# Close encounter of the E90 kind!



## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

Well... it appears that I've struck gold on the unofficial BMW test mule office in SoCal. 

Same place where I saw and took the pictures of E60 M5 a few months back, and I saw the lastest and greatest Munich inventions 

As I pulled upto the parking spot, I said to the wife"... here we go again... another new BMW test mule!! "

and this is what I saw
New E90 pict 1

and

another angle

and

the front view

I told the driver (probably a BMW engineer) "..Hey!! Nice 3 series you got there!!.." and he didn't know quite what to say...

But he freaked out when I open the trunk of my M5 and whopped out the camera!! and Said "Noo...noo!!!"

I told him to relax, ... that we're in a free country  and proceeded w/ my pictures snapping.

All of sudden, another 5 series zoomed out (you can see the car on the last picture) and pulled up next to a next mule. I realized then that they are both German and they and that the 5 series drive, she was extremely displeased w/ me being there.

Didn'r want to give 'em a hard time, I picked up my pastries from the store and left.

enjoy,

beewang :bigpimp:


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

LOL ! Way to go Bee !! :thumbup: 

If you see them next time, tell him 'Halt' die Klappe!' Well, it means 'STFU' in german :bigpimp: 

Thanks for the pics !


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

beewang said:


> Well... it appears that I've struck gold on the unofficial BMW test mule office in SoCal.
> 
> Same place where I saw and took the pictures of E60 M5 a few months back, and I saw the lastest and greatest Munich inventions
> 
> ...


Cool. Much better shots than the stuff on autospies (same car too). Anyway, they shouldn't really have freaked out-- its not like you can really make out any details w/ the car cladded up like htat. I'm glad to see that the front overhan doesn't appear too enormous.


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Hmm, no second hump on the dash


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## bavarian19 (May 11, 2003)

I really like those wheels... 



Thanks for the pics :thumbup:


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Alex Baumann said:


> Hmm, no second hump on the dash


Yes, but don't forget your interior shot post:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63440&highlight=e90+interior

"Vee haf ozzer means of screwing up ze interior"


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## bavarian19 (May 11, 2003)

robg said:


> "Vee haf ozzer means of screwing up ze interior"


 :rofl: :thumbup:


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

beewang said:


> I told him to relax, ... that we're in a free country  and proceeded w/ my pictures snapping.
> 
> All of sudden, another 5 series zoomed out (you can see the car on the last picture) and pulled up next to a next mule. I realized then that they are both German and they and that the 5 series drive, she was extremely displeased w/ me being there.
> 
> ...


Nice pics. Did you snap any of the interior?

BTW, I had a similar run-in with a driver of a Z4 in Marina del Rey one day a couple summers back. No camera that day though..bummer.


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## jw (Dec 21, 2001)

Nice shots! But what's with that funky wax job they've got. Looks like writing.


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## Fzara2000 (Jan 22, 2004)

Oh my god...that place where you snapped the shots..its exactly the same spot where the E60 M5 was caught. You need to hang around there every day and see if they come back, and then suprise them and take some more shots.  \

The car has alot of cladding around it, I agree. You can't make out any details of what it will look like either. Hm.


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## Sean (Dec 22, 2001)

Well Shizzle! Awesome find! :thumbup:


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

Fzara2000 said:


> The car has alot of cladding around it, I agree. You can't make out any details of what it will look like either. Hm.


No kidding. Check out those door handles.


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## Jayhox (Jan 16, 2002)

Alex Baumann said:


> Hmm, no second hump on the dash


I think the E90 will have a Nav option and pop-up unit like the Z4. Just like the 1-series.


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## KP (Apr 16, 2002)

Looks huge. Agree, better than the pics we've seen so far. The front reminds me too much of a MG-ZT for some reason


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## rruiter (Feb 10, 2004)

beewang said:


> Well... it appears that I've struck gold on the unofficial BMW test mule office in SoCal.
> 
> Same place where I saw and took the pictures of E60 M5 a few months back, and I saw the lastest and greatest Munich inventions
> 
> ...


good work. Even though it has some heavy camo on it.


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## AF (Dec 21, 2001)

LMAO ... I give you a LOT of credit for whipping that camera out ... I don't know if I would have the balls to do that in front of them !!! You are the :str8pimpi in my book :thumbup: :thumbup: !!!

Great pics !!!


Thanks for posting them !!!


