BMW X1 going on sale in Oct. 2009

Still ugly compared to the X5. It's painfully obvious that the new Mini SUV and this thing are built on the same platform.

Are you mental or just being sarcastic?

"ancient inline 6"... shows ignorance

The "INLINE 6" is only one of three inherently balanced engine lay out (natural dynamic balance), i.e. naturally smooth without ANY conflicting harmonics..

Ever wonder why the HUGE diesel engines in a Locomotive are inline-6, or that Mack Truck?.. Natural balance. or the ones on Ships....

There are only three Naturally balanced engine cylinder layouts.. and V8 is NOT one. The 60 degree V6 is close but has a third order harmonic out..

Inline 6's are LESS complex. fewer parts and less complicated to "plumb".. One or two camshafts not two or four, One side is Exhaust and One side is intake..

The reasons the inline-6 is not popular..
1. Length makes packaging more difficult, longer hood, more weight forward for center of gravity..
2. The Most signifinace is an ecnomical reason: V6's can be and are shorted V8's.. ie a family..and thus share the assembly line and parts.. MB's V6's are 90 degree which need balancing shaft to smooth out.


BMW is an ENGINE compmany first.. and they use the Inline-6...and win Motor of the year... The Twin Turbo 3.0 and the Diesel are two of the most advanced and BEST engines EVER made.. KUDO's too BMW



BTW: the Other naturally balanced layouts are H-6 and V-12

Chucktheduckg37

ChuckG37,

Show me one article or valid opinion the states and inline six in obsolete. Here are a few comments for leaders of the automotive press.

“The only engine available in the G lineup, the 3.7-liter V-6 makes 328 hp in the sedan and 330 hp in the coupe. We’ve previously complained that the V-6 groans when strained and sends bad vibes through the shifter and pedals, but various tweaks have largely cured the big V-6 of its coarse nature.”

“Although the Infiniti can’t quite measure up to the dynamic grace of the best-in-class BMW 3-series.”

Car and Driver

Even with its new stroked VQ 3.7-liter engine featuring Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL) that is preliminarily rated at 330 bhp, the G couldn't match the pace of the turbocharged 335i

Road and Track

“On the brief straights, however, the G37 didn't feel quite as fast as the 335i, nor did its V-6 sound quite as melodic as the BMW's twin-turbo straight six.”

Automobile Magazine


And till you can back up what you say you're just a fanboy troll.

why do you guys keep playing his game? ChuckG37 is a troll. He posts for no reason other than to rile up people. Right now he's sitting in front of his computer naked, laughing at how easy it is to get people to go crazy on here. Just ignore him.

JRobUSC,

Rat's you're right fed the troll, my bad.

is that why BMW inline 6's purr and G's V6's sound like a tea kettle hooked up to a leaf-blower?

c'mon. even Automobile called the G37's engine "coarse". Read this month's issue.

Chuck needs to go to bed and be good or Santa won't bring him any gifts.

V6's being unbalanced by nature, being the best V6 in the world is a little bit like being the world's most intelligent retard. That's what nissan's VQ engines are... the best of the worst.

Inline six cylinder engines remain the standard for smooth running. It's simple physics. The motion of the crank shaft in a six has the pistons in positions where vibrations are self-canceling, without any expensive, complicated balance shafts. Twelves are even smoother, but only for the most expensive cars, obviously.

The V-6 arrangement has benefits for packaging, and because the cylinders are tightly approximated, thermal efficiency. They will never, ever have the smooth running of an inline. V-sixes are great for cheap cars, though.

Inline sixes are more expensive to make, but they are hardly obsolete

Im a big BMW fan, but i dont like where they are going with these X's. X5 was/is fine and it's truly a great product. But these smaller versions are just ridiculous. Who are they making these cars for? Are they for the ones that cant afford the X5? This is a luxury brand, not everyone should be able to buy a BMW, otherwise it would just be everywhere like Honda/Toyota.

I dont know why you would make a comment like "ancient inline 6". The 6 inline diesels that BMW use are recognised as the smoothest, most power per liter in the industry. what about the inline 6 petrol used in the older M3s they were one of the best performance engines on the planet. In Australia ford make a 6 inline 4 liter turbo petrol that will give BMW and Audi and Merc V10s and V8s a fair run for their money in the Ford Falcon F6 Typhoon 4 door family sedan.

I have the 128i Cabrio and love it.
For me, it's the perfect size.
I'd buy the X1 with the 230HP inline 6 in a heartbeat - if it is priced right.
It's not going to be a high volume vehicle so the fact that a lot of folks here don't like it is perectly understandable and O.K. with me.
I expect there'll be enough folks like me to make this puppy a huge success...