If I was the CEO of BMW, I'd release an AWD 3-series and then watch Audi of America's sales go "bye-bye"... I bet 75% of the Audi buyers on this forum are purchasing their S4 not because its an "Audi with 250hp" but because it has "quattro with 250hp." We all know the M3 has superior handling, feel, steering and chassis balance (50/50)... Hell, I bet half of the potential S4 owners would jump ship if BMW just offered all-wheel-drive in the M Coupe, as ugly as it is... one thing with BMWs is that you do get good solid resale.

I know BMWs fall apart, probably at the same rate as an Audi... and I don't like the BMW image thing, but if they offered a 300hp M3 with AWD, it would be impossible to resist... unless of course MBenz offered their CLK430 in AWD... that would ROC...

Audi messed up bigtime... the S4 should have been imported to the US when they released the 99.5s... the S4 numbers are so small and insignificant to their overall sales, it shouldn't matter when they release it in comparison to other models. All Audi is doing is frustrating all-ready frustrated auto-enthusiasts, when they could have really begun the "revamp the ultra-sporting image of Audi" back in the Spring and could focus on taking on the 5-series with their A6 that actually has engines faster than 4-cylinder Camrys!

I would have immediately demoted the marketing genius to Head Shoe-Shiner who came up with the idea of putting the anemic 2.8 in the A6. Its almost like Audi doesn't realize how quick the BMW528i is! What part of "Americans want fast cars when they spend $40k unless its a big fat SUV" does Audi not get? Why does it take them 24 months to get that straight? How successful could WE all be if we worked for these Auto companies? probably not, corporations are fat and slow... at least some of them are...

It sucks watching all these posts from frustrated enthusiasts BEGGING to spend $40k on a small/compact sedan with less horsepower than a Mustang GT, all because it has all wheel drive and a german tag and few bright fancy colors...

I wouldn't even be here at this forum if they imported that "dirty" lil' Impreza WRX with 320hp that sells for less than $30k in Japan to the states... more tossable, faster, alot less money, high 12s out of the box is just too ****in' quick to pass up! hehe...

Everybody cheer up... at least you know what you want... save all your energy, so when our S4s break down we can focus it aggressively at those helpful and friendly/humble service managers!

RocketJohn
Just another sucker who gave his local Audi dealer $1500 because he bought into the S4 Pyramid scheme! hehe

Waiting for the announcement from Audi that Imola Yellow is delayed because they can't get the paint on the metal to match the plastic bumpers! Happened on the Yellow Beetles!

I owned an AWD 3-series (the 325iX). Admittedly it wasn't an M3 with 4 wheel drive but I do know that they discontinued its production due to lack of interest (poor sales). They sold like hotcakes here in Denver, however, and the local dealers bought up all the unsold cars they could get their hands on when the model was discontinued. They sold new cars for a year after it was officially dead.

I do think that there is more to the S4 buying pressure than a group wanting to buy any performance 4WD they can find. There is an intrinsic balance (performance, handling, useability under real-world road conditions) to the S4 that speaks to some of us. We could be deluded, but happily so.

Sandy

I heard that BMW is working on 3 new AWD cars, one being the X5 (although it's not a car) as well as an AWD 3 series.

Although I like the 3 series and esp. the M3, I see 10 BMW 3 series for every 1 A4 around here. I wouldn't buy one just based on that fact.

I've always admired them for their looks and wondered if they were reliable. Were they?

I'm interested in your thoughts about the car. I've never talked to anyone who had one.

Also curious as to why BMW discontinued them when they were obviously there at the birth of the streetable awd car craze. They could have robbed Audi of the entire market segment in the performance sedan category had they continued to produce the 325ix and it's successors.

I liked it. It was relatively reliable. (That is if you discount the new motor I had to buy because of timing belt that broke at 51,000 miles. . . after the warrantee expired at 50,000 and before the scheduled replacement of the belt at 60,000). It could have used more power (a 328iX would have been nice). Overall, I miss it. I put about 95,000 miles on it. I keep my cars in perfect shape and this was easy to do with this car. I guess I'm kind of hoping that the S4 will be everything that the 325iX was and much more.

Sandy