Q: Is there really truth in german engineering? And who do you think will come out on top in the nex gen of german luxury cars? In terms of performance and efficiency. Audi has released the R8, now BMW with its M1 concept. I left out Porsche because they have not made any appreciable progress
A: Here it is from my standpoint: Mercedes - Luxury over power BMW - Power over luxury Audi - A combination of both Mercedes has already made its best sports car; the Mercedes McLaren SLR. $455,000, voluptuous, and a mellifluous sound is what it contains. Although its price tag is a bit exorbitant for a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds and quarter mile time of 11.5 seconds. Mercedes has already reach its peak performance car, and it's not as good as it could be for $455,000. Although some of Mercede's other cars are a pretty good deal for luxury and modest performance, there is probably no way for Mercedes to match its other revered rivals. Mercedes is coming up with another "supercar", but if it's not going to match with the SLR, it's not going to be popular. Brabus is probably the only one authentic performance tuning company that you can trust your money with. Audi is probably one of the most respected in the names of the automobile business as it owns Lamborghini and it has quite a diverse variety to choose from. Audi has not reached its peak yet, as there are two new versions of the R8 coming out within a couple of years (V10 and diesel), and most of their cars have bang for the buck such as performance and luxury. Take the Audi ///S5 for example. At a modest $50,000, you get 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, a neat and crisp interior, and a sonorous exhaust sound. If you wanted a Mercedes to match the ///S5's performance, expect to pay well over $70,000. A couple of tuners for Audi, but they're not well known. BMW is the best bang for your buck in this competition, no doubt about it. You get performance, luxury, useful gadgets, looks, and the pure adrenaline driving experience. The 335i can rocket from 0-60 in a mere 4.8 seconds, and finishes the quarter mile in 13.4 seconds. For $40,000, this car has been named "the ultimate driving machine" or "the BMW M3's younger brother." The BMW ///M6 is a genuine mix of a head-turner, street racer, hair-dryer (soft-top), and the sound of a Panzer Division all integrated into one ultimate machine. There are many, many, MANY well-known authentic BMW tuners out there, such as Dinan, Vishnu, etc. BMW is the best German engineering for the dollar (or the Euro) out there. Hope this helps~~