COG63

Ironically, I almost got doored once when a BMW driver made a panic stop and jumped out to attend to a kid barfing in the back seat. No doubt they were more concerned about the upholstery than the kid.

JoeyBike

Glad some Beemer owners chimed in.

Didnt expect the motorcycle reference. Back in the mid 80s i had a Honda city bike and my two best riding buddies had BMWs. Other than their silent pity we had no personal issues.

Western Flyer 

For years while riding my bike I felt there was a BMW out there with my number on it. After many thousands of two wheel miles down the road, I know this not to be the case. Now I know every BMW has my number on it and I ride accordingly every time a BMW approaches from any direction.

I’ve driven a BMW a couple of times, nice car but nothing special. There must be something about the advertizing image BMW presents that lures in the worst drivers. “The ultimate driving machine” must attract drivers with egos that elevate themselves as the “ultimate drivers”. There are exceptions. I’ve had moms with children in the back seat of BMW station wagons stop and wave me and pedestrians across intersections.

I feel a little less paranoid now that others have shared their BMW stories.

Awl

Haha I heard the 'pine tree' variant of this joke a while back and use it a lot nowadays

no motor?

1) When I lived in Dallas in the mid 80's I worked in the tire business that primarily catered to luxury cars. There was an unwritten rule that if you dealt with Cadillac, Corvette or BMW drivers you only would deal with one of those groups as no one was bad enough to suffer through dealing with owners of the other 2. We dealt with a few Cadillac dealers and would get calls from other tire shops about people they were sending our way, and I sent the occasional customer with the other cars elsewhere at times too.
2) I rode BMW motorcycles for 19 years, and would hear things like "but you're not like the jerks that drive their cars" pretty regularly. Most BMW motorcycle riders I knew were pretty down to earth, and they all cared more about riding skill than the label on the tank. The ones that couldn't ride very well tended to be the snobs, but there weren't many of them - just the reverse of the Harley riders.
3) I never saw a lot of BMW motorcycle owners who owned the BMW cars. If they did own a German car it was usually a Mercedes and often an older one.

OBoile

If you ever feel useless remember that somebody?s job is to install turn signal systems at BMW indicators | StareCat.com

SingleSpeeDemon

Here's more on that. I don't do the Facebook thing, otherwise I would have had a comment or two to leave.

h t t p s://www.facebook.com/radchick/posts/10209964586368343?pnref=story

For some reason, I can't post a link.

mconlonx

BMW bikes have become a bit cliquey since Ewan McGregor rode one in Long Way Round. Basically started the whole "Adventure" riding craze in which middle-aged to Boomer dudes try to re-live their youths or live a youth they never had as an adventurer on an overweight dirt-bike that will seldom see dirt, but which accommodates their current, elderly lack of flexibility with an upright seating position. And all the farkles.

Recently, on a trip down to GA (from ME) to meet up with a bunch of buddies riding pretty much any kind of bike, we ran across a group of BMWMOA(tm) riders at a lunch stop. They kept to themselves, most in their Klim outfits, even though our group had some interesting bikes, included locals and those from relatively far away, and even some bozo (me) riding an older BMW airhead, which should have been of interest or at least curiosity among all the modern, water-cooled bikes.

But while these guys definitely gave off the snob vibe pretty heavy, there are those who pick up used BMW bikes cheap or are into the vintage airhead scene which are decidedly OK people.

Viich

So, I have a BMW 320. For everyone who says 'it's nothing special', I suppose.... it steers, has seats, etc.

There aren't many cars that are as nice to be in, drive as nice, are quiet on the highway, and still get better fuel economy than my last car (Focus). Surprisingly, it's also quite easy to work on.

I bought it 10 years old, so maybe I'm not who you're talking about, but I drive rentals when I travel for work to compare, and I wouldn't take a brand new Ford or Chevy compact for free over my now 12 year old BMW (or a mid size over my 14 year old Volvo V70XC)

Anyway, I don't see much as far as any given brand of car being noticeably worse. What we're seeing here is, in my opinion, mostly confirmation bias. You look up after any given event, and you notice a BMW, a pickup, or whatever. If it's a Ford Focus, it's just a bad driver, not a 'typical Ford driver'.

keyven

As someone with a brother and dad who drove BMWs (my dad now owns a Mercedes but misses his old car), I can kinda attest to this. My dad's a certified tailgater - we've told him that many times, once to my infuriation when he did it with my infant daughter in the back. Yet he's incredibly paranoid when it comes to anyone else driving.

