Does it REALLY matter?

[swimfreak]

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There have been some threads recently, and in the past, that discuss comparos with other cars. I find those interesting. Not because the 1M wins or loses, but because people who have bought the 1M are posting them.

We are, after all, a competitive breed. I'm speaking mostly to the men here, and I'm assuming mostly men are on here. We want the best, we want the outward display of the best. We want the world to know we have the best. But a car, in its essence, is a personal thing. Unless someone has walked in your shoes, driven your car history with you, and now driven your car, they won't know what you feel when you drive your 1M. And so caring about comparing your car, that you've paid hard-earned money for, with a car that you don't own seems a little silly.

I catch myself thinking about these comparos every once in a while, and thinking maybe I need to upgrade the suspension, exhaust, ECU tune or the like because it's not as good as X. But then I drive the car. I feel the acceleration, the handling through the turns, the grip through the u-turn under-pass, and the pull through the gears after. It's thrilling, it's amazing.

I don't mean to incense anybody here, only to make a statement that the car doesn't need to be faster, handle better, or be a better "drivers car" than x, y, or z. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters, and that's all that should matter.

[mPlasticDesign]

Originally Posted by swimfreak

There have been some threads recently, and in the past, that discuss comparos with other cars. I find those interesting. Not because the 1M wins or loses, but because people who have bought the 1M are posting them.

We are, after all, a competitive breed. I'm speaking mostly to the men here, and I'm assuming mostly men are on here. We want the best, we want the outward display of the best. We want the world to know we have the best. But a car, in its essence, is a personal thing. Unless someone has walked in your shoes, driven your car history with you, and now driven your car, they won't know what you feel when you drive your 1M. And so caring about comparing your car, that you've paid hard-earned money for, with a car that you don't own seems a little silly.

I catch myself thinking about these comparos every once in a while, and thinking maybe I need to upgrade the suspension, exhaust, ECU tune or the like because it's not as good as X. But then I drive the car. I feel the acceleration, the handling through the turns, the grip through the u-turn under-pass, and the pull through the gears after. It's thrilling, it's amazing.

I don't mean to incense anybody here, only to make a statement that the car doesn't need to be faster, handle better, or be a better "drivers car" than x, y, or z. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters, and that's all that should matter.

Seems to me that you're kinda an 'ignorance is bliss' kinda guy. Some people just have a different philosophy in life, if you don't strive for greatness, you will undoubtably be destined for mediocracy. But if having your head in the clouds with a mouthful of pie makes you happy, then ignore the comparisons. It's ok.

[clived]

Originally Posted by Mr.Metak2you

Seems to me that you're kinda an 'ignorance is bliss' kinda guy. Some people just have a different philosophy in life, if you don't strive for greatness, you will undoubtably be destined for mediocracy. But if having your head in the clouds with a mouthful of pie makes you happy, then ignore the comparisons. It's ok.

The counter-argument to this is that sometimes it is nice to be happy and greatful for what you have. There is *always* going to be some improvement that one could strive for in any aspect of life - but this turns some people into "upgraders" who never stop to appreciate what's been given to them / they've worked for / what they have.

Exactly as you say - it's all about philosophy, and whichever works for you is ok. (Having read your post carefully I realised I'm entirely agreeing with you ;-) ).

[mPlasticDesign]

Originally Posted by clived

The counter-argument to this is that sometimes it is nice to be happy and greatful for what you have. There is *always* going to be some improvement that one could strive for in any aspect of life - but this turns some people into "upgraders" who never stop to appreciate what's been given to them / they've worked for / what they have.

Exactly as you say - it's all about philosophy, and whichever works for you is ok. (Having read your post carefully I realised I'm entirely agreeing with you ;-) ).

I get what the OP was saying. I started my 'chase' with a 318ti 13 years ago. The next automotive high. Going through 5 M cars, I found myself in a M6(took over the last 6mos of my sisters lease) and I thought I had arrived. I am driving BMW's $120k flagship! I got bored real fast. I realized that I had been chasing something I could never catch. It's true, there will always be something better out there. I am now in my 6th M car and I am hoping that this is the car I settle down with. Unless I start making Jay Leno money and then my philosophy will change dramatically.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Mr.Metak2you

I am now in my 6th M car and I am hoping that this is the car I settle down with.

Allow yourself a time-out/embargo of a couple of years: somewhere over the rainbow there will be the M2 lurking (to no avail?) at all 1M enthusiasts...

[checkmate]

Originally Posted by Mr.Metak2you

I get what the OP was saying. I started my 'chase' with a 318ti 13 years ago. The next automotive high. Going through 5 M cars, I found myself in a M6(took over the last 6mos of my sisters lease) and I thought I had arrived. I am driving BMW's $120k flagship! I got bored real fast. I realized that I had been chasing something I could never catch. It's true, there will always be something better out there. I am now in my 6th M car and I am hoping that this is the car I settle down with. Unless I start making Jay Leno money and then my philosophy will change dramatically.

GT3 is all you ever need. My end goal is the GT3 given its the most driving focused car out there with the best manual gear this planet has ever known. i drove one in August and had money been no object...that would be my car.

[James T. Kirk]

I see the OP's point in that the steady of stream of comparos and upgrade testimonials can create a bit of a false competitiveness to strive for the next best thing. Hopefully, we all do what we want to our own desires and not to keep up with the Joneses.

If you like your Bimmer the way it is, keep it the way it is. Some others enjoy the process of upgrading as a way to be more involved with their auto. Ultimately, it's all to please oneself.

I immensely enjoy reading what others think about and do with their Bimmers. Even some of the crazy racer projects are really fantastic to push the envelope of extreme engineering and design.

I may never do all of that to my car, but once in awhile I'll pick up a few upgrades and keep it fresh with some new tech and design elements.

[mayhewjr]

I agree that the important thing is that your 1M makes you happy. But comparisons with other cars also give some objective perspective to our subjective judgment. Also, the competitive "mine is better than yours" nature of automobiles is as old as...automobiles. Some people even race them!

I had a VW Phaeton for a while, and it was an impressive car in many ways, but it wasn't "me". I need something that will trigger a bit of adrenalin once in a while, but can also be practical. The only car that is close to the 1M in stats and price is the Mustang Boss 302 (oddly), but that's a radically different style of car, and not "me". Everything else is slower, or less practical, less refined or more expensive, or some combination of those. The comparisons tend to show that, but if they don't, I want to know!

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by checkmate

GT3 is all you ever need. My end goal is the GT3 given its the most driving focused car out there with the best manual gear this planet has ever known. i drove one in August and had money been no object...that would be my car.

I definitely grok the OP. I owned an e30m3 for over 15 years and chased mods for years. I watched other "better" m cars come out ... The e36, e46, e92, etc, but i realized after driving each that they were newer, faster, and heavier than my car, and not what i wanted. So instead, I added items as my budget allowed and eventually got to a point where the car was a highly modded track car but it was also more fragile. Immensely fun but fragile. I will probably do the same with the 1M, as I generally am not tempted by cars that I don't own, but I an hoping to leave it mostly stock for at least a little while, particularly while it is under warranty. It really is a fantastic car out of the box.

If I won the lottery however, I would instantly look for a GT3. Checkmate indeed!

[BrokenVert]

shhhhhh....dont say it.

The moment you say that you like something better than someone else on these forums everything goes to hell and you get harassed as to why your opinion is invalid

[Aussie_in_London]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

shhhhhh....dont say it.

The moment you say that you like something better than someone else on these forums everything goes to hell and you get harassed as to why your opinion is invalid

I can tell you, it's not just isolated to here, and neither is the big brother little brother comparisons / fights ..........