BMW – Car of the Day

BMW M Coupe

garythepowers — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:45:23 +0000

One of my favorite cars of all time was the BMW M Coupe. I lusted after, shopped for and test drove this ultra rare BMW.

This car was only made for 4 short years and less than 3000 came to the US. Only 690 got the newer M3’s engine rated at 315hp. That is a ton of go for 3000lbs of Bavarian steel. The car you see here is the result of engineers designing a car. It was almost a rogue development. If I ever get my warehouse for my car collection, this would be one car worth locating.

In my research on this car I found that Johnny Lieberman at Jalopnik had already written a fantanstic article, I knew it would be a great read when Johnny claimed that the M Coupe could possibly be the official car of Jalopnik. I feel the same way, this car has been a regular in my own “car of the day” daydreams.

Warning: Do Not Read This Article!

garythepowers — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:01:26 +0000

Ok. Not this article, but this article. Inside Line is a favorite place of mine to get some great car comparisons and new car news. They usually provide me a sneak preview of what to expect in my mailbox via the standard car magazines.

Today I was extremely excited about their new featured article, “Clash of the V8-Powered Titans – The Audi RS5 meets the M3”.

When I clicked on the article I was sent to a page with over 1500 words all about Audi vs. BMW. There were action shots of the Audi and BMW sparring on a road course somewhere. I was getting ready to settle in for possibly one of the best comparison articles of the year.

But as I started reading, I noticed that there was a lot of extra marketing info about the cars and the manufacturer’s philosophy behind the cars. What it came down to was really just an article previewing the Audi RS5 and how looks compared to the benchmark. This article is not a comparison test. It isn’t even a first drive. It is just a tease.

Inside Line is anticipating a potential showdown between the RS5 and the M3 CSL. However, the M3 CSL may not even make it to production because there isn’t enough demand for a such a niche vehicle.

The interesting thing about the Audi RS5 and its little brother the S5 is how they get their power. The new S5 and S4 will no longer be powered by a V8, but a turbo-charged V6 like the older S4’s. The V6 S4 and S5 will have 350hp and that equals 10 more hp than last years V8 S4. The RS5 goes the turbocharged V8 route to 450hp out of its 4.2 liters.

Ok, so the article wasn’t that bad, I was just disappointed that what looked like a comparison test was just a tease. You can read the full tease at Inside Line.

The 2008 M3 Test Drive

garythepowers — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:16:31 +0000

How often in your life have you had the chance to drive a new BMW M car? I’ve ridden in a few and today the number of new M cars I’ve driven totals 2. A friend at work has the new BMW M3 sedan. This is the first M3 to cross the 400hp mark and the first M3 to be powered by a V8.

When I sat behind the steering wheel of the M3 the first thing I noticed was how the driver’s seat grabbed me. The side bolsters just hold you snugly in place. Actually, the side bolsters are like those Select Comfort beds and are totally adjustable to your personal liking. The steering wheel is a thick meaty control interface that allows you to get a great grip on the direction of the M3.

The thing that the M3 reminded me of when I drove it is what the middle letter stands for in BMW. For those of you that don’t know the “M” stands for “motor”. BMW’s have always been powered by great motors and the M cars get the best motors.

When BMW first started producing V8s, I remember an automotive journalist who summed it up like this. “BMW has a long history of making 4 cylinders that compete with other companies V6s. They make 6 cylinders that compete with other companies V8s. What happens when this company makes a V8?”

Well, engine technology has come a long way since BMW introduced its first modern V8 and it may not quite be light years ahead of the competition. However, BMW still makes superior power plants, especially when the M division builds that engine.

Anyway, back to the test drive and the amazing V8. A V8 that redlines over 8000 rpm, an 8400 rpm to be exact, nearly 2000rpm over where the V8 in my GTO redlines at. It was great fun to rev out the 4.4liter German of jewel of an engine to the stratosphere of V8 rpms. It doesn’t just rev high; it revs silky smooth all the way through the tachometer applying its power smoothly all the way the shift point.

