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Finally, BMW got my letter that the folding hardtop in its 4 Series convertible didn’t leave enough room for my tour bag and comically gigantic TaylorMade R15s, so they’re ditching the whole thing, German site Bimmertoday is reporting (via Road and Track and Automobile).
The convertible hard top can weigh roughly 500 pounds, Automobile reports. Cutting back to a soft top could shed some of that weight and spare space in the the trunk.
The German report also says that BMW’s Z4, co-developed with Toyota, will also have a fabric top instead of a folding roof.
The new 4 Series should arrive around 2021, after the all-new 3 Series hits the streets in 2019.
Already, the BMW 2 Series and 6 Series have soft-top roofs.
36 Comments on “Golf Clubs Win, New BMW 4 Series May Be Soft-top Only...”
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You carry a tour bag? Did you suddenly turn 56 overnight?
This. Stand bag or else. I want a Ping Hoofer for my Callaways and Cobras.
That said, for several years when my Miata was my only car, I gave up golf altogether.
I carry a Jones bag, nice, simple, light, and I can’t fill it with heavy crap that I never use and have to carry around. Highly recommend it. Also, no crappy stand mechanism that breaks and ruins the bag (how my last two stand bags died).
http://www.jonesgolfbags.com/collections/carry-bags/products/original-jones-bag?variant=3159208129
Thanks for the rec but I need back straps for when I walk.
I carry a Hoofer and a Titleist walking bag for each set (keep a set in the trunk of two of the three cars). I think I might treat myself to a new Hoofer to replace the 2008ish Titleist but I’m about to outlay some serious cash so that might wait.
Is a tour bag a wheeley one? And stand bag is little fold out tripod?
Tour bag is the big giant Rodney Dangerfield style one. Most people put it on a cart (powered) or cart (pull) or have a caddy carry it.
Stand is a smaller one that has the little flip out legs.
Ahh, thx.
Who said he carries it? That’s what caddies are for. I know a guy who considered dropping a small block into his tour bag, but then he’d have to ditch the wet bar and flat screen.
The 4-door is the 3, and the 2 door is the 4, right?
With the exception of the 4-Series Gran Coupe (which is a four-door coupe), yes. This specifically refers to the two-door cabriolet variant of the 4-Series. BMW hasn’t sank so far that it’s willing to create factory-sanctioned, ghetto-tastic landau roofs on a four-door just yet.
The 4-series Gran Coupe is a 5 door hatchback, actually.
Here, this’ll help between the 4 and the 4GC.
I’d have the 4GC because it’s bigger.
http://cdn.bmwblog.com/wp-content/uploads/Bild-Vergleich-BMW-4er-Gran-Coupe-GC-F36-3er-F30-Limousine-Luxury-Line-03.jpg
2/4/6/8=2-door or equiv
3/5/7=sedan
Or was!
I don’t even try to get the Mercedes nomenclature anymore—I gave that up this year
Mercedes has actually made it easier this time around. The only confusing thing is relating the new and old letters. It starts with the normal cars which stay the same. A, B, C, E, S
SUVs will all be GL followed by a letter. The old GL will be the GLS since it’s the big expensive one. The ML will be the GLE since it’s like the E class SUV, The GLK will be the GLC, and the GLA will retain it’s name. The SLK will be the SLC since it’s the C class roadster. There are also rumors of a new front wheel drive SLA. The SL will retain it’s name, probablly because they don’t want it to be SLS.
Mercedes makes sense–for now. The moment they decide they need some new variant, their system will fall apart, as is the case with all ‘logical’ naming schemes.
So it being badged 428i could be EITHER a convertible OR a coupe? What happened to them saying 428iC?
Good. I happen to think that soft-top cabriolets look far more dignified, with the exception of the 2nd-gen Lexus SC.
Really? Even like a 80s-90’s SL (since they had both)?
Mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, WEIGHT. On the other hand, retractable hardtops are far more comfortable when up, give better visibility, and make vandalism less likely. Most of them look awkward but the E93 3-series and F33 4-series are very pretty exceptions.
Agree with you 100%.
After years of wanting one, I bought a relatively inexpensive soft-top convertible as a second vehicle two years ago, mostly to make sure I’d actually drive it with the top down. To improve security and visibility I’ve considered replacing it with a hardtop in the next few years, so I’d hate to see these become a dying breed.
Miata or S2k? I basically only drive my S2k on days where I’m guaranteed to put the top down.
