E92 M3 4-door

[Jonathan M3]

Very, very well said Bill-I completely agree. I have owned numerous BMW's over the past seven years-E30's, E36, E46's, and now an E53. I love E30's-I really do. However, newer BMW's have a lot going for them-they still have more of a sporting character than other cars out there, yet they are very comfortable, refined, powerful, etc. They get all of the modem amenities, yet they still do have that BMW feel. It may not be as readily apparent at first, but it is there.

I daily drove my current E30 M3 for 8 months until earlier this year, and I HAD to get something else as the E30 M3 character just wasn't bearable to me anymore as a daily. I was actually starting to hate the car after a while. It's not the car's fault-it wasn't meant or designed for that type of duty in the first place. Now I am a person that has always despised any type of SUV, but all of a sudden an X5 sounded attractive to me. I am now driving an '02 X5 4.4i and I dare say I enjoy it as much-and maybe more-as any other BMW I have owned. It is DAMN good-and actually handles very, very well!

A good friend of mine owns a '04 545i with 6 speed manual and all the options. It has that damn i-Drive, adaptive headlights, active roll stabilization, active steering, etc.-all the stuff that we as enthusiasts decry. But you know what? Besides the i-Drive, those features just plain work. The car is very quick, super comfortable, and is the flattest handling car I think I have ever driven-which is impressive considering the weight.

The fact is, time moves on and things change. I very much respect the past-and I am still glad that although they may not be the same BMW's as they used to be, the fact is-the new one's are still better than the competition. And they are still BMW's.

Exactly.

I've driven every car that BMW currently sells and have been very impressed with what they are churning out. Sure, the styling is way different than their previous cars, but thats a subjective issue anyway. If anyone thinks BMW only builds dull, numb cars now, go drive a Z4 coupe. That thing was about as loud, stiffly sprung, and raw as my E30. I drove the balls off a new 535xiT and couldn't get over how well it did. Plenty of power, amazing grip, and insanely fun to throw into a corner at extremely illegal speeds. I was speechless, soccer mom wagons aren't supposed to be this good!! And to top it all off, at the same time it was so comfortable and quiet when just cruising around town. If I had cash to blow on a big $ daily, it would be that 535.