That right there is funny, I don't care who you are.

Took quite a bit longer then expected but I picked up my new ride on Saturday. They held the 2012's at the VPC while the Feds ran emissions/safety tests, etc.

2012 BMW X5 3.5i Sport, with running boards. Drives amazing, very pleased so far.

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This is a problem I wish I have someday.

I would have accepted the offer of the 2012, but I would have demanded a discount as well.

Adam, don't look now. . . take it nice and easy in your new E70!

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Glad it worked out in the end. Factory ordering usually is not necessary with dealer-trading, assuming that your local dealer is big enough to have the right cars to trade for what you want. It's like a card game. When I was selling new Porsches back in the '80s, 911s were a hot commodity and we only got 6-7 a month on our allocation. (IIRC). We could factory order them within the confines of our allocation, ie. if we were allocated one 930, we could pick the colors and options. We could not substitute a coupe for a targa, etc...

My manager would very wisely order every single 911 in either black, Guards red or white with either black or tan interiors. Those were by far the most popular colors and we could always dealer-trade for any odd or less common color with those cars if we had a buyer for the other colors.

I was recently at Beverly Hills BMW with a friend who was buying a new 335d, (amazing car). I was surprised when the manager told me that the hottest models were the X5 and X6. No discount whatsoever on those and they were selling them as fast as they could get them.

The X5 is today's station wagon. My wife loves hers and I expect were going to get the X5 in diesel.

The local law enforcement loves that spot right across from the BMW dealer, wonder why??

My limited experience purchasing this X5 (my first BMW) is that truly they can't keep X5s in stock. Unless you want an 8Cyl which most dealers have in stock you have to order one and wait. There was a recent article which mentioned that BMW is attempting to move the US market into an order and wait model vs keeping lots of inventory on hand.

After a few days of ownership I'm very pleased with the vehicle. Very tight, sporting ride with ample space and power. Doing as expected so far on gas, they do claim the highest fuel efficiency in the class. 8 speed transmission is taking some getting used to, many gear changes.

So YOU are behind the dearth of Aubergine, Irish Green, Aga Blue, Tangerine, Bahama Yellow, Signal Yellow, Viper Green, etc. from 1974-today! :) :) :)

I was recently at a local Porsche dealer. The dealer showed me a car that had recently come in that they had special ordered for a customer. The guy wanted a GT3 RS. The dealer found a dealer that agreed to give up a GT3 RS they had ordered, & they made 4-5 changes to the order with Porsche NA. The guy wanted a black car with red accents - front grille opening, mirrors, rear wing end-plates, etc. $159k MSRP.

Well the car came in & it was lime green...with red accents. The guy at Porsche NA made all of the changes except color. Actually, I fault the dealer for not double-checking that all of the changes (especially color) were actually made by Porsche NA.

He said Porsche offered the customer the opportunity to purchase a new model coming out for 2012 & to fly him & his wife to NYC to attend the NY Auto Show where the new model was to be introduced. However, I think I recently saw that the new model was not introduced at the NY Auto Show as promised....

Actually, I would have liked to see more cars in *less common* colors but it was hard to fault their logic. Sadly, at least 90% of the buyers in those days wanted one of the "big 3" colors. I remember that when the 1987 models came out, we started getting them in more unusual colors like Granite Green and Carmine Red, with Linen interiors and the like. That made me happy but it also coincided with the end of my career at Westwood Porsche. :cool: