change with the E90.

Some people never like the new stuff. Not me. I think every new model BMW was
tremendously improved over the old. The exception is performance and styling
with the late 70s cars, but blame smog controls and everything in the 70s being
ugly for that. In every other way they were immensely better than before --
structure, refinement, comfort, ventilation, ergonomics, convenience,
durability, etc.

Matt O.

"Frank Kemper" > wrote in message
...
> haute in die Tasten:
>
>> Germans and Japanese may be wonderful mechanical engineers but they
>> generally have crap for native computing systems. (I'll have 3
>> Nexdorfs and a Seimens to go. '-)
>>
>
> You run Siemens-Nixdorf computers? Keep an eye on them, because soon
> museums will ask you to donate them...)
>
> As for iDrive: In the new E90 iDrive will be an option, linked together
> wirt the navi system and a different dashboard which contains a big LCD
> screen. So the decision is simple: No Navi system - no iDrive.
>
> I personally would buy my car with Navi and with iDrive. I do not mind the
> critics of the journalists. They always criticise when they come across a
> solution you have to get used to before you can use it flawlessly.

The problem is....i-drive is flawed even when you get used to it (I've been
driving one since April 2004). But the upside is that it isn't flawed to any
greater degree than the ridiculous button orgy of previous cars. I've just
been curious why the "journalists" are so vocal about i-drive, yet have
never complained about the worse situation that was present in previous
cars.

If it doesn't have to do with driving specifically, BMW has never done
ergonomics particulalry well. It's almost as if they have never really cared
how much work or time it takes a person to raise the fan speed and lower the
radio volume. But some of that has changed with the new 5, 6 and 7. The
stalks around the steering wheel are better placed and functionally more
effective. The seating orientation has improved substantially (probably
because the bigger cabins have allowed better diversity). With your elbow on
the console your hand naturally falls on the i-drive knob (no reaching or
looking down on the dash). Despite criticisms to the contrary, the location
of the LCD screen is high enough on the dash that your eyes don't fall far
away from the windshield.

They haven't got it right yet, but they are moving in the right direction.

To me, their one big disaster, has been Active Steering. The Sport models
should have the option of the standard rack.

"Matt O'Toole" > wrote in message
...
> Bradburn Fentress wrote:
>
>> Bottom line: I just don't think BMW does ergonomics particularly well
>> if it has nothing to do with driving. They never really have. Both
>> the current I-drive and the button orgy of previous cars (The
>> non-I-drive 3 series will have the button orgy) are substandard.
>> That's just a fact....why nobody ever complained before is simply a
>> matter that they got used to pushing a button 8 times to get the fan
>> speed increased etc.
>
> I agree, but I don't agree that they were never good at this. BMW
> controls were
> exemplary through the mid-80s. I especially liked the old three levers
> and a
> knob HVAC controls. Nothing has ever been simpler or easier to use. It
> could
> have been straight out of Donald Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things."

I think I didn't explaim myself completely. They are good at some things
some of the time, but have yet to put together a car that is good at
everything. Yes, the standard dial controls for HVAC were perfect (I
remember wondering at the time why American cars were still using the,
horizontal siding lever) the dash on my '82 320i was about as good as BMW
ever got, but in the mid-eighties BMW didn't make a single car that had the
drivers seat oriented to the steering wheel correctly. They were always
off-center.

They are so much closer to getting it right today than they have ever been.
I believe we will see them pull this all-together over the next few models
and refreshenings. I find it strange that BMW afficianados haven't found
the patience to allow the company the time to explore and perfect this new
direction. After all, the one thing the company has always tried to do is to
present a better driving car. It's why I like them so much.

The company hasn't gone off the rails, they are just a few years ahead of
the curve everyone else will have to follow, and appear out of touch because
of it. If the changes to the 2006 E65 are evident of the direction they will
take with the new design, I think I will like them ever more.

"Matt O'Toole" > wrote in message
...
> Bradburn Fentress wrote:
>
>> I've only seen the pictures but I have never thought the 3 series
>> was a particularly good looking car anyway. I've always been partial
>> to BMW's bigger car designs and less thrilled with their smaller
>> cars. My e21 was still the best looking small BMW I ever owned.
>
> Eew! To me, BMWs of that period were butt-ugly, except for the lovely 6
> Series.

You're not the first person to disagree with me on this point :^)

In article >,
Matt O'Toole > wrote:
> I agree, but I don't agree that they were never good at this. BMW
> controls were exemplary through the mid-80s. I especially liked the old
> three levers and a knob HVAC controls. Nothing has ever been simpler or
> easier to use. It could have been straight out of Donald Norman's "The
> Design of Everyday Things."

Yes. However, I'd say it's because the climate control isn't that good at
maintaining the actual perceived cabin temperature. If it did, you'd not
need to use the controls that often.

--
*If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Matt O'Toole" > wrote in message
...
>
> I agree, but I don't agree that they were never good at this. BMW
> controls were
> exemplary through the mid-80s. I especially liked the old three levers
> and a
> knob HVAC controls. Nothing has ever been simpler or easier to use. It
> could
> have been straight out of Donald Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things."
>
> But BMW dropped the ball when everything became electronic. This is a
> common
> problem, though. It's hard to make a good user interface out of little
> buttons,
> and hard to make a cheap one out of anything else.
>
The "manual" HVAC controls on my '03 Z4 are also simple. There are 3 knobs
for distribution, air temp and fan speed, and 3 on/off buttons for A/C, rear
defrost and fresh/recirculated air. Unfortunately, the Z4 is currently the
only U.S. model with a non automatic climate control system as an option!

Tom