[Russ]

I picked up my 550xi and have been touring Europe with it. BMW did a great job on the delivery. Parked it under a tree overnight in France, now I'll have to get the hood repainted.. angry birds! The drive thru Germany, Suisse, and France has been great. Amazing how the German drivers on the Autobahn leave the left lane when a fast car comes up behind them at 125mph! ;-)

I have 5 more days until I leave it in Nice.

[Rob@StrasseWheels]

Congrats! I assume you did a ED!

What options you end up going with?

[Russ]

I bought the Dynamic Handling Package, Premium Package 2, Sport Package, Convenience package, BMW Apps, iPhone integration, and Anthracite headliner. I also bought X-drive.

Interesting handling and performance change going from Normal to Sport configuration. The steering noticeably firms up after the change. I think the rear view camera is really helpful since the view thru the rear windows is restricted by the front seats. The back-up lines (green and red) on the camera screen help a lot as well.

I've been driving it fast but not hard. During the Welt delivery the BMW agent recommended not taking the engine above 4,500 rpms until it was broken in at 2,500 miles. This car rolls done the autobahn at 125 mph at 3,050 rpms. So, the agent's recommendation basically means "no jack rabbit starts". I have about 1,500 miles on it by now and no noticeable bubbles yet on the Eagle tires. Engine oil is at "maximum" as well.

BMW Apps seems ok. I don't like sync'ing up manually. However, the "last mile" feature helps get back to the car especially walking thru (foreign) cities.

The iPhone integration is really great. It's great creating new playlists on my Mac, and they automatically show-up in the car. There's a feature that allows you to thumb scroll the current playlist on the center console screen while you are driving with navigation on the 16:9 screen simultaneously.

Have I missed anything?

[Rob@StrasseWheels]

It looks like you got it all haha! Any mods in the future?

[masti99]

Congrats, enjoy ur trip! Please post some pics...

[Russ]

After three weeks I emailed TT Transit in Nice about the status on my car. I dropped it off in Nice on 9/16/11. The dealer said the status wasn't updated on their computer. EH Harms contacted me to explain the 550xi was loaded on the "Toronto" out of Bremerhaven on 10/5/11. However, even the EH Harms site doesn't list my car. The 550 is now in the North Sea after a stop in Gotenburg Sweden. ETA NY on 10/19/11.

Update.. as of 10/23/11 it is in Charleston I think.. I'm planning to pick it up at the VPC in SC.

[Russ]

Wow.. 11/09/11 and BMW VPC tells me I can pick my 550ix up on 11/23/11.