Fwah?
BMW’s soft-tops are fine when it comes to noise and temperature, they’re the ones who figured out that you should just put the rear glass in a partition that isn’t part of the moving top, and if you’re worried about Vandalism, you probably shouldn’t part your soft-top in the bad part of town with valuables in sight.
Seriously, go take a 6-series cab out, and tell me you see any real difference between it and the SL in terms of NVH and visibility. Even MB is going to soft tops with the next SL – folding hard tops were a weird solution to a materials design problem.
Ah, the woes of the 1%. Cheese with your whine,sir? Maybe you could write for DuPont Registry and leave more space for us CAR enthusiasts? You know,us guys that work for a living so we can drive fun cars? If fitting golf clubs in your trunk is a priority that you need to write about,there’s a golf web site ………
Only the 1% play golf? Umm okay.
So people in the 1%, 5%, 1% of the 1% don’t work for a living or work hard or aren’t car enthusiasts? Umm okay.
Yep, nobody cares if their car, probably their second largest investment other than their house fits their needs, no, not at all…
A lot of folks play golf. But,not many complain that their $60k BMW won’t hold their clubs in the trunk. Some of us work hard just to be able to play golf. Trunk capacity would not be high on the priority list on an enthusiast, put the clubs on the back seat. There’s a lot of reasons people buy BMWs, some for the driving, some for the posing. Pretty clear which ones bitch about the clubs not fitting in the trunk.
Oh give me a break. I love cars and I love sports cars, but I will not buy one that can’t fit my sticks. There are just too many good options that CAN to spend my money on one that can’t. I can fit two sets in my S2000 trunk, and do pretty regularly.
Filing…under….First World Problems.
“I can fit two sets in my S2000 trunk, and do pretty regularly.”
+1. Now that’s the words of a car enthusiast who loves to play golf. I’m just a little tired of hearing the pompous rich folks,with their 6,7 or 8 figure incomes,complain about problems most of us wish we had. “Oh dear, my golf clubs won’t fit in my BMW”,then buy a different car and shut up! It’s getting more obvious every day which side of the income gap folks are on.
“I’m just a little tired of hearing the pompous rich folks,with their 6,7 or 8 figure incomes,complain about problems most of us wish we had. “Oh dear, my golf clubs won’t fit in my BMW”,then buy a different car and shut up!”
Eh, that wasn’t exactly the point I was making. My point was just that it is entirely rational for a car enthusiast to want their car to accommodate cargo that they may want to carry, especially when that cargo is standard in size and very commonly carried amongst the demographic interested in the car. Clearly BMW has noticed that the issue has negatively impacted their sales, and are taking steps to correct that. I don’t think that anyone has complained it’s a “problem” but don’t you think it may be a problem for BMW if the affluent people that can afford its cars don’t want to buy them because their cars don’t accommodate their hobby?
Convertibles should be soft-tops, that’s the proper way.
T least convertibles with any pretensions of sportiness. It’s hard enough trying to pull off ‘ultimate driving machine” saddled with solid rubber, 300 pounds a piece tires. Having to do so while, in addition, carrying a Fiat 500 on the roof rack, is too much even for the Bavarians.
S-Class Coupe! S-Class Coupe! Four door S-Class Coupe!
http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2007-Mercedes-Benz-Concept-Ocean-Drive.htm
Bout time they figured it out. I for one want to tour in my convertible, which means having a bit of luggage space, which means soft top. The current retractable hardtop Z4 and SLK have such pitiably small boots when the top is retracted that they are useless as tourers. The weight and hopefully cost reduction associated with going back to a soft top is an added bonus.
I beg to differ with most comments.
I have had the soft-top E46 for 5 years, and I just purchased a hard-top E93. Both are lovely cars.
Granted the trunk of the E93 is a tad smaller than the E46, but, I still found a way to fit my two daughters, wife, in the front, and a suitcase in the trunk for a week long road-trip.
And the E93 hard-top is just gorgeous.
While there is some extra weight, the extra protection against the elements, plus the soft top needed to be stored under a roof when snowing, plus the looks tilt strongly the scale towards the hard-top.
The new soft-top would have to be shaped really nicely and a step above the old E46 to win me over
Having a very tough time believing that a folding hard top weighs 500 lbs. Maybe they’re adding the weight of chassis stiffening that an open car needs sometimes, but…not 500 just for the folding top ass’y.