My Next Car?

I'm not sure if Porche has made a sedan before - but it speaks to me as I always want a somewhat practical car AND a somewhat sporty car in one.

Why the iPhone is going to give me a speeding ticket!

OK - reason #143 why the iPhone is AMAZING. Now that you can download apps for the iPhone I have found some really cool free ones like the magic 8 ball and the light saber apps. But this one has to take the cake.

The iPhone has an accelerometer built in and besides flipping the screen sideways, it is going to give me a speeding ticket.

For $13 I downloaded "Dynolicious" which (among other things) measures the 0-60 mph times of your car!!! It also uses this data to calculate some other cool things like the horsepower of your car.




I was only able to give this bad boy 2 tests but I have to say I feel the results are quite accurate (or close enough for recreational use). My 0-60 mph times were close to advertised but a little slower since I wasn't doing anything fancy to "launch" my vehicle at the start (revving the engine then dropping the clutch). Consequently my horsepower calculations were also a bit low but above 300 hp. I also believe you have to find a flat stretch of road. I may have been going slightly uphill. It did say that I was pulling 0.80 G's max which is either just instantaneous (since 0-60 I calculated an average of 0.55 G's) or partially due to the fact that I may have been going slightly uphill.

DISCLAIMER: Just as dynolicious says, the software is intended for experienced drivers in suitable locations. You alone are responsible for any accidents, injuries or property damage that may occur. Always drive safely and obey traffic laws.

Car Shopping Fun

Meghan's Aunt Julie and I had a blast looking for cars for her. After spending one weekend looking at all of the options for the type of car she wanted (Small SUV / Wagon / Crossover) she ended up liking the Ford Taurus X. With 3 kids and 4 dogs, Julie needed some room.



And I have to say the car is quite impressive! You can fold down 3 rows of seats (including the front passenger seat) and put a 10 foot ladder or kayak in the car and close the trunk!



So long story short, we then started looking for the RIGHT 2008 Taurus X since there aren't too many used ones out there. There was one in Indy, one in Columbus, but after broadening our search to 200 miles, we found a dealership that had 38 of them! ROAD TRIP! The group of dealers was about 3 hours west of Indy.



I told Julie if we couldn't find a good one here we might not find one (since they had so many of them). After mapping out where all of the Taurus X's were at each dealer, we headed out. I wore an American Flag T-shirt to blend in as we headed out into the heart of America. We passed several pro-gun signs including my favorite:

"Gun sports are safe and fun, there's no need to fear a gun" (I am from a blue state, so this stuff is a riot to me).

The car "salesman" couldn't have been more laid back, basically Toby from the Office was our car salesman, unlike the others we had worked with he was so laid back. We arrived shortly after breakfast in case we were going to visit all 6 dealers, and we had some time to look at the cars ourselves. We drove a few contenders. This car has a lot of pick-up and I accidