Picking up...now!

I couldn't resist the opportunity to post while picking up my new Arctic at the dealership, thanks to their WiFi service. Too Much!
This will be a Arctic/Terra/Burl Walnut 325i, Manual Transmission, with Sport, Premium, and L7. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.
More to come later!

Congrats.

I assume you are working on the requisite pictures. So are you planning some roadtrips for your car to stretch its legs?

Originally Posted by Quark

I couldn't resist the opportunity to post while picking up my new Arctic at the dealership, thanks to their WiFi service. Too Much!
This will be a Arctic/Terra/Burl Walnut 325i, Manual Transmission, with Sport, Premium, and L7. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.
More to come later!

I am just jealous

Absolutely, I'll get a few shots together. I was just having too much fun with the L7 and the rest of the radio/computer/bluetooth interface. I'm really impressed with the kinds of things you can do now... Bluetooth was just awesome. The signal indicator, voice command abiltiy, very smooth. If I can manage to leave Bluetooth activated on the phone, I won't have to worry about it. The MP3 CD recognition is certainly a most welcome addition, particularly with ID3 tag support for title and artist. It does appear that v1 tags are required, for those that pay attention to such things. The only complaint I have there is that you have to reselect the title display the next time you start the car. Aux input worked well for iPod support, though I'm still not sure how well it will be physically supported in the console.

Supporting evidence forthcoming...

Congrats! Do post pics please! I'm dying to see an arctic on internet.

Take some pics of the sports seats...im still on the fence about the sports pkg.

Originally Posted by LDV330i

Congrats.

I assume you are working on the requisite pictures. So are you planning some roadtrips for your car to stretch its legs?

Thanks! It's been great so far.

Tampa will be its destination next week. I don't think that will be too much of a challenge, though. Here's a couple shots.

Originally Posted by Agni

Take some pics of the sports seats...im still on the fence about the sports pkg.

Here's a couple shots of those guys. On the second shot, you can see that there's an extra adjustment that allows control of the width of the seat, which will be nice for the longer drives. That was my one complaint when having them in the E46... They would get to you after a while. (And, of course, there's lumbar support... I didn't have that before, either...)Otherwise, the extra thigh supports and adjustments were nice, and certainly the distinctive steering wheel. I like this sport package's weel one better so far... (Not to mention, more useful controls on it like switch audio source (CD/AUX/Radio) and recirculating air, and now I can finally make use of the phone buttons using Bluetooth.)

I hadn't seen anyone talk about this, and it was hard to get a decent shot of, but it conveys the concept... Turning on cruise control now tells you in the digital display what speed you are locking in (Shots of this are in the brochure, but I figured this was just for Active Cruise Control...). Also, if you look outside the speedometer, you can see another white indicater on its outer rim, which will stay put, telling you cruise is on and for what speed. Neat.

The good with the bad... I miss the rear seat passenger lights in the E46... They seemed to be more pleasantly placed.

I should also throw in a comment about the compass, since this seems to be a negative too.. It is a standard 11 segment display, rather than being a dot matrix display like the rest of the car. Standard parts here, especially since you can see indicators for temperature units present.. (degrees F). At least it's amber.

Here's the lights in the E90, though one neat thing is the LEDs present here and in the front seat to provide ambient light at night...

I mentioned the whole v1 tag support (vs. no support for just v2)... But thought I would show it in action along with Bluetooth. I've seen a shot of the menu elsewhere, but it is pretty cool. You can look up your entire phonebook here (I'm not sure how long the synchronizing process actually took, but it was loaded before I left the dealer) , and the voice control is really slick. I still love the fact that as long as you can leave your phone with bluetooth on, you don't have to do a thing. Just get in the car and go.

Anyway... If you note, when it's displaying an MP3's Title and Artist (from a CD-RW, by the way, another great thing to have supported...), it will also show you your phone's signal strength, which lets you know you're connected and ready to go. (of course, this shows up in the other radio modes as well.)

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll have to put up a shot of the iPod connection a little later.

My wife wants to throw in that she likes the new cupholders.... Way too practical for me.

Quark,

Thanks for the pics! I love the Arctic. I saw one at the dealer a few days ago, and it was very attractive. Can you please post some broader shots of the Terra with the Walnut trim? I'm curious to see how they go together. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Quark

Thanks! It's been great so far.

