Autoweek editor complaining about BMW owners

[fecurtis]

I hope hes ready for the hate mail...

"You may know the old joke about the difference between BMW drivers and porcupines. If you don't, send me an e-mail, and I'll provide the punch line, but I don't think I can print it here, even in these lax times.

The humor is rooted in the notion that drivers of certain German cars behave as though they were above the law, or at least exempt from the customs that make society run smoothly. I've never bought into that, but I'm changing my mind.

I've been motoring around lately with monocular vision. I can drive safely (or else I wouldn't drive at all), but some things I'm used to doing on automatic pilot take concentration. For someone who's been driving a long time, this temporary wake-up isn't a bad thing. When you examine your habits, you may be surprised at how sloppy some of them have become. Also, you may notice the habits of other drivers, which is how the Bimmer Brigade caught my eye. Porsche people, too, to be fair, but there aren't enough of them to matter. On the West Coast, BMWs are nearly as common as Toyota Camrys, and it's astonishing how many are driven hyperaggressively. By which I don't mean well but, rather, stupidly.

I don't need mail about this, okay? I acknowledge that BMWs are exemplary cars, and I know many good drivers enjoy them prudently. By which I don't mean slowly but, rather, not stupidly.

It's the rest, that fringe 90 percent, who have captured my attention. I've never seen so many tailgaters, erratic lane swappers and bad-decision recidivists as I've noticed in BMWs in the last three weeks.

Got to be me, you're thinking: BMW drivers haven't changed in 21 days.

Probably not--but I'm seeing them now, and I'm convinced they've changed in 20 years. Once upon a time, Bimmers were enthusiasts' cars, bought mainly by people who appreciated their capabilities. Now, for many, they're just another status symbol to check off the life list.

You could compare it with what happened to pit bulls, mellow and rewarding dogs for many generations. Now the creature gets blame that should fall on its mishandlers, and many communities have restricted or banned the animals outright.

An early warning to the forward-looking 3 Series owner, if such there be."

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...8444/1530/FREE

And in case you don't get the joke mentioned at the beginning of the article...

Q: Whats the difference between BMW drivers and porcupines?
A: Porcupines have the pricks outside (joke doesn't apply to BMW motorcycle owners).

[aero]

Somebody posted this on the M3 boards, hahaha:
(hopefully not a repost)!

[kernel]

^^^ Lol

[dofu]

[InTgr8r]

Here's another one that was floating around on Apr 1

[Sukairain]

Originally Posted by dofu

lol, Classic.

[Nismo G]

Originally Posted by dofu

LMFAO!

-Sean

[aero]

Hahaha, those are great.

[WaLLy]

Drive it like you stole it!!