[jbeene]

Great thread, so many great observations that a threadjack is very possible.

I agree that the slower cars can be more fun. Back in my pre BMW days (post 2002tii) I had an Integra GSR and my wife (in the post wife period now..) had a Civic Lx. Around town the Civic was just so much more fun to drive, its limits were so much lower, it had a stick and I didn't get a nosebleed on the way to redline. Skinny tires, 105hp. Well balanced for a fwd, easy to load up for a corner and if done properly avoid terminal understeer. It was fun. It was also made of Pepsi cans and pretty much collapsed on itself when it got rear ended...

I've had many different BMW's and drive an E90 M3 now (my third). It is a fantastic car but I think my 330 zhp was more fun day to day even though it was substantially slower. Its one of the BMW's I regret selling. I also regret selling the Frozen Grey 11 E90 M3 6mt I had. What was I thinking…one of 3 for North America and I think the only one with a manual transmission.

I had the order placed on a 1M, then sat in it (a pre-production model) and it left me cold. The discussion with the GM of my dealership went something like this..don't cancel your order - "this is a one shot deal that will be worth more in 3 years than it is now" BMW doesn't do this stuff anymore BUY IT!. Another M3 is like another piece of bratwurst, they are making them by the thousands. oops…I still haven't driven one. Probably a good thing. But I got the FG E90 6MT as an alternative.

A GT3 is on the wish list for sure and always has been. Someday…

Thanks for the great write up.