Tampa will be its destination next week. I don't think that will be too much of a challenge, though. Here's a couple shots.

I thought you would be cruising through the Florida Hill country, aka Ocala.

BTW, that is a beautiful color combination.

Originally Posted by xspeedy

Quark,

Thanks for the pics! I love the Arctic. I saw one at the dealer a few days ago, and it was very attractive. Can you please post some broader shots of the Terra with the Walnut trim? I'm curious to see how they go together. Thanks!

Here ya go. I was also considering the Aluminum trim, but it looks like we get a little bit of that for free.

Quite a different apperance when you get it in the sun. It's probably closer to the second photo, though still more red than Natural Brown.

Here's a shot of the E90 method of iPod hookup. No data integration with the display, so if you want to see what's playing, then you'll either need to leave your armrest up, or put your iPod in the juice box holder (one of the benefits of not having iDrive?).

That reminds me, what happened to the change holder, anyway?

I think I saw a similar shot, with the audio connection cable running through the slots in the front inside the armrest. I'm not sure where it went, though.

(Another opportunity to see Terra and Burl, too!)

Also, from what I've noticed so far, the Dakota Leather does feel a bit smoother than the Montana in the E46. I hope that quality lasts.

Originally Posted by Quark

Here's a shot of the E90 method of iPod hookup. No data integration with the display, so if you want to see what's playing, then you'll either need to leave your armrest up, or put your iPod in the juice box holder (one of the benefits of not having iDrive?).

That reminds me, what happened to the change holder, anyway?

I think I saw a similar shot, with the audio connection cable running through the slots in the front inside the armrest. I'm not sure where it went, though.

(Another opportunity to see Terra and Burl, too!)

Also, from what I've noticed so far, the Dakota Leather does feel a bit smoother than the Montana in the E46. I hope that quality lasts.

I have a question about the cup holder inside the arm rest. What is that rectange/slot part for. Is it for something like an IPOD or cigs or something. I think I am missing something

Originally Posted by fusionnv

I have a question about the cup holder inside the arm rest. What is that rectange/slot part for. Is it for something like an IPOD or cigs or something. I think I am missing something

A mug?

Originally Posted by Quark

Here's a shot of the E90 method of iPod hookup. No data integration with the display, so if you want to see what's playing, then you'll either need to leave your armrest up, or put your iPod in the juice box holder (one of the benefits of not having iDrive?).

Yuk, liquorice altoids... but more to point are there any clearance problems with closing the armrest with the cable running under it?

yeah i hate loose change and never carry it. I noticed no slots, Also no room in console for cds?
One question, i thought the ipod would allow you to view tracks on the radio display ?

Originally Posted by resker

Yuk, liquorice altoids... but more to point are there any clearance problems with closing the armrest with the cable running under it?

Ha! I was wondering if those would draw any comment. They certainly keep better in the car than their sours do, though.

I think the cable will be fine. It's not loose, but it's not crimped, either.

Originally Posted by SilverTE90

yeah i hate loose change and never carry it. I noticed no slots, Also no room in console for cds?
One question, i thought the ipod would allow you to view tracks on the radio display ?

I've put my CDs in a wallet on the driver's side door pocket. No data transmission from the iPod to the radio... yet. Even if we do get that, this iPod provides the album cover, and will always have a better interface to select music, so it would probably be worth keeping out.

Ok thanks, How is the quality of the sound from the ipod? same as CD ? sorry i still have 8 tracks and laser disk and....

Originally Posted by Quark

Ha! I was wondering if those would draw any comment. They certainly keep better in the car than their sours do, though....

I too love the sours, but yeah they don't maintain well in my automobile .

Originally Posted by SilverTE90

Ok thanks, How is the quality of the sound from the ipod? same as CD ? sorry i still have 8 tracks and laser disk and....

Sound quality will be as good as from an MP3 CD, if that's what you have on your iPod. (You could rip your music in Apple's lossless format, in which case you would have CD quality). It also helps to have that little SendStation adapter, which gives you a line-out port on the iPod, not to mention it helps keep your cables going in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Eduardo

I too love the sours, but yeah they don't maintain well in my automobile .

Although you could turn on the vent in that compartment to keep it cool...