BMW and Honda merger?
 

I don't like starting rumors, but i heard literally through the grape vine, from a friend that bmw and honda may end up merging in a few years. If anyone has any info on this i would be very curious to read it. If it's just a rumor with nothing out there to back it up then shoot this rumor down. I hope it's false by the way.

And yes i know how much you all hate rumors with no articles to back it up, but i was very curious and couldn't help but post it. Thanks.

Well - Honda seem to have a very close working relationship with Mercedes in a couple of countries - so a merger may be on the horizon, but probably not with BMW....

yeah, i'm really hoping that that is just a BS rumor. I don't think BMW is that stupid as to merge with a low line econobox-of-crap company like Honda. I can't see any benefit to something like that.

I haven't seen anything on the centernet site about it, but that doesn't always mean anything.

Now now - besides the fact that Honda could probably buy up BMW with their caffateria budget - they could teach even BMW a thing or 2 about profit.. :P

Remember, Honda isn't just about cars.. or even motorcycles... if it moves they build it, if it doesn't they supply the product to make it move... ;)

and that isn't something that BMW is about. i can't see BMW's shareholders approving of such a thing. Their stock would hit the shitter faster than the Concord in full power nose dive :P

I think Honda has a few things to learn about interior design :wink: Their center consles are now made for the blind :P External design, BMW at least captures imagination and/or attention, Honda's are just...blah :wink:

But then again, we are talking about two different markets here. The Ridgerunner (or is it Ridgeline? either way it's hideous) and Odyssey are the only two vehicles Honda makes that can reach the $30,000 mark. And they don't come anywhere near BMW's targeted clientele for that price bracket.

what happened? cat got your tongue because they're right about honda being better than BMW?? :wink: :P

fixed now :P :wink:

It's funny how you three (RC45, Everso, Brembo) always try to bash BMW, but at the end of the day, it's BMW who is number 1 in the UK and the USA.

I mean, Bee-Em's closest rival's moto is "understeer durch technik" after all. ;)

If there is any truth to this rumour, the only one benefiting will be Honda, because BMW will finally teach them how to count past 2 litres.

LMFAO!!!!

if there would be any BMW merger it would be with their mini line of car, I know they already have planes to work with other companies on the new mini don't remeber who?

LOL!!
but we have seen that the best selling cars aren't the best all-rounders, just look at the corsa in the uk, here in mexico the best selling cars are the nissan tsuru/sentra (a 13 year old generation) and the mexican chevy (corsa for the europeans, and the past generation of corsa), and are not really good cars :wink:
of course I might be wrong

I don't really believe the rumor, both companies have great economic health

I'm sorry but i think Mini fans old and new would absolutley puke if they knew Honda was going in on the Mini. I can only imagine Al123's reaction :lol:

lots and lots of riced up minis will come out!! huuuge wings, nos, 20 inch allow wheels,
and the jap would make a car somewhat inexpensive, smaller, and better :roll:

Actually Honda will finally teach BMW how to make a decent motorcycle.

It is hard to believe the same company that produces the M3 for example is responsible for the utter trash they call motorcycles.

They are over weight, under powered atrocious posers junk.

Since when is BMW known for motorcylces in the states? That's jsut what happens when you stray from your roots. Even i'll admit that. But then again, yuppies and motorcycles don't mix :wink:

Since when is BMW known for motorcycles in any country?

BMW have always produced over weight, under powered atrocious posers junk - except during WWII when they produced utilitarian junk... :P

You have never seen all the BMW bike posers, I mean riders trundling around the US?

I've seen maybe three BMW motorcycles ever. One was ridden by a guy in the STEP class ahead of me, the second was ridden by a goobery lookin guy who came in to get a state inspection done on his bike, and the third had gotten traded into the Harley dealer about 5 minutes away from my parent's house. So no, i've never seen a group of them :mrgreen:

Well between the 3 you saw and 1 I know of, that about covers it - we may have the entire BMW Riders group covered... although there may be 1 or 2 in Kalifonia... ;)

LOL, i think the one i saw from STEP actually WAS from california :lol:

I've seen a lot of bmw motorcycles while i sold them at a dealership here. Only yuppies(who knew nothing but the badge) or bmw lovers(rare group) bought them, and people traded there bmw bikes for honda's, now is that just a coincidence? :lol:

You guys obviously aren't familiar with the new BMW K1200S

A few specs:
1157cc water cooled 4 cyl
167bhp @ 10,250 rpm
13:1 compression
Dry Weight: 499lbs (226.5kg)
0-60 in 2.8 sec.
105mph in second gear
BMW refuses to officially discuss top speed - most charts say 120mph+ HaHa
Were most likly talking in the neighborhood of 180mph+

The numbers speak for themselves.

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2005...12s-d-02-1.jpg
video - www.bmwk1200s.com/ridefast.htm

Your point?

A modern 600 will still run rings around it on a track - and it's too little too late.

A CBR1000RR makes that look like a UPS truck... :P

998cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder
396 pounds
165hp
0-60 who cares.
1/4 who know.. it's faster than the Beemer.. :P
Top end - higher than the Beemer.. ;)

RC has the winning argument, a CBR is way too fast for that porky bmw bike :mrgreen:

I think I have seen some police BMW bikes, mmm don't know where,
most likely near my aunts house in new york, or conn.

in toronto they mostly drive harleys :D

In fact - Ringmini set his insane Nurburgring lpas in a Honda powered Mini Panelvan...

http://www.ringmini.de/

never knew of something like that :roll: until now

I didn't say it was the best bike in the world, but it does go a long way in improving the image of BMW and thier once grandpa bikes.

