Do you think the average non-BMW driver knows the difference between...

[igor700]

a 318i, is, 325, 328, M3...because i've noticed that people I try to race around town tend to give me way too much respect for having a 318is. I think people just see the body style and assume BMW...it must be a badass, even though mine is only a 4-banger. What do you guys think?

Igor

[jesd325is]

i don't think they would know the difference, unless the rear badge is not messed with. a lot of folks here put on body kits or ///M3 components, so it is hard to tell. just with the small ///M on my side moldings people will ask if it is an ///M3.

[bungy42]

I got a speeding ticket a while back and the cop wrote that I drive a 525i on the ticket even though it says 325 both on the car AND ont he registration. So apparently non-BMW drivers can't even tell the difference between a 3-series and a 5-series...

[igor700]

I have the kit just because I think it looks much better and it did come as an option in Europe on the non-M's but I'm not messing with the badge...I'm leaving it on and waiting for my sc so the 318is can become a true sleeper...

[igor700]

Originally posted by bungy42
So apparently non-BMW drivers can't even tell the difference between a 3-series and a 5-series...

that's even more hilarious...you should have gotten out of the ticket saying you don't even OWN a 5-series

[shragon]

Do you think the average non-BMW driver knows the difference between...

nope, they don't.

[lasd]

I think it depends on if the person is a car enthusiast. It's like any of us knowing the difference between a 6cyl Camaro vs a Z28 vs Z28ss, C5 Corvette vs Z06, or Mustang GT vs Cobra...there are many more...I can spot the differences in models of different cars almost immediately because I'm into cars.

[Dinan330ic]

That's probably why most 318 drivers debadge their car

[Rahul325]

Originally posted by bungy42
I got a speeding ticket a while back and the cop wrote that I drive a 525i on the ticket even though it says 325 both on the car AND ont he registration. So apparently non-BMW drivers can't even tell the difference between a 3-series and a 5-series...

can u dispute the tkt saying that the model is wrong on the tkt ?? i mean another technicality to fight the tkt

[BlackChrome]

I doubt they know the difference.

Most poeple can't even tell the difference between a Civic and an Accord so how can you expect them to tell the difference between a 318i and a M3?

[phillyb321]

lasd - I agree, it depends on if the person is a car enthusiast. There are too many rich people around my area that could not tell the difference between a 3 and 5 series either.

[Jaghaath]

No way! Even all the bmw drivers don't know the difference so...: :atom

[FiKtIOn]

I think it depends on if the person is a car enthusiast. It's like any of us knowing the difference between a 6cyl Camaro vs a Z28 vs Z28ss, C5 Corvette vs Z06, or Mustang GT vs Cobra...there are many more...I can spot the differences in models of different cars almost immediately because I'm into cars.

I do :-/

[Oxcart 1]

Originally posted by bungy42
I got a speeding ticket a while back and the cop wrote that I drive a 525i on the ticket even though it says 325 both on the car AND ont he registration. So apparently non-BMW drivers can't even tell the difference between a 3-series and a 5-series...

Yup thats what I have found. Even after I tell people the whole numbering deal they still don't get it.

[joe325i]

my friend cant tell the diff between a 3er and a 5er for his life
and i cant tell the diffrence between his chevy's

[sirtiger]

most people can't tell. A bmw is a bmw to them.

[BAMA]

I didn't even know the diff. between a 325 and 330 until I asked someone who was really into cars. Now that I know how BMW labels it makes sense, but I doubt many non-owners would know.

[SilverBeam]

Most people don't know how to tell what any car is, let alone the dif between a 218 and an M3. For an example, we were pumping gas into my friends 91 Avanti. This guy walked by, took a look, and asked if it was an old Jag. Wasn't even guessing on the right size of the pond.

[Theodore]

I've had to explain the BMW badging 'system' to quite a few people, some of whom I would call car people.

[sirtiger]

my mom use to say all cars are the same as long as it has 4 wheels... that was until she drove her sister's 92 Sentra.... my mom complained that dam thing wouldn't move when the gas was stomped on.... that was coming from a 98 V6 Avalon...

many people are not car people at all.....but most are always learning...I said most...

[uberpanzer]

What's a 318?

But seriously, try explaining the badging systems these days anyway. BMW has screwed SOOO many people up with it when they changed the engine sizes a while back. A 323 was actually a 2.5L, etc, etc, etc. Hell, even back in the e30 days the Eta motors were actually 2.7L, but still badged as 325e.

And most people have problems with IDing cars anyway. When I came home with my new '97 Grand Prix GTP 6 years ago almost all of my neighbors thought it was a BMW. I had some guy swearing up and down to everyone else that the 6 Series was being produced again and that I had the first on out. What an idiot!

[Flawless]

I had some guy swearing up and down to everyone else that the 6 Series was being produced again and that I had the first on out

HAHAHA!! omg, that is so funny!!

[Preppy]

Nope they dont.

Now imagine in a few years the whole numbering sequence once BMW introduces the 1ser, 6ser, 4ser...oh good lord...

Heh, when I lived down in TX, my insurance rates were insanely low....why? because my agent thought I had a 318is=4 banger....go figure ......wish it was the same up here in MD

[sirtiger]

I think I need to rebadge my car to a "518" to lower my insurance...since BMW models don't make a diff. j/k

[mrhmmhmm]

No clue. To most of my non-car enthusiast friends, I drive a "blue BMW". Especially women. I don't care enough to correct anyone either, I know it's an M3