BMW cutting spec levels of 3 Series cars in the UK

Sad.

Listen kid, is not the number of options that makes a BMW or a Mercedes a luxury car, but the incredible high level of engineering. You see that's the reason for which under engineered Japanese econo cars like Lexus or Infiniti never fully made it to the luxury status. It is not enough to put leather standard on a Toyota or Nissan and to change their names in Lexus in Infiniti in order to become a luxury car maker. You need to update your technology so it will match at least the technology Germans were using 5 years ago. 20 years behind in technology when it comes to car engineering is what keeps the Japanese in that pitiful position.

by the way Hyundai is busy in taking down Infiniti and Lexus. Apparently they do know that Germans cannot be touched when it comes to cars so they chose to concentrate in taking down the poor Japanese offerings.

Star Sir, you are retarded.
luxury is not all about engineering. rocket is an advanced engineering product, yet not luxury. your coach seat in a boeing 747 is advanced engineering, yet not luxury. GT-R is a advanced product, yet not Luxury. in fact, luxury brand rarely have to do with advanced engineering. a LV hand bag is luxury yet there is no engineering involved. a Rolex watch is luxury yet the engineering horriblely out of date. a rolls royce is luxury yet the technology is no more advanced than any other 100k car. of course you won't know that because you live in you mom's basement and don't have a girlfriend.

Luxury is about getting things that other people lust yet cannot afford. taking away leather seat, power steering and Cruise control and make them 'luxury item' for base BMW buyers is kind of wrong for a luxury brand. however, you need to remember unlike Honda/Nissan/Toyota who have low end brand to capture low end market (and make money until very recently), BMW need to cast away their preminum car image and compete with Accord/Camry/Altima, or even a UK civic in this case. in fact, your beloved German gods are common taxi cars in Europe, and when was the last time you call a taxi car 'luxury'?

Remember Star, at you not with you.

ghosthunter,

I don't know how you managed to compress such huge amount of ridiculousness in one post. Are you delirious? Your comparisons are those of a complete wacko. Just say no to drugs!

And is this fixation with Taxis? Many of the Taxis in Europe are luxury cars, that's no secret. Everybody loves it and understands that the use of cars like Mercedes and BMW as Taxis is the biggest testimony that these cars are extremely reliable and the cost of operating them is extremely small. What kind of idiot doesn't understand that?
There is nobody on this earth except people born in America that are stupid enough to think that the fact that Mercedeses and BMWs are used as Taxis reduces their appeal or affects brand image. I simply cannot imagine how big of an idiot you have to be to believe that. Just because in America a taxicab has to be a pile of s**t on wheels in order to qualify, doesn't mean that people in other countries cannot enjoy riding in Taxis that happen to be luxury cars.

in reply the above post:
if there is no vitable alternatives, people will be forced to buy more expensive cars. Any non-BMW sold in UK is a one less opportunity for BMW to sell cars. so yes, in that sense, any civic sold affect BMW's sales more or less. the same applies to other brand. any non-toyota sold affects toyota's sales, this is a completely unbias comment.

replay to the retarded Star.
again, luxury items are things people lust yet cannot get them with ease. it goes for LV handbags and Rolex. if things become common, like that cloth chair you are setting, no one would call it luxury. if street are flooded with BMW 3 series like how it is flooded with Toyota Camry, you won't call that luxury.

and having been to europe for few days, i can tell you those BMW taxi are no where as well equipped as any BMW you can buy in the U.S. their price is also not that much more than their competitors. for example, a basic accord would start with 19k pound, while 3 series starts with £21.5k . of course that £21.5k will get the basic of the basic BMW that has absolutly nothing can be called luxury.

"in fact, your beloved German gods are common taxi cars in Europe"

there are taxi companies on this planet who wouldn't dare to drive their customers around in japanese econoboxes and that's why there are mercedes, bmw, audi and chrysler etc taxis in germany.

don't get me wrong, i like those smelling n.y.c cabs, the econoboxes they use to call taxis in spain and the absolut superior pink toyota taxis in thailand, but please don't blame someone for doing the only right thing.

UK is technically bankrupt, they don't need bimmers anyway. Just look at the GBP (which is NOT, unlike USD, the reserve currency) index in 30-year perspective.

Remember. Countries never go bust. Only their currencies become worthless.

Can't really say that I am surprised with this move. As I have felt for a long time that BMW overcharges on the 3 series for what you get, when compared to its rival.

You're absolutely wrong! BMW has never failed and never will. The 3 series is the ultimate value machine...By the way....it's also FABULOUS just like ME!! hee hee.

No, it is not. That's why it costs more than the tarted up Toyolex. If you want the best(read BMW) you must pay.

NO, I didn't read Consumer Reports...only retards do.

No, you should not be reading consumer reports that's for robots! You should be reading the fashion mags, they know the best. BMW all the way, fabulous, sexy, big price, and great snob appeal, what more could you ask for?

Is it just me, or do we have way TOO many kids on this site?!

My only regret is that I have only one vote to give.

I mean, the only thing you get for free with a bimmer is the air inside the cabin... how much de-specin' could they do?

The only thing you get for free in any car in the air inside the cabin...

The last time I checked, the hydraulic power steering in a BMW is what everyone preferred, so replacing the electric steering with a hydraulic one is a positive. I don't really use my cruise control much either.

BMW left the electric steering out of the 135i, which has the hydraulic steering one, when they brought it over sans the Energy Dynamic Efficiency system, but they put the electric steering in the 128i. I test drove both cars, and the 135i definitely had a much better steering feel and road communications than the 128i.

People are barly buying their cars as is. they should not be de-specing thier models........who ever thought of this "brilliant" idea needs to be "de"-moted

The only reason why most cars have all this crap is because of the march of technology and the need to compete - the car companies are keeping up with the Joneses. It's the way the world works and has for a long time - luxuries become necessities and you can't "live" without them. Until BMW became consumed with growth and profits and keeping shareholders happy and the stock price up, its luxury was always different. You didn't buy a 3 or 5 series because it was plush and comfortable. You bought it because of the singular driving experience, even if that didn't mean it was the fastest car around. The same can be said about Mercedes, certainly about the sub-S Class models.

I think I'd like to see a LOT of de-contenting accross the board. There's so much crap we don't need or want to pay for. If i want it, I'll get the "SE" model or whatever.