European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 9, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday february 9,1989 the stars and stripes Page 13 new 5-series Bow has wedge shaped body. Grille features new design Bow kidney Symbol. Is photos expensive but lower prices for military Bow 525i a Superb luxury car the new Bow 5-series cars which were introduced to the press in Europe one year ago arrived on the . Market last fall and Are now available on the military Market with . Specifications. During the press introduction a year ago we briefly drove the 535i with Auto Matic transmission the 530i not Avail Able in America and the 525i with 5 Speed manual and wrote about these cars at the time. Today we report on one of the . Specification models the Bow 525i with 5-Speed manual Gearbox. The test car was made available by Bow Mili tary sales in conjunction with the Auto Exchange of Frankfurt. Extremely refined and attractive luxury automobiles the new 5-series sports sedans Bear a Strong resemblance to the larger 7 series models and they immediately establish their identity As typical bows. The 5-series sedans have clean and highly aesthetic lines the most striking feature the consistent wedge shape from front to rear where the spoiler is Inte grated into the lid of the Luggage compartment. The wedge shape design gives the 525i Model a drag coefficient of Only 0.30, lower than its More powerful 535i counterpart which is rated at 0.32. The 5-series cars Are 3.9 inches longer than the old Model nearly 2 inches wider and Are built on a 108.6-Inch wheelbase 5.3 inches longer than that of its predecessor. With the increase in size the new 5-series cars offer More Driver and passenger Comfort particularly in the rear compartment where the room is really spacious. Now let s look specifically at the 525i test car. The heart of this car is its fuel injected 2.5-liter, 6-Cylinder in line engine one that gives agile response All around and especially Strong punch at the Low end. With 168 horsepower on tap the 525i tops out at 135 Mph and our Zero-to-60 time read 9.2 seconds. The Tach s red line is pegged at 6,200 rpm and when you top that an electronic cutoff engages at 6,500. Going through the gears the Bow 525i did everything in increments of 30 Mph. For instance tops in first gear was 30 Mph second gear 60 Mph third gear 90 and fourth 120. Overdrive fifth As noted is 135 Mph. Cruising in fifth gear at a Speed of 80 Mph the engine was turning 3,000 revs and at the Legal limit of 55 Mph in some state sit was loafing at 2,000. The speedometer meanwhile featured a Little red Marker at the 55 Mph line. As the car is capable of cruising at Over 120 Mph this 55-Mph Marker was always Worth a smile and a reminder of the benefits of living in Europe with a big fast luxury  speaking of luxury let s move in Side. The seats of the five passenger 525i the cockpit of the new 525i. Leather seats plenty of room in Back. Test car were upholstered in Light Tan leather and the Interior trim was in Tan Vinyl both Matching beautifully with the Tan metallic exterior. The Driver s seat is Power adjustable for every possible configuration. The Back seat occupants have a lot of leg room and there s a leather Center armrest plus an opening above it for a ski sack. The trunk by the Way is huge with a capacity of 16.2 cubic feet. Back seat passengers can set whatever temperature they choose. The Driver and his front seat passenger also have Sepa rate temperature controls. This is All Standard including air conditioning. Regarding other Standard equipment the list for the 525i is a Long one and Here Are Only a few highlights dual heated Power adjust rear View mirrors Power Sun roof Central Locking Power windows an Active Check control system for engine brakes and other mechanical functions an on Board computer that gives outside temperature Miles per gallon average Etc. An anti theft system adjustable armrests for both Driver and passenger illuminated vanity mirrors for both Driver and Passen Ger and a lot More. The Bow interiors Are always functional and first rate no matter which series of car is involved but on the test car we did not like the Orange lighting for the instrument panel. Also the speedometer had both Mph and Kph figures and both were lettered in White making the smaller Kph figures difficult to read. Still these Are minor complaints and the Driver of this car truly sits in the Lap of luxury. Although midsize in the Bow lineup the 525i remains a fairly Large car and it is Strong Swift and silent. It is of course rear wheel drive and it handles Well and holds the Road with authority Bow rat ing the weight distribution at 50 percent front Axle and 50 percent rear Axle. The Power assist brakes with the anti lock Abs system As Standard Are As Good As they come our Road notebook keeps stressing this with extra Large discs used at All four wheels to match the car s performance. The discs Are nearly 12 inches in diameter and the fronts Are vented. Wheels Are 15-Inch Alloy Alloy wheels Are Standard and they Are shod by 205/65 or Pirelli. Our fuel mileage figure came to 18.1 mpg unleaded regular is used and the tank holds 21 Gallons 80 liners. The Range is More than adequate nearly 400 Miles. Now let s look at pricing. Due to the Dollar s decline against the Mark Bow cars like All German made cars have become More expensive alas. But the military Market gets a big break Here because of the Bow factory s military sales program and anyone interested in .-specification Bow cars would be Wise to take advantage of it. For instance the 525i four door luxury ports Sedan described in this report costs $31,300 Munich delivery while the same Model sold in the United states costs $37,000 port of entry plus $130 for dealer preparation and $325 More for destination handling. That is a military discount Price difference of $6,155. The 535i, meanwhile with the More powerful 3.5-liter engine of 208 he costs $37,100 in Munich while Selling for $43,600 in the United states plus $145 prep and $325 destination handling a difference of $6,970. The savings Range runs from $4,635 for the least expensive Bow the 325j/2 to $10,540 for the most expensive car the 12-cylinder750il. In Germany the cars May be seen at 18 Bow military car sales Auto Exchange locations. The program also oper ates at other locations in Germany and throughout Europe. Randy Barnet Auto columnist Bow Sef sales production records in 88 reporting recently on its 1988 Busi Ness year Bow of Munich said in a press release that it set records in reve nue sales and total production for the second straight year. Bow said its production increased 4.9 percent to 484,121, while sales Rose by 5.9 percent to 486,592 cars. In West Germany sales Rose to More than 182,000, a 24 percent gain Over 1987. Bow said its group revenues surged 25.9 percent to 24.5 billion Marks $13.2 billion. This increase Bow said was the strongest it had achieved since the mid-1970s. Without disclosing its profit results the company said it expected earnings to reach 1987 Levels when the net surplus came to 357 million Marks $192.9 million. Bow said that while its sales in Europe increased sharply in 1988, its . Sales dropped 16 percent to 73,400 units this reflecting the decline of the Dollar against the West German Mark. Bow pointed out that during its highly successful sales year in West Germany 96 percent of its customers purchased bows automobiles that use unleaded gasoline the cars equipped with 3-Way catalytic converters. Regarding the Outlook for 1989, Bow predicted further increases in production and sales. R. B