2010 BMW 550i GT

European citizens put up withinsanelyhigh taxation levels, live blissfully in verynear quarters, and have fashion sensibilities that promotestrange footwear and business suits in colors normally associated with the supervisionpositions of the “oldest profession.” Nowadays, European elites are shunning luxuriousSUVs and sedans and turning to what is “different”.They are starting to prefer the bucks-up hatchbacks likeAudi A7, the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, and BMW X6. It seems as though Europeansare fond of hatchbacks just because Americans despise them and they blame the US for destroying the world economy.

This new automobile sub-genre maybe fits the European business travel style, in which it is more meaningful for 3 or 4 executives to share a vehicle for a freehighwayflash between neighboring cities. Anyways, some prettier platypuses than others are arriving at the US, even if only in small volumes. BMW claimed that the GT wouldexceed the 5 Series wagon’s 1000 a year, and hinted that theymay not produce the next-generation 5 wagon, so Bimmerphileswho love wagons might have no choice but to be reconciled with this one. And it does have a powerfulexistence on the road which is not quite conveyed through photographs (apologies for making analogousstatements concerning the Panamera).

Fashionable Yanks who could be cajoled into a test-spin of this too-short SUV/too-tall carare going to be happy with adaptability similar toa Swiss Army knife’s and after some miles at the wheel of the 550i GT, they mightimagine they have come across a Filene’s Basement great deal on a somewhatuneven 7 Series ($82,280, but $65,000 now!). Power moves along from the 7′s terrifying 4.4-L twin-turbo V-8 to a new 8-speed automatic to the back wheels (AWD and the 6-cylinder 535i variation follow mid-year).