Munich, probably due to it being home to BMW, is a who's who of BMW cars. And other cars in general too, particularly
German. Compared to the US, most cars in Munich are BMW's it seems and one can get tired from all the neck-snapping
to look at them all.
First of all, better than 80 percent of the BMW's in Munich are badgeless. This, combined with the amount of customized
cars from the factory with the M-car bits like front airdams, etc, makes it difficult to positively ID the different
models. Secondly, Germans are serious about modifying their cars. Better than half of the BMW's sported some kind
of mods, or custom configuration from BMW. I spotted several cars with Alpina wheels (Alpina crest center caps were
proof enough) as well as some Schnitzer and Hartge wheels. Body kits are also popular, as are exhausts. A very
plain looking E34 Touring, sans badge, but a manual trans of course (gnash your teeth US E34 Touring owners) had a
nice, shiny pair of Supersprint exhaust tips poking out from the rear of it.
Nearly every BMW I saw as a manual trans and it quickly became commonplace to see manual trans E34 and E39 Tourings
on the streets.
Seeing BMW's that we didn't get in the US took some getting used to. After seeing 4 E30 Tourings during our first
day, I gradually calmed down when I saw them. Likewise, E36 Tourings can be seen fairly often. Cloth interiors
are the norm too.
The Germans are crazy about their wagons. As I mentioned, E34 Tourings were everywhere and so were E39's. A
beautiful, red, E46 wagon with 19" M3 wheels and full body kit eluded my camera lense but demonstrated the German
propensity to deck out their wagons (it also gave a good indication of what an E46 M3 Touring would look like, if
BMW would only build it). I particularly admire the clean lines of BMW Tourings so I was delighted to have such
a feast for my eyes.
Other cars of note were Porsche's (I saw 3 911 Turbos in our first day in Munich, on the streets being driven,
and one parked), Mercedes (large and small, AMG and barebones), Audi's, and VW's. A stately Audi A8 W12 (it had
W12 badges that's how I knew it was what it was) sat parallel parked between a 911 Carrera and a 5 series on
Munich's expensive shopping district main street. Kind of like their version of Rodeo drive. Minis, both old and
new, the old usually with at least some mild customization including formidable rows of shiny, driving lights
affixed to their front bumpers, are running around in small force in Munich. A silver Maserati, new, screamed
down a street past us in Munich the day we picked up our car. A black Z8, about a dozen E46 M3's, the odd Alfa
Romeo, Mercedes/Swatch SMRT cars, and countless Audi and VW TDI (diesels) were part of the smorgasbord of
cars to see in Munich. OH, and I can't forget the fleeting glimpse I had on our way to our BMW factory tour of
a black, E30 M3 Evo III and an E34 M5 Touring (with monstrous rear wheels and tires), parked next to each other
in the BMW employee parking lot. Gotta love those Germans, they are serious about their cars!