Spy Shot: BMW 1-Series spotted in San Fran
Hoo baby, it's almost a dream-come-true... Autoblog reader Judd pointed us in the direction of this photo taken of a BMW 1-series, sans most of its badging, in San Francisco. BMW has thus far denied that it will bring the much-coveted hatch to the U.S. due to poor currency conditions on this side of the pond, though many in the industry speculate that the vehicle may come over in coupe and convertible form in a few years.
While we can't say one way or another that this picture means anything, it's nice to dream, isn't it?
[Source: http://tinyurl.co.uk/e2tc]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
David 6:15PM (7/15/2006)
...looks like a Kia...
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doglet 6:16PM (7/15/2006)
im am really looking forward to the coupe. could be a great car
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Tom 6:16PM (7/15/2006)
You can buy one in Mexico.
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TargetFaux 6:30PM (7/15/2006)
man.. that rear end sure does look a lot like the new honda fits rear.
over all, not to many of the new bmw's do anything for me .. i really like the older mid to late 90's models.
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Greg 6:39PM (7/15/2006)
Maybe someone just brought it in from another country? Could be some german guy who moved to the US.
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Matt Freitas 7:13PM (7/15/2006)
Sorry all you guys who think its an import from mexico or other places... But look carefully... those of you non-CA residents might not recognize this, but on the left of the rear plate... is a small tag which reads DST, which means distributor. Not only that but CA is super anal retentative about registering your vehicle from ANYWHERE out of the state. Not just out of the country. IE You drive your car with NY plates for a few months, cant guarantee you wont get pulled over by some quota-happy CHP officer.
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felonious monk 7:14PM (7/15/2006)
Look at the plate. Not a typical CA plate. Could be someone here on official business. Diplomat and such.
As for the it looks like this and that comments... the 1 series has been around longer. It's only new to your American eyes. So, no, BMW didn't copy Kia or Honda. Besides, yeah, they look alike in the way that they all have four wheels and four tires. C'mon, you need glasses.
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Chris 7:32PM (7/15/2006)
Like #6 said this is a Distributor plate which manufacturer's put on their test cars. That said, it doesn't mean anything that it's testing in California. Foreign market cars test in the USA all the time.
-CD/BP
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ik 7:40PM (7/15/2006)
BMW Caliber
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SoloTwo 7:52PM (7/15/2006)
Except for the fact that it looks nothing like the Caliber and the 1-series has been on sale before the caliber was even thought of.
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David 8:20PM (7/15/2006)
I spotted a 1 Series in Ann Arbor toward the end of April, I believe it had M (manufacturer's) plates. It also had a sticker on the right rear window of either a BMW supplier or tuner, I believe it started with an H. Wish I could remember. Either way, I don't think either sighting means very much at this point.
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Jayayess1190 8:36PM (7/15/2006)
Automobile magazine said we will be getting a sedan version in 2008.
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Steve S 8:59PM (7/15/2006)
The new 3 and 5 series look great but this hatch just isn't doing it for me same with the A3.
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djsyndrome 9:17PM (7/15/2006)
In the last few months, I've seen a new Honda Accord Wagon (Diesel), a Seat of some sort (Ibiza?), and a Smart roaming around Northern California. The Smart I can explain - it had British Columbia plates - but the other two are a mystery.
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lavardera 9:49PM (7/15/2006)
To me it shares a lot with the Mazda3. But I went to the BMW site and looked at more photos of it - you can't tell much from this view.
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farris 10:29PM (7/15/2006)
I think i know why #9 (ik) thought it looked like the Caliber.
I saw a Caliber up close for the first time yesterday, and I noticed that the Caliber has almost no rear visibility. This car looks to do pretty much the same (smallish rear window, unneccesarily large rear pillars...)
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ruggels 11:33PM (7/15/2006)
I've seen a blue and silver one in mission valley san diego, didn't see the plates though, this was two months ago. so 1 series in cali isn't unheard of.
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donald douglas 11:35PM (7/15/2006)
we see the 1 series and alot of other cool cars on a daily basis here in san diego, all with mexican plates, the one i want is the fiesta !
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chewy 12:04AM (7/16/2006)
I think the 1 series has been overhyped lately.
In the regular version it is no better than a VW Golf.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9HWWeRpvKII&search=golf%20118d
With the 6 cylinder engine it is no better than the VW R32.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtF6fCFviAo&search=Fifth%20Gear%20VW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09s8eMLHIUM&search=R32%20top%20gear
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Colin M. 1:19AM (7/16/2006)
#19: Except that it's RWD with a 50/50 weight distribution.
I've had my eye on these since before BMW even built them, hoping they'd bring them to the States. I'd heard talk lately that they were to be sold here Fall '06 as an '07 model, but I have nothing to back that up.
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