Oh and the shift points, they deserve their own paragraph. The M3 in question controls its power through a 6 speed manual transmission. This transmission has all the snickety-snick goodness that one wants in a manual transmission. The throws are short and very precise. If you properly snap through the gears you will be treated to 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th gear scratches. This was the first time I’ve caught a chirp on the way to 4^th gear, it was a little surprising and just good fun.

The M3 is also very fast. It builds its speed very smoothly and deceptively, triple digits arrive quicker than you can say “What seems to be the problem officer? We were just out for a little test drive. What do you mean I’m going to jail?”

It also handles like a BMW. Volumes have been written about the epic handling of the Ultimate Driving Machines. It’s not just a marketing slogan, especially when you are behind the wheel of the Ultimate 3 Series. I’m not going to say much about the handling other than it feels like a precision instrument. It is like signing your name with fine tip Mont Blanc pen versus a Marksalot.

The M3 is also nicely styled car and full of some great technology. You can read about on BMW’s web site. I just wanted to share my impression from my short time with the M3. Thanks to M3 owner who let me appreciate this automotive masterpiece. If you get a chance to ride or drive in the M3, take it.

So is the M3 faster than the GTO? It’s hard to tell. It would sure would be fun to find out some day.

2009 BMW 335d

garythepowers — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:01:15 +0000

In May I wrote about the Audi A3 Clubsport a diesel powered sports car concept. Well BMW is bringing the US the first diesel powered sports sedan in the form of the 2009 335d. If the idea of an oil burning 3 series that gets 22/33mpg and 425lb-ft of torque and 265hp appeals to you, then this car may be just the ticket. Unfortunately, right now diesel costs more per gallon than unleaded gas and the diesel version of the 335 will cost a few thousand more than its gas burning stablemate the 335i.

The 335d is powered by a twin-turbo inline six cylinder and it makes 125 more lb-ft of torque than the 335i and only 35hp less. The trick to remember is that this a turbo-charged engine and they are very responsive to tunes. I wouldn’t be surprised to be writing about a new tune for the 335d that makes over 300hp and nearly 500lb-ft of grunt.

The Wind in your Hair

garythepowers — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:14:26 +0000

There’s that “wind in the hair feeling” that people say they have when they are enjoying their car or motorcycle. I’ve been enjoying that feeling with my new GTO. I don’t think that feeling has anything to do with wind or hair. It is about everything in life lining up and making sense. It is about a time that everything seems right with the world.

It reminds me of the days of driving my first car that I had a hand in selecting. It was a 1979 BMW 320i with a fresh paint job and a few mechanical mods to make it a little quicker than stock. And the 320i needed all the help it can get to get additional power. It was only rated for 110hp and 157lb ft from the factory, but it was still fun to drive with the famous BMW suspension and a 4 speed manual transmission.

Whenever I would wash my 320i I pop out the rear vent windows roll the windows down and cruise over to pick up my girlfriend. All was right the world. Will Smith did a good job of capturing this feeling in his song “Summertime”.

Now I have another car that bring that feeling with simple 2^nd gear scratch brought forth from the LS2 V8 overpowering the rear tires.

Get a car you love. Get a car that is fun to drive to you. Get a car that makes every trip a chance to get that magical “wind in your hair feeling”. How you define fun to drive is up to you and there are plenty of cars to match whatever your definition of fun to drive is, whether it is style over performance or fun to drive in the twisties or high mpgs or ultimate power. Figure what is fun to you and starting enjoying your ride every time you get to drive it.

Scoop! Letter from Car and Driver to Nissan Leaked to TTAC

garythepowers — Sat, 31 May 2008 03:12:40 +0000

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) is a non-biased automotive website that has published one of my articles.

This article is in response to a Car and Driver article where they compared a 911 turbo, GT-R and a M3 and gave the M3 the gold medal.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/scoop-letter-from-car-and-driver-to-nissan-leaked-to-ttac/

The M3 Sedan Comparison Comparo

garythepowers — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:36:59 +0000

It seems everywhere you look there is an article comparing the new 2008 BMW M3 Sedan to the handful of other 4-doors capable of legitimately running with the ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine.

