i wondering if having tons of 128s poping up all over the place would cheapen the prestige of the bmw brand. I could care less personally but it could have over reaching implications affecting bmw's market and revenue in positive and negative ways. Then again the B class benz didnt seem to do too well in the states.

That's because BMWs are performance machines and Benzs are luxury cars. The major differences between a entry level Beamer and a high end one is enterior and features. Since Benzs are known to be luxury cars, a entry level would not be perceived the same way. Take away the high end luxury of a Benz and you now have an unreliable POS. Take away the high end luxury of a BMW and you still have a kick ass performance car.

Ewf, that rear end looks seriously low budge'. Those frumpy, excessively curvy rear lights match nothing about the car and frankly look like they belong on a Hyundai.

from the perspective of an auto enthusiast yes, but im pretty sure 90% of the general public bmw buyers buys it for the blue-white propeller rather than the performance.

the 318ti in the early 90s certainly didnt cheapen the prestige and was fairly successful and didnt cheapen the buying experience for a 5 7 or 8 series. You have to realize in the european market small cheaper bmws and other luxury german cars (bmw 316s 318s 120s 125s audi a2s a4s with 1.6s ) are as ubiquitous as accords and camrys are here. In fact accords and camrys are rarer in western europe.

i dont think 318 still a 3 series is very comparable to a 1 series, nor does looking at the european market give a good indication of the US market where we like big sofas in our cars. who knows whats going to happen though, time will tell.

the 318 was relatively small:
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/jpg/318ti.jpg

Cerainly impressive, I still think I like the 8 better

I like what i am seeing but one thing i am not seeing is an LSD. instead you get some electronic nanny that taps the brakes for you.

Autoblog says the car launches in spring 08.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/18/s...-bmw-1-series/

does anyone know how much it weighs?

For tons of info check 1addicts.com. I think its something like 1520kg but that includes 75kg for driver and luggage or something so the best guess is around 3,200lbs

I'm probably going to get a 135i for my next car but it won't be for a few years. I like the idea of a car that gets 30 mpg on the highway but has over 300 hp.

If not the 135i then I might look for another Mini Cooper S.

I think this is a very cool car. When it comes I'll go take a look for sure.

Try these:

http://edbmw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/more3.jpg

http://edbmw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/more2.jpg

More at http://edbmw.com/blog/2007/06/28/bmw...-press-photos/

If BMW really brings this car to market at a competitive price point I believe we're seeing the making of the next automotive cult classic sold in America...like the 1st generation Miata, '02 Subaru WRX, and the '70 Nissan 240Z.

Brochure
 

If you guys want to check out the brochure, here it is:
1 series brochure

Alpine white with aluminum trim and coral red leather interior for me!

Yeah, I like Ike's taste!!...;)

!!!!!!!!!Noice!!!!!!!

2 Door (White with Red Leather) is the way to go, IMO one of the best looking BM's in their 2007 line-up.

It will be priced in low- to mid-30s, a few K above RX-8, a few K below 3-series.

If the car sells well, we will have tens of thousands of disillusioned BMW buyers by 2011 - around the time they have the first out-of-warranty encounter with BMW service 'engineers' working on their cars.

about the 318ti... i once saw an engine swap from a 545i. they took the v8 in it, and mated it with an m5 transmission i believe. 345ti anyone? heck yes.

weight for the 135i is 3384lbs, about 400 lbs heavier than an RX-8 in sport trim.

Thats the EU unladen weight which includes 90% tank filling, 68kg for driver, and 7kg for luggage. Since your Rx-8 weight isn't an EU weight, that gap will narrow to under 200 lbs. All that with an extra 100 or so whp and wtq.

The base 128i is going to be about 3100 and the 135i a little over 3200lbs. Still a bit porky for such a small car, but not so much that it'll ruin the fun. I think a 2007 sport is listed at 3045 now.

I heard about the car a fe months ago and fell in love. I want one!