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## Mr. E (Dec 19, 2001)

Great catch, and it's so cool to see a Bimmerfestian get some spy shots "for us" for a change. :thumbup: But what's with these guys driving a car around in public then complaining when somone wants to take pictures? Hello, not familiar with U.S. laws? Anything in public view is fair game for photography. If you don't want pictures of it, *don't drive it through a freakin' city*! 

You know, the more pictures I see of these cladded up cars, the more I think "Hm, I wonder if I could get cladding like that for MY car..." Should be better than a bra for paint protection, right?


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## Bruce128iC (Feb 16, 2003)

why does the car have both the turn signal in the mirror as well as on the fender? do you think they are doing that just on the test cars so that people might think it's a MB instead of a BMW? I certainly hope the real cars don't have the turn signal in the mirror, like most MB's do. :thumbdwn:


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Bruce330cic said:


> why does the car have both the turn signal in the mirror as well as on the fender? do you think they are doing that just on the test cars so that people might think it's a MB instead of a BMW? I certainly hope the real cars don't have the turn signal in the mirror, like most MB's do. :thumbdwn:


Yeah, it seems the general consensus is that its just there to throw people off.


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

This is disturbing me very much


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## FenPhen (Jan 13, 2004)

Is this the E90 Security prototype?


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## FenPhen (Jan 13, 2004)

Andm99 said:


> Are the E46, E39, E38 truly the last breathtaking BMWs? (Breathtaking meaning instantly attractive, not gradually accepted and liked)


For now, yeah. 

I think these three generations will always be my favorite cars. :thumbup: I still turn my head for an E38 with shadowline trim and Style 37 wheels. Or a 2003 540i 6-speed... and of course M5s and M3s. :yummy: And ZHPs.


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## cantona7 (Apr 8, 2004)

I agree that the E46, E39 and E38 are probably the last instantly attractive BMWs. Although, for me, the E46 was NOT love at first sight. But I think we need to look at the bigger picture here. If, as many have asserted, the E46, E38 and E39 are the most perfect designs ever put out by BMW, how do you top perfection? The simple answer is that you can't. What would happen if BMW came out with designs for the next generation that mostly looked like their most successful cars? They'd be ripped to shreds for chickening out and copying themselves. I think it's clear that BMW is trying to change the rules of the game--rules that they themselves helped to create. The new designs are polarizing fans all over the world. Personally, I hate some of them, and have grown to love one or two. But whatever you think of the new generation, there is one thing they are not: they are not boring. BMW has always created cars worth talking about. We live in a seminal moment in the history of this marque, and while I think the jury is still out on the success of the new designs, at least the jurors are talking about them—which is more than can be said about 90% of cars on the market.


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## Technic (Jun 24, 2002)

cantona7 said:


> But whatever you think of the new generation, there is one thing they are not: they are not boring.* BMW has always created cars worth talking about.* We live in a seminal moment in the history of this marque, and while* I think the jury is still out on the success of the new designs*, at least the jurors are talking about them-which is more than can be said about 90% of cars on the market.


Agreed... and BMW has always (at least most of the last decade) created cars that sell pretty good. The last BMW sales numbers were another record; and considering that the only two models not redone are the E46 and the X5, well, it seems that _somebody_ is liking very much the new designs.

I would say, let's wait for three years after the E90 and new X5 debuts to see if the new design paradigm is in fact a sales success or a costly gimmick.


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## BloodRedHog (Mar 9, 2004)

Another benefit of being a fester -- thanks Bee!


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## cantona7 (Apr 8, 2004)

The truth is, whatever the E90 ends up looking like, I will at least give it a test-drive or two. And if the driving experience is better than what we've known in the E46, chances are that I'll be swayed enough to get one. My personal experience with the X3 is fairly indicative of my priorities. The X3 is, to my eyes, ugly as sin. But I was totally bowled over by the little SAV's driving dynamics. If I was in the market for a small SAV in the X3's price range, I KNOW I would buy one. At the end of the day, it was the driving experience that won me over. I just can't imagine shelling out similar money for something that might deliver a better aesthetic experience, with a compromised driving exprience.


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## gojira-san (Mar 1, 2004)

Nice pics beewang! Wow, the car has got more cladding on it than my Chevy Avalanche! :rofl:


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## Jeff_DML (Mar 13, 2002)

hey beewang, nice free one year subscription to autoweek :beerchug:


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## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

Jeff_DML said:


> hey beewang, nice free one year subscription to autoweek :beerchug:


Heheh :thumbup:  Thnx!! That's a whole $20 bucks!! :eeps:

WoooHooo!!

beewang :bigpimp:


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