I’ve located 5 reviews comparing the best luxury sports sedans in the world to each other. The requirement for this review of reviews is that one of the cars being tested is the 4-door M3.

I will attempt to determine who has the best review of the best sports sedans in the world. Who has the best review? Can I just read the best review and save all the repetitive reading? Is the M3 really better than sex? (well, not if you do it right)

Inside Line Review

At the end of March Edmunds Inside Line published the first comparison of the M3 sedan vs. the Mercedes-Benz C63. Inside Line does a great job of regularly scooping the automotive rags with their reviews. While most car magazines are putting together next month’s articles Inside Line has already posted the earliest review. Inside Line presents a very technical review of the M3 and the C63. They took the BMW and M-B to the 1.5 mile track of Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch and gave each car a proper wringing out. The BMW lapped the track 1.8 seconds faster than the Benz. The final synopsis had the BMW occupying first place. Inside Line may have had the first comparison, but it places 5th in this review of reviews.

Car and Driver Review

Car and Driver published their review in May and chose to simply compare the M3 to the Lexus IS-F. The writers at C&D cited a former test in which the M3 coupe trumped the C63 and the Audi RS4. Laguna’s 2.2 mile track was the testing ground for their edition of car vs. car. However after a frustrating search, the actual track times aren’t recorded in the actual article. (perhaps if you download and decipher the test data sheets you can glean that information) This review was well written with a bit more personality than I noticed in the Inside Line comparison. Car and Driver does a good job of organizing their comparison test. It is a simple 3 page layout with page one introducing the vehicles and laying the stage and page 2 dedicated to the Lexus and the 3rd page for the M3. The article also had the BMW M3 as the winner of their comparison and is the 4th best comparison featuring a BMW M3 sedan.

Motor Trend Review

Motor Trend also had their version of a M3 comparison test for their May issue following a theme from the motion picture “There Will be Blood”. Motor Trend decided to do a little more work than Inside Line and Car & Driver by adding a third car to their test. This was a M3 vs. C63 vs. IS-F battle royale. Or simply a combination of the previous two reviews. Motor Trend has a frustrating style of organizing their reviews by category and not by car. I prefer a comparison organized by car so I can quickly go back and read about a specific car without having to wade through and entire review to glean the information that I need. It was an entertaining enough review and, surprise, had the BMW in the top spot followed by the C63 and then the IS-F. Motor Trend takes the bronze and lands in third place with their review.

The Truth About Cars Review

The Truth About Cars posted their comparison involving the BMW M3 in the middle of May. They chose the Audi RS4 as the contender to the BMW M3. The TTAC review was well written with wit, opinion, humor and some information. It lacked the hard test numbers of the other comparisons. You had to learn 0-60 times in other places and frankly there are plenty other places to get those simple stats. The opinions and impressions of the cars from the TTAC comparison is really what I am trying to get an understanding from in a comparison. The TTAC article ends with the author preferring the Audi over the BMW. For those of you scoring at home that is first loss for the BMW and a second place finish for the TTAC review.

Road & Track Review

Road & Track came to the “car vs. car” party the latest. However, there is good reason for their tardy arrival. The Road & Track comparison is the uber-test of the uber-sedans. The Audi RS4, the BMW M3, the Lexus IS-F, and the Mercedes C63 AMG made up the field for their test. If you can only read one comparison, this is the one to read and it even has a surprise outcome. The gold medal goes to Road & Track for the best M3 sedan comparison test.

The Car Hunt

garythepowers — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:09:20 +0000

I’m currently assisting a COTD reader identify the best car for his current situation.

A car is a major purchase and I appreciate when people take their time to research what is the best car for them and their current situation.

Here are his parameters:

“I want to buy a 4-door sedan. I don’t want to spend more than 40K, although I would spend 45K if I really like the car. My top three priorities are:

Safety

Fun to drive (handling and power)

Gadgets (Nav etc. – I like nice toys).

I also want a car that has a sense of style. I don’t want to drive around in a refrigerator.”

