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      12-21-2012, 01:12 PM   #126
Jonjt
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Drives: 09 E92 335i M-sport
Join Date: May 2012
Location: USA

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Antares View Post
So, while you're thinking what else to buy, you'll in the meantime save some money?
There is not much choice left, if you consider quality. Porsche, Mercedes.
(Audi is one step bellow and other brands are very expensive(Ferrari, Aston Martin) or lack quality(Maserati)).

European and especially BMW diesel engines are very fast and very responsive. Actually they're even more pleasurable to drive.

I never quite understood why you Americans adore such overpowered cars; I mean, the speed limits on the motorways are lower than those on common European roads, if you get caught driving too fast you finish in prison,....
I will indeed save a good bit, waiting while my 335i lives its life. However, the real money savings may come about if I decide to buy a shitbox just to get from A to B.

You're right, after all. There are so few quality brands left. Mercedes doesn't make any manual transmission models anymore. Porsche is too expensive to drive daily, for me. Audi is a step below, offers 4 wheel drive I don't need/want and traditionally doesnt drive as well as BMW's best. I'm not excited by anything the Americans are making and, the Japanese haven't produced anything exciting AND of good quality, aside from the FRS/BRZ. So, I may just buy a POS for daily driving and, save for a few years to get a used 991 or a 997.

I do think that BMW's diesels are rather nice but, it's hard to convince the old lady of that. People her age get stuck in their ways and, worse yet, she doesn't understand automotive technology, at all. To her, diesels of today ar the diesels of old. Loud, slow, ticking, and smelly.

You are touching on a point that I think about everytime I mash the pedal in my car. American roads are generally shitty. American drivers are generally not so great, speed limits are low and, watching for police all the time is rather stressful. And yet, I'm still looking to tune my N54. There is no logical explination for why a daily has to have 300+hp and a stiff chassis. We can't use it safely anywhere. But, we still want lots of horsepower.

In my case, the issue is that it's impossible to get a car with a proper chassis, without spending lots of money and buying a 400+hp motor. The only car I can think of that bucks this trend is the FRS/BRZ. I hope that changes the paradigm because, I really don't need even the N54's HP all the time. Having a sharp chassis is far more fun, at legal speeds, than lots of power. BMW was once the go-to manufacturer for such things but, I'll have to look else where, when I purchase next. If things do go well, I'll buy something like the BRZ/FRS for everyday driving and, have something from Stuttgart or, some garage in the UK, for weekend romping on the backroads and, at the track.
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