NYTimes article: Muscle Cars for the Middle-Aged starring M5 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Gustav · 29th September 2004, 17:46

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/au...print&position=

October 22, 2003

SPEED Latest Luxe Sensation: Muscle Cars for the Middle-Aged

By JACK SMITH

HIS is not the way he normally conducts a test drive, explains Nicholas DeFelice, a salesman at BMW of the Main Line, a dealership in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. As his passenger, I have already figured this out. Through both side windows, the suburban greensward is a blur as the jet-black M5 sedan rushes along a two-lane back road.

Mr. DeFelice calls out his top speed (a figure that discretion prohibits me from repeating here) before braking hard for a series of turns. Then, with the 397-horsepower engine screaming, he accelerates onto a straightaway next to the Schuylkill River.

Twenty minutes later, he lets me take the wheel, but Mr. DeFelice is concerned that we are still not doing the car justice. "You really need to take this car out onto the track to appreciate it," he says.

That much could be said, perhaps, of any BMW. But it is especially true of the M5, the Bavarian automaker's high-performance sedan. Besides being remarkable for its power, handling and 2003 sticker price of $75,270 — $36,975 more than the standard BMW 5 series sedan — the car represents a cultural watershed.

There was a time when muscle cars were for the young. Pontiac GTO's, Trans Ams, Chevrolet Camaro Z28's, Dodge Daytonas, Plymouth Road Runners and

Ford

Mustang GT's were all pony cars with big V-8 engines rumbling beneath hoods that bulged with scoops and ducts and blazoned eye-catching decals.

That is no longer so. The modern muscle car is for grown-ups.

The appeal of hair-raising acceleration and race-car handling in an automobile with the comfort, opulent interior and practicality of a luxury sedan is evident in the growth of this market. Ten years ago, BMW's M series was the only high-performance luxury car available in America. Today, the premium muscle market includes the Audi RS 6 at $82,700 as well as the Jaguar supercharged S-Type R at $62,400 and XJR series at $72,475.

Mercedes-Benz's AMG division builds high-performance versions of all eight models, including the SLK and SL roadsters, but the most acclaimed is the E55 sedan, at $77,000. The Volvo S60 R, $44,000 and loaded with options, is the least expensive of the premium-performance sedans, but with an acceleration of 0 to 60 miles an hour in 5.5 seconds, it is no slouch.

Next year, Cadillac will enter this market with its V series CTS, a 400-horsepower sedan developed on Nürburgring, Germany's renowned racecourse. The car is expected to sell for about $50,000.

It is hard to say how far this trend will go, but you wonder if the Maybach Mercedes sedan, at more than $300,000, may soon be influenced by the AMG. "There are no plans for that at this time," said Scott Keogh, the general manager for public relations at Mercedes. "And that's all I'm saying."

Besides performance, the hallmark of the new muscle cars is understated styling. So far, no BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar or Volvo has been sighted with a screaming eagle painted on its hood. But gaping nacelles (oversize cooling ducts), aerodynamic effects, Brembo (high-performance) brakes and badges on the trunk lid with M, R, RS or AMG abound. All of which leaves observers convinced of the cars' exclusive nature and athletic prowess.

Horsepower and styling cues notwithstanding, some automakers express indignation at hearing their high-powered luxury sedans described as muscle cars.

"Muscle cars were a product of the 60's and 70's," said Rich Brekus, the manager for product planning and strategy at BMW. "They were just small cars with big engines. They defined performance as acceleration in a straight line." By contrast, he suggested, the M5 is not about rocketing from a stoplight but about refinement and sophistication, the Zenlike sensation of driving finely crafted machinery.

Gordon Wangers, the president of Automotive Market Consultants, in Vista, Calif., takes a less nuanced view.

"I thank God I'm alive to see the return of the muscle car," he said. "We thought it had disappeared forever in the 1980's." That, he recalled, was the era of federally mandated 55-m.p.h. speed limits and speedometers displaying a maximum of 85 m.p.h. The standard on America's premier performance car, the Chevrolet Corvette, was an engine with 164 horsepower.

The change, Mr. Wangers said, came about through numerous avenues, among them the use of computer chips. "That was the miracle drug that revived the muscle car," he said. "For the first time, you could build an engine that offered lots of horsepower with lower emissions and improved mileage."

At the same time, computer-aided design and microprocessor technology have made it feasible for manufacturers to develop low-volume specialty cars like the M's and AMG's. "A prototype could cost between $500,000 and $3 million to build," Mr. Wangers said. "Now you just plug the data into the computer to see how it looks, rather than do a life-size model."

As a result, he considers cars like the supercharged Mercedes E55, with 469 horsepower, are a bargain, despite their seemingly outrageous sticker prices. "For about $80,000, you get a car you can carry your grandparents in and pull up next to a Z06 Corvette and blow it away."