^^^ Ok.. ;)

Ive seen the Dakar bike out here a bunch of times. See them riding up to the trails 30 minutes from my house. Looks like a bad ass bike, but im not into bikes and i dont know. Our CHP officers ride BMW bikes, and they love them.

BMW did win a couple Paris-Dakar in the 80's - so I will give em that much... ;)

Some of you forgot that Honda also makes Accura (so there goes 2-litre theory ...)

Ronin, i think i'm gonna cry now :( ...oh wait no... :puke:

why in the name of good taste you kept those pics??? :(

btw, thanks for the images so I could see you point

why not change the whole car?? :wink:

and the last couple of pics of the yellow mini... it sure looks good
still is a mini, only with some extras, not an indecent or vulgar car IMO

Makes you wonder why BMW still bothers to make motorbikes...

With all the new styling of the current BMWs the E90 has by far been the most well recieved. I think the E65 softened the blow of the radically changed E60 which in turned warmed everyone up for the inevitable E90 (third time's a charm perhaps?) But now that the E65 is entering it's adolesence, so to speak, alot of people who initially bashed it have come to like it, and that is evident just cruising around JW and checking out the various threads the make refrence to the design (aka Bangle Bashing).

If you think about the functions of the I drive, it really has cleaned up alot of the dash area. It's made a more efficient use of the Navigation screen, and coupled with the fiberoptic bus system of the audio system, has shaved a few pounds off the car just in wiring alone. Being able to control Entertainment, Climate, Navigation, BC Functions, Communication (Telephone), Check Control Messages, Service reminders etc, with one screen and button has saved alot of visual mess from the center console/dash area. Just look at how messy Mercedes has gotten. Honda too. Ridign in the Accord i felt like i was sitting in front of a control panel at the Space Shuttle Launch. There are just too many buttons and too many distractions. Having the large controller right where it is makes it easier to find without having to take your eyes from the road. Once you are familiar with where everything is in the system, you could navigate through it without ever looking at the screen.

If you sat in the car and spent 15-20 minutes to just explore the I-drive, you would see just how easy it is to use and how far off the magazines are when they bitch about it. And if you don't want to do that, then take a little time to get familiar with the speech recognition system (if equipped).

I'm not familiar with what Audi has done towards this type of thing or if they just keep adding buttons for all the new stuff.

That seems to be about as close as you and i are going to get to being in agreement on Audi vs. BMW :wink: While i did think Audi was a decent company (they were actually my first choice for a while when it came time to chose a graduate program) i like the fact that they don't bend over backwards to impress their cutomers. As i have said before, too many compromises produces a poor quality car. People bitch about the I drive, but it remains and isn't going anywhere.

And if you don't like the way the screen looks while you're driving, you can always turn it off :wink:

james bond rings a bell, but he only picked it out of haste and necessity......

There is a reason behind that lump though. Recessing the screen in the dash like that reduces the glare on the screen which comes in handy when using the navigation. the small lump in the center makes it easier to get it in and out if it goes out (which for awhile we were having problems with them crashing during programming) So there is a method to the madness :wink: But i do understand where you are coming from. IMO i'd rather have the lump than the flip up screen on the Z4.

Flip up screen and Z4 should be mutually exclusive... :P

well it's not. the X3 has the same set up. i just haven't come across one yet.

That's right Beemers used to be "Driver's cars..." - now they are hairdresser and yuppie cars... more suited to posing than performance.. :P

which is why i tend to see more Audi's in front of hair salons than 3 series :P

am i wrong, or is the only BMW you respect one that carries the ///M badge?

That and old school stuff like the 2002 & 507's etc...

all hail the old school :D

Id love to see a hairdresser turn the DSC off on one of the Roadster bimmers. They become a handfull then. Damn hairdressers, need to stick to boxsters and TTs and leave the Z cars for people who only enjoy a stick that goes into gears not mouths. :lol:

the merger WOULD make sence to BMW shareholders in the fact they are investing in BMW is to make MONEY, not to keep the brand image alive.

if you compare AUTOGROUPS, not cingular companies, BMW is relatively small in comparason to other groups like vwag, gm, ford, etc etc. Honda is also a small autogroup, but a bit larger than BMW, with more offshoots.

the merger would work out and create a global competitor that would be able to go against vwag etc etc...

forget what they do, remember they're simply companies, grow or die.

Aquirring Honda wouldn't fit BMW's mission statement, as Honda tries to appeal to everyone, whereas BMW appeals to a specific segment as i have mentioned before.

The shareholders really control most of what happens to the company. they bought into the BMW image more so than the people who buy the cars, and they understand that image quite well. Honda does NOT fit that image.

There is a reason the E65 made it to the market before the E60. Although the E65 was no where near ready to be released but the shareholders wanted the new 7 right away. So BMW gave a perspective release date and the stock soared. in 2002, the E65 rolled into showrooms and because there was no time to R&D the car, it suffered a LOT of problems. Fortunatley those problems have been rectified and the car is more reliable and selling alot better than it's predecessor.

However there weren't really any issues with the E60 upon it's release and it's using alot of the same technology that is in the E65.

Cliff notes please... Is this rumor true or not?