Goodbye!

[geared]

I came from this..... ran mid to high 10's n/a:





and I like my 1 series.....but miss the Z.

I AM SURE YOU'LL HAVE A BLAST. BE CAREFUL AS TRACTION WILL BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND. DONT EVEN TRY TO GAS IT IN THE RAIN.

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by Paul W 1138

Overall, it's a major departure over the BMW but so much more of an experience to drive, gets tons of attention (especially from M3s, which get beaten without me really trying). It's TOTALLY not a daily driver, not at all. That's what I miss about the BMW as they are the best of both worlds; quick and practical. I have the humbling civic with a whopping 100 hp as a station car and when it gets warmer out, the Shelby to hoon.

Hope everyone is well and hope to see my fellow New Yorkers on the road.

Congrats on the Stang!

I absolutely love mustangs, but must agree with what I bolded up there. I was looking at mustangs (and infinitis and pretty much anything packing some decent power) back in 2008 when I bought my 135i. There was no way I could drive a mustang every day (especially on horrible NJ roads) with a stick. It's just too rough, even the last-gen regular GT. If I had enough money for this 1er plus a weekend car, I'd love a new 'stang.

That's kinda what I love about BMW. They really aren't "sports cars". A BMW isn't a Porsche, a Lotus, or even a BR-Z. It's an "everything car" that is luxurious, utilitarian, and sporty all at the same time. An ///M is just a sportier version of that because a businessman still has to be able to take his clients on a lunch date in his M3. The Ford doesn't have to worry about that. I remember when a mag ran the M3 vs the Boss 302 and they were literally within tenths of seconds with each other on a track, but the M won because it came down to the "what would you rather live with?" factor, despite the price difference. I think that point was lost on a lot of fanboys and armchair enthusiasts who don't know what it's like to actually drive the two back to back. Though I haven't done that with the M and the Boss, I still felt it in my original comparison with my 135i and the GT. Both had 300 horses and RWD, but they felt very different.

I didn't see your thread back when you originally posted, but I'm mentioning all this because when I first read the part about "I'm going to try to daily drive it and put blizzaks, etc" I thought "wow, this guy is either crazy or braver than I am because there's no way!!" haha. While an ///M is a superhero version of a regular, practical car, the stang really is built for a single-purpose, and it excels at it. The GT500 is a ridiculous machine, and I'm glad you're having a hoot in it! You can pretty smoke anyone on the road Thanks for the update and enjoy!

[thehalcyon]

Originally Posted by Paul W 1138

Hi guys -

Thanks for all the information over the past two years on my 135i. I learned a bunch and had a great time reading all the posts. I've done a lease assumption on my 135i and that's about to conclude in a week or so. I've purchased a 2013 GT500, so it should be an interesting adventure with that car.

Hope to see you guys soon (probably when i get bored of the GT500 and go for a M3 or something).

Best,
Paul

Good luck and all the best, I liked your quick impressions of the 2, looking forward to hearing more in depth comparison when you take her out again in the spring...

You peeked my interest and I googled some gt500 vid's, that car is a monster! I don't think you'll miss the bmw performance. That car certainly has some supercar like stats. You might miss the fuel economy!