Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Plants/Manufacturing, BMW
BMW rolls out 5 millionth 5-Series
Get out the beer steins and lederhosen: the Bavarians are celebrating! Yesterday the 5,000,000th BMW 5-Series rolled off the production line at its factory in Dingolfing (yes, Dingolfing) less than an hour's blitz down the autobahn from Munich. The original E12 5-Series was launched in 1972 with a design penned by Marcello Gandini and was inspired by the BMW Garmisch 2002ti, which Bertone unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Auto Show. The top-of-the-line model then was the M535i, powered by a 3.5-liter six producing 218hp. Five generations later, the E60 M5 produces more than twice that from its 5-liter V10, while versions of the 5-Series are available in Touring wagon bodystyle, with diesel engines and with all-wheel-drive.
The five millionth car, pictured above, is an oil-burning 530d sedan in Carbon Black Metallic (though it looks very blue in the picture).
[Source: BMW via Carscoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Playdrv4me 2:19PM (1/30/2008)
As a BMW enthusiast, that's probably the ugliest iteration of the 5 Series ever produced (and I actually like some of the Bangle cars), but I still give you props 5 Series, you are a german institution.
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Stealth E34 2:23PM (1/30/2008)
I'm proud to say that at 20 I have owned a 5-series. A 1990 black 535i (E34) that was fully decked out by the previous owner. M5 suspension, 17" E39 540i deep dish BBS rims and nice fat 235/55 tires, the car was INCREDIBLE.
I cannot wait to own another one. Although I sold it because it was just getting too old, I truly loved every moment of driving that car. The 5 series are a delight. Pretty impressive that they built over 5 million of them.
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Fooman 2:34PM (1/30/2008)
FYI carbon black is actually Blue... It is a very dark blue metallic.
E60's are nice but the E39 540 or M is still one of the Sexiest cars ever made esp in touring form.
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FThorn 2:36PM (1/30/2008)
Chocolate (candy bars) are the same color as the typical orange (tree fruit), too.
http://books.google.com/books?id=mv2vGDT-6KIC&pg=PA498&lpg=PA498&dq=chocolate+wavelength+orange&source=web&ots=4Cd8Yhx63A&sig=2TL7o2mbwdMUbbbMdo9nsDr1G14
UsedtoLikeBeemers 4:30PM (1/30/2008)
Fooman I agree with you - E39 m is the best looking - used to have a silver 540 M - fastest bimmer I ever had!
But I don't think it will make it to Collexium Luxury Auto Club :-(
http://veryhighend.blogspot.com/2008/01/collexium-fort-lauderdales-new-luxury.html
FThorn 2:35PM (1/30/2008)
That's a lot of consumer debt!
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Andrew 5:34PM (1/30/2008)
Yeah, because, you know, every car is purchased on loan.
FThorn 6:24PM (1/30/2008)
And the ignorant position would be thinking or claiming that all or even a large percentage of them are NOT purchased with a loan. I'd bet you a 5 series that over half ARE purchased on loans. And 2.5 million times price of a 5 series is a lot of consumer debt.
Next economics genius, please.
rgseidl 6:53PM (1/30/2008)
Maybe in America, where a car - indeed, just about everything - is often bought on credit. In Europe, where BMW achieves higher unit volume, car loans are fairly unusual - most luxury vehicles are leased by corporations as company cars and then enter the used car market. In Germany and the UK at least, company car depreciation and expenses are tax-deductible if you do it right.
Sebastian 2:40PM (1/30/2008)
hey, i'm from germany...my father drives a 525d which is Carbon Black Metallic like the one above. And this colour has a special effect that when light shines on the car it looks blue while it's normally black ;-)
I hope everyone could understand what I mean...
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Atropos 3:06PM (1/30/2008)
FThorn, exactly.
The first thing I thought was 'there are that many people that can afford a car like this?'
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LoneWolf 4:00PM (1/30/2008)
"beer steins"----> what does that mean?
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Jonny 6:21PM (1/30/2008)
stay in school
M 8:41PM (1/30/2008)
Beer Stein:
http://www.answers.com/topic/beer-stein
CosmoD 4:06PM (1/30/2008)
I own my second 5-series (E34 and E39), but bought them both used at 10 years old. That may sound old, but on a well maintained car and one of this quality, it's a heck of a bargain.
I'd spend a quarter of the price of a new Camry for a 10 year old 5-series any day. And I highly recommend it!
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Andrew 5:36PM (1/30/2008)
I've bought 2 'bimmers used and also have nothing but good things to say. They really hold up well long term.
Mallory 6:36PM (1/30/2008)
You're braver than I. I bought an e39 new in 2000 and it was OK (had the sport/premium pkg) but when it broke, which was all the time, man did it break expensive. Cracked A/C condenser, bad rear control arm bushings, blown abs module and a bad thermostat that took 2 weeks to replace, all by 65k miles. That thing ate brake pads like there was no tomorrow, the memory functions were schizophrenic, the auto temp control never could get it right and the stereo was shamed by what was standard on a Pontiac Sunfire. It drove pretty nice but after all that there was no way I'd EVER own one used and out of warranty.
CosmoD 7:02PM (1/30/2008)
I had to replace the water pump on the E34, which is the major weak point of inline six engines from the 90s, and I ended up putting a new one in the E39 as a preventative measure. There have been a few other issues along the way, and while they've caused their fair share of headaches, I've also been able to learn a lot through the process or repairing them.
In response to your experience, Mallory, my theory is that the first few years is when a new car works out all of its kinks (especially electronics issues), so that when you buy a used car many of the issues have been worked out and you know what you're getting in to.
That, and I love BMWs, but can't justify shelling out the cash for a new one :-)
Patrick Austin 9:10PM (1/30/2008)
Obviously the older Bimmers were total tanks (e12, e21, e28, e30, e34 on the 3- and 5-series side). My '88 535is (alpine white, lots of circa 1996 bolt on mods) is humming along a-ok on the original motor at 230k miles, give or take 10k (admittedly, the odometer is busted).
I dunno if you can say the same thing about the new ones...they're just sooooo much more complex that I can't imagine keeping them on the road is going to be easy when they're 20 years old. Even an e36 is a nightmare compared to older cars. Troubleshooting the electronics on a circa 2005+ 5- or 6-series is going to be a complete nightmare when all those tiny wires start to fray a couple decades from now. *shudders*
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Ben Carufel 10:12PM (1/30/2008)
As an owner of two E39 5-Series (a 528iT and an M5) I personally feel that they're the best cars in their segment. I love my Touring as a daily driver and stuff-hauler, and the M5 is just unparalleled as a super-sedan. Yes, they have their issues as some other posters have kindly pointed out above, but the feedback and feeling they communicate to the driver are second to none in the 4-door sedan category.
One problem not mentioned above is the often-broken climate control panel buttons used in the E39 5-Series as well as the E53 (1999-2006) X5. BMW only sells them as a set, which doesn't make sense since just a few of them will generally break. I had this problem on my Touring and started a little business to help other 5er and X5 owners get the replacement buttons they need without going to BMW for the whole $100+ set of buttons.
The actual site should be up soon...
Semi-gratuitous link:
http://www.ihkabuttons.com
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