Re: automatic transmission issue

[Stephen Carlisle <scarl1847@xxxxxxx>]

Interesting to read opinions expressed concerning auto. transmissions in BMWs.  I
have an '87 528e with a "slushbox" (a term I learned here, by the way) and I have
been roundly informed that it is low on the hierarchy.

I bought a BMW at a Mercedes dealership.  I didn't set out to buy one, but the one
I bought was in such great condition and drove so much better than the '91 190e
that I tested, that I bought it on little more than impulse.  The salesman also
made his preferences clear in favor of the BMW ( which was $7k cheaper).  I love
the way that it sits up on the road like a truck, and the way it handles the
curves.

I was looking for an automatic transmission for the types of every-day convenience
already mentioned in this topic.  I knew then that a five speed is a better
conduit to the engine.  The only thing that I would change on my BMW now is that I
would like to have the big engine (535i, I guess it is).  The acceleration on the
e engine is a bit sluggish, but not bad.  I always look at E28s when I see them
and I have never seen the big six with an auto transmission.  Conversely, I  have
never seen an "e" with standard.  Americans with "prestige" sedans love their
automatics, that's a fact, and I am sure that I never would have found a 535i that
had been babied like my 528e.  Most of them have been banged up and modified to
within an inch of their lives by now.

Steve C.  '87 528e (72k miles and still being broken-in)

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