So I responded with these thoughts:

“Now realize any of my suggestions will almost always come with a performance bias.

The best option from Japan is the a gently used 2007 Infiniti M45. The M45 has all the technology Infiniti can muster, including one of my favorite options – air cooled seats. It has all of the request features that make that gadget guys happy. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/infiniti-m45/

From Japan I would also give an honorable mention to the Lexus G430 if the Infiniti is a little too on the sporty side of the scale for you.

A high powered option from America is a new or extremely low mileage (less than 5k) Chrysler 300 SRT-8. The SRT-8 is powered by a 425hp 6.1 liter hemi. It is a brute. There are several other SRT-8 siblings including the Dodge Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee all with the same 6.1 liter hemi and SRT treatments. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/chrysler-300c-srt-8/

An American honorable mention goes to the brand new Pontiac G8. If you don’t know about the G8 check it out. It would be a relative deal for you budget, but it is a very impressive offering from GM. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=124876

From the UK I would look at Jaguar’s supercharged V8 powered S-type R that is good for 400hp. http://www.forbesautos.com/reviews/2006/jaguar/s_type/r/test-drive.html

The only problem with the S-type is that is being replace in 2009 with the already released XF. The XF is an attractive car already getting good press. However, the S-type R is truly a special car and should be timeless choice.

There are the great cars from Germany the AMG E-Class, the Audi S6 and the BMW M5, but we would need to go further back in time to hit our price point. “

The rising price of gas and the desire for a slightly smaller car is causing our reader to think more along the lines of the BMW 3 Series, which is never a bad choice.

A creative option the 3 Series is the ultra-exclusive Saab Turbo X of which only 600 will see American shores.

I will keep you updated as to the Car Hunt Progress.

BMW tii

garythepowers — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:09:44 +0000

Today’s car of the day is one of the greatest COTD’s ever and that is a car that isn’t out yet. When you obsess over cars and it seems like you want a new car every day, the car that has not been released yet is an attractive option.

A former COTD is the BMW 135i. It is the little brother to the BMW 3 Series. It is powered by the same 300hp twin-turbocharged engine that drives the 335i. This engine has a bit of reputation of being underrated, significantly underrated. When the 335i’s first started showing for road tests with the automotive media, car journalists were incredulous at the numbers this “300hp” sedan was putting up. So there were several well documented dyno tests of the 335i and the net results of the tests showed that BMW was underselling the performance of the new engine. It was not uncommon for the cars to show 300hp at the wheels meaning it really had about 350hp at the crank.

Why would BMW under-promise by 50hp? My theory is that the previous generation 333hp M3 was sitting in the showroom at the same time that the BMW 335i hit the floor. This meant that if BMW really advertised the true horsepower rating of the 335i it would have more hp than the almighty M3. Thus they over promised and under delivered.

I said all of that to say this that the BMW 135i has a special edition car coming out soon. The BMW 135i tii, is an homage to the great 2002 tii, in execution and theory. The tii is a lightweight, turbo-charged, small coupe that continues to perpetuate the brand that is the Ultimate Driving Machine.

A Car Delivery Vacation

garythepowers — Mon, 19 May 2008 02:41:35 +0000

Are you looking at buying a new Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Porsche? Why not visit Germany and actually take delivery of your fine German automobile from the mother country?

I’ve already discussed the greatness of the new BMW M3 Sedan here. So if you are going to purchase a special car like this why not head to Munich and pick up your car straight from the factory?

Some of the manufacturer’s offer a discount for customers willing to take a European delivery of their car. The discount can well pay for your vacation and it’s not just a vacation it is a chance to drive your new car in its home country. A country where there are roads with no speed limits.

The nice thing about these European delivery programs is they aren’t reserved for the super expensive models; all of their models are eligible for this option. The down side with a European delivery is having to wait for your car to be shipped back home. It can be a bit like meeting your soul mate on an exotic vacation and then having to wait way too long to see her again. It can be a long wait until your new baby gets back to the States.

It makes for a very interesting option for a vacation. The team at AskMen.com has more information on their site.