Cars like the Mercedes E55 and the BMW M5 have rendered the sports car irrelevant, said David Champion, the director of the auto test division at Consumer Reports.

"These models offer the kind of acceleration and handling you used to find only in an exotic," he said. "But most people don't care to drive around in something that flashy. And you can't take more than one client out to lunch in a Lamborghini."

If Mr. Champion, who by profession is value-minded, has one problem with muscle cars, it is that the standard models perform so well. Driven within the legal or prudent limits, "it is difficult for a driver to appreciate the difference between a Mercedes E500 sedan and the E55," he said. "Oh, if the AMG car is pushed hard it's more responsive to steering input, and it's a little quicker off the line."

So who would buy one?

"If I could afford it, I would," Mr. Champion said.

None of the Japanese automakers, who are usually quick to capitalize on trends, have established a separate high-performance line yet.

At Lexus, the decision is a matter of philosophy. "We prefer a balance between luxury, performance and quality," said Michael Wells, the vice president of marketing for Lexus. "We put all those things together whether in an entry-level car, luxury car or S.U.V."

At

Nissan

, Jack Collins, the vice president for product planning, said the company thought there was no need for an exclusive high-performance line. "Our strategy is to offer high performance across the board, not to a small segment of our buyers."

As an example, Mr. Collins referred to the Infiniti M45, for $42,300, which is already marketed as a high-performance luxury car.

"It's got 340 horsepower, much more than a standard BMW 5 series," he added. "To get a BMW 5 with more horsepower than the M45, you have to go to the M5, which costs over $70,000."

But Paul A. Eisenstein, the publisher of thecarconnection.com, an automotive news Web site, said: "I don't think the world is even aware that Infiniti has an entry in the high-performance sweepstakes. When people talk about the M and AMG, they don't talk about the M45."

"That's too bad for Infiniti, because the high-performance luxury sector is one of the fastest growing in the industry," he continued. "The success of the AMG series has moved Mercedes's image right up there with BMW's M class, and the R has transformed Jaguar from a pretty car to something with real claws."

Ultimately, the allure of the high-performance luxury car may transcend issues of power, handling and even price. Marvin E. Gilmore Jr., an entrepreneur and board member of several companies in Boston, bought his supercharged aluminum-bodied Jaguar XJR on the eve of his 79th birthday.

"I like the special Brembo brakes," he said. Mr. Gilmore is also partial to the leather upholstery. "It's a cut above Mercedes."

"But you know what I really like about it?" he said. "It makes me feel young again."

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knox · 29th September 2004, 18:43

Great article...thanks for sharing Gustav.

This is what my friends keep telling me...that my new M5 is my "mid-life crisis muscle car". I just tell them perhaps this is true, but I'm having a helluva good time.

MEnthusiast · 29th September 2004, 20:48

They are not just for the middle aged. I think there really is a value proposition in cars like the M5. Look at the E60 M5- its gonna be priced around $82k and deliver a ton of true F1 technology, in a package you can drive your family around with and probably get 20+mpg on the highway! Astounding!

I really do believe we are witnessing the last great age of the internal combustion engine. We are lucky to be around to enjoy it.

Bokke · 29th September 2004, 20:57

Great article.....fortunately those of us do realize that E55 is for straight line acceleration and that's about it! For me, sorry us, it's about the entire package, and oh yea we are the ultimate "sleeper" car off the line

Long live the E39 M5

Murph · 29th September 2004, 21:10

Great article. I'd have to say that the average age of M5 owners on this board based on another thread does not support the mid-life crisis statement (unless of course the life expectancy of M5 owners is well below average!).

Gustav · 29th September 2004, 21:42

It was a great article.

Goody4 · 1st October 2004, 04:37

They sure were right about nobody being aware of Infiniti's M45. Infiniti no longer makes that model.

gsfent · 2nd October 2004, 04:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goody4

They sure were right about nobody being aware of Infiniti's M45. Infiniti no longer makes that model.

I wasn't aware it was discontinued, although it is being restyled so that it has the more rounded look similar to the G35 (which is getting a horsepower bump from 280 to 300 in the 6 speed version).
Regards,
Jerry

Redshift · 2nd October 2004, 04:48

I haven't hit 30 yet, but I am having a hard time thinking of a better all-around car that you can use for daily driving, track driving, cargo, passengers, and a ton of fun. Nothing else comes close, and as a CPO car, mine was a true bargain in practically brand new condition. I drive it and love it and would not trade it for anything.

gsfent · 2nd October 2004, 04:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redshift

I haven't hit 30 yet, but I am having a hard time thinking of a better all-around car that you can use for daily driving, track driving, cargo, passengers, and a ton of fun. Nothing else comes close, and as a CPO car, mine was a true bargain in practically brand new condition. I drive it and love it and would not trade it for anything.

Brian
I agree, that is part of the beauty of the M5. It may not be the best at everything, but it does everything superbly. Best all around car on the planet IMHO.
Regards,
Jerry