And generally speaking, I do notice many BMWs are more aggressive than normal. They don't signal, or they change lanes at will. I just don't have a great impression of them, although I'm aware part of it may be just confirmation bias.

That said, I've driven his Mercedes (S500) and BMW (730) and I definitely prefer the BMW in terms of feedback and comfort and power.

Jeremy_S

This is why I don't stereotype off of very many things. I'd have picked you up in my Lexus when I owned it without a second thought. I've also picked up people in my loaded Tundra that cost more than my Lexus did. I've also stopped and helped guys with metric motorcycles even though I'm a Harley guy. And lastly, to top it all off, I'm sleeved from my time in the Marine Corps and I've had women freak out and roll up windows and tell me "help is on the way" if I stop to help them with a flat/car trouble whatever.

It's not the car, it's the person and some people are just dicks. I have an education, a great job, a trophy wife and two kids but most people see a guy covered in tattoos and nothing more. Just how it is, oh well.

I'll still stop and help you out if you need it.

JoeyBike

I saw a "BMW" make a crazy move just this morning to cut me off. Then turned into a driveway one block ahead. Turned out to be a Toyota. But I LOOKED to see if it was a BMW. So you may have a point with the bias theory.

mconlonx

Someday, I would like to own a Z3 for a summer. Not to be a jerk BMW owner, but I like the style and a convertible coupe would be a hoot.

That or a VW dune buggy.

Shimagnolo

Agreed.
That was the only BMW I ever thought I'd like to own.
The others just don't excite me.

Rollfast

We had a BMW when I was a kid...


Brown (AMC) Matador Wagon

no motor?

Most of my biker friends just laughed at McGregor when that movie came out, and thought that KTM screwed up by turning down their request for sponsorship. BMW made the right choice there, and the videos I saw of them learning to ride were pretty funny.
People were moving away from the GS's then and were riding V-Strom's by then if they wanted a dual sport. That may have changed since then, but people were pretty happy with the Suzukis.

vol

Here is a hit and run on brand new Mercedes-Benz:

California woman arrested for 'hitting cyclist while drunk' in Costa Mesa | Daily Mail Online

She's even a medical student.

howsteepisit

Not exactly a medical student. IVC is a junior college so she is kind of a spoiled rich kid pre-pre-med.

trackhub

Guess I'll toss my 2¢ worth in on this:

My experience, in both cycling and driving, is that the most aggressive drivers in my area are either young Honda drivers, or drivers of Jeep Grand Cherokees.
So, Beemer drivers don't use directionals? Tell me, does Honda even equip their cars with speedometers? If they do, they should save themselves the trouble, since Honda drivers don't seem to use them.

Jeep Grand cherokee drivers are always male, early 30s to early 50s, and are aggressive beyond belief. And no, they apparently don't like to use directional signals.
Definitely from the "Nobody tells ME what to do!" school of thought.

Soccer moms in their SUVs and minivans are not on the aggressive list, they just will not give up texting while driving.
I have almost been right-hooked twice this year by texting soccer moms.

One of the most aggressive drivers I have seen lately, is a middle aged woman, driving along Route 117 in the Weston / Lincoln MA area. Just.. plain.. vicious. Her vehicle: White Honda Minivan. When seen: Weekday afternoons, around 4:30 PM. If you are riding, or driving on this road, at this time, be aware. This one definitely needs to be spoken to by police.

And that is that.

Rollfast

Where are all these soccer matches at?


Cliché Overload!

FrenchFit 

I am 740i owner. It's just another car.

Since I drive one I tend to notice other BMW drivers, and they are seemingly driven as well or better than others. Simply, they are damn expensive to fix and insure, you are not going to be reckless with yours - unless you are driving your dad's BMW.

Talk to me about Prius owners !!!