Glacier or Grey Poplar

[Road Runner]

So I've encountered quite the dilemna here.

I just spoke to my CA and appearantly the manufacturer of the Glacier Trim was holding up a bunch of 1ers because they'd had a shortage the the glacier alum trim. My car was one of the vehicles in the production queue that was held up but has now gone to production. NOTE: there are now factory restrictions on the Glacer Aluminum trim.

Appearantly a car almost exactly like mine, Le Mans Blue, sunroof, Comfort Access, Premium Audio, Black 'ette is only about a week and a bit away from the dealership. The only snag is that the trim is that its the Grey Poplar trim rather than the Glacier Aluminum and it doesn't have the ski bag.

I can live w/o the ski bag, but I'm not so sure about the trim. So its get the car next week with the poplar, or get it in early May with the Glacier....

Thoughts? :iono:

[Nice1]

i'm not a big fan of the aluminum trim. the textured surface will trap dirt. the smoother surfaces of the high gloss or wood finishes only require a quick wipe, albeit on a frequent basis to keep clean. doing the same with the aluminum trim will not guarantee that it will be clean as the surfaces will tend to hide dirt more easily.

that and it reminds me of my norelco electric shaver :biggrin: i wish they offered brushed aluminum.

[malves85]

I would wait for the Glacier trim. I saw the grey poplar trim in person and not a big fan. I dont like the whole shinny fake wood look. I think it belongs on more elegant cars, not this beast. Im getting black leatherette and it took forever to decide between the glacier and black gloss trim. Those two trims give the car a more sporty sense to it. I think both would look amazing in the car. I just went with the black gloss trim for the whole blacked out interior look. I think the glacier will def be worth the wait.

[TitoSkulls]

The wood trim in all BMWs is actually real wood .... I personally think the gray poplar looks quite nice and that's why I ordered it. If you can wait an extra month, then by all means wait. I know I couldn't.

[Nice1]

Originally Posted by TitoSkulls

The wood trim in all BMWs is actually real wood .... I personally think the gray poplar looks quite nice and that's why I ordered it. If you can wait an extra month, then by all means wait. I know I couldn't.

+1. I had to do a double take on the gray poplar by checking it out at the local dealership and convinced myself that that was the way to go. imho, pictures really don't do the poplar option justice.

[Dave135i]

Originally Posted by malves85

I would wait for the Glacier trim. I saw the grey poplar trim in person and not a big fan. I dont like the whole shinny fake wood look. I think it belongs on more elegant cars, not this beast. Im getting black leatherette and it took forever to decide between the glacier and black gloss trim. Those two trims give the car a more sporty sense to it. I think both would look amazing in the car. I just went with the black gloss trim for the whole blacked out interior look. I think the glacier will def be worth the wait.

^ I agree.

RoadRunner, our cars are almost identical. I had a hard time deciding between the grey poplar and the glacier. The grey poplar would make it a little more luxurious. I picked the glacier because it suits the nature of the car better...especially with the M Sport Package and Blackette.

I'd wait...if you can :wink:

[stefan]

I was really close to getting glacier.. REALLY close.. Then I realized the pattern's relief would make it tough to keep clean and trap dirt. Also, the gray poplar looks really good in person, pictures don't do it justice. Not too "fancy" looking..

[Road Runner]

Thanks for all the input guys! I'm going to the dealership to check out the Poplar tomorrow afternoon. I think that'll be the deciding factor. I appreciate the trade-off in appearances though, sport vs elegance (but not too elegant), and thats the tough part.

I know a couple of you are in Calgary as well, so just to give you a heads up, Calgary BMW has their Sedona Red 135 now and they just took it *out* of the showroom to do some servicing to make it roadworthy for test drives sometime in the next couple days.

[dclee1]

Road Runner - what did you mean by factory restrictions on Glacier trim?

[Nice1]

Originally Posted by Road Runner

Thanks for all the input guys! I'm going to the dealership to check out the Poplar tomorrow afternoon. I think that'll be the deciding factor. I appreciate the trade-off in appearances though, sport vs elegance (but not too elegant), and thats the tough part.

I know a couple of you are in Calgary as well, so just to give you a heads up, Calgary BMW has their Sedona Red 135 now and they just took it *out* of the showroom to do some servicing to make it roadworthy for test drives sometime in the next couple days.

i think bmw's reduced use of trim in the 1 series makes wood a good option making it not too "elegant" as you stated.

[Road Runner]

Originally Posted by dclee1

Road Runner - what did you mean by factory restrictions on Glacier trim?

My understanding is that a number of vehicles had been held up in the factory order bank because of a shortage of the Glacier Aluminum. Some of the people who've also been on here since November may even remember that when we were first getting a look at the options and trims list, that there was a forecast shortage of the glacier even back then.

Anyways, the vehicles delayed but ordered a while back with the Glacier are now in production but there may be additional delays in ordering glacier. This is because *from what my SA told me* the factory has asked that for the time being there be no more ordering of the glacier. I mean, take that with a grain of salt, but mine was a week 11 build with April 15 delivery and it just went into production a couple days ago.

[benz135i]

I really like the glacier trim... but if it came down to waiting 2 months for it, vs immediate delivery? I'd probably go for instant gratification....

I'm sure the trim can be switched out later if you end up hating it??

[zoom1]

just a comment....I've got aluminum trim on my C230 and boy the stuff dents. GPS fell on the ashtray and dented it and the seat belt snapping back dented the trim on the door panel. I hope BMW's trim is sturdier. I personally went for the poplar.

[rdkind62]

For those of you that think the glacier aluminum trim is too hard to keep clean. What exactly are you doing in your car that will make this get dirty in the first place? All cars get dusty inside and the solution is to dust the inside of your car. It is not any more difficult to dust the aluminum than it is anything else.

[BMW Dreamer]

I think the glacier trim looks ok, but it does look a little like a 1950's ice cube tray. I personally prefer the grey poplar and gloss black. With gloss black being my favorite. But these are only my opinions. I like the Alpine white with the whole black interior package. Many friends have said to NOT get Coral red. Black interior's always look sporty and classy IMO.

If you can wait, get what you really want, so you don't WISH you had waited.

[Nice1]

Originally Posted by rdkind62

For those of you that think the glacier aluminum trim is too hard to keep clean. What exactly are you doing in your car that will make this get dirty in the first place? All cars get dusty inside and the solution is to dust the inside of your car. It is not any more difficult to dust the aluminum than it is anything else.

it's not "too hard to keep clean", just relatively harder than the smoother surfaces. it's easier to miss a spot on a textured surface than a smoother one. a minor quibble yet something to consider.

[Road Runner]

I think I'm about 50/50 on it. When I first ordered I went with the glacier because it was a pretty easy decision, thats what my '07 GLI had (aluminum) and my father's 328xi is also the brushed aluminum. So I never really gave much thought to the gray poplar.

But having looked at it in a few pictures, I think I'm leaning towards getting the poplar which has the added bonus of getting the car next week. But like I said, I'm going to see it when I test drive the car this afternoon then I'll decide the final verdict.

I think the image that "sold" me was this one from the leftlane review...

[asv]

The glacier trim is just as easy to clean as any of the other trim options. I haven't had any problems with it trapping dirt.

[shawshank772]

Yeup, grey poplar looks really nice in my opinion

[redwood]

I haven't seen the Glacier Aluminum in person, but the Gray Poplar looks really nice in person. I was surprised. I have burl walnut in my 328 and would prefer the aluminum. I definitely would not get the walnut in the 1, but when I eventually get mine, I'll have a tough time deciding between glacier and poplar. One thing I worry about with the aluminum is the door pulls could get realy hot in the Texas sun. Not exactly ideal for somewhere you put hands (also why I'm glad the sport package loses the aluminum shifter).

[Troyn]

I liked the look of the Glacier Aluminum, but after having aluminum trim in my last Audi and seeing how easily it scratched, I opted for the gray poplar.

I also found the aluminum very easy to clean, scratches aside.

[stefan]

Originally Posted by Road Runner

I know a couple of you are in Calgary as well, so just to give you a heads up, Calgary BMW has their Sedona Red 135 now and they just took it *out* of the showroom to do some servicing to make it roadworthy for test drives sometime in the next couple days.

Nice.. thanks for the heads up. Wonder when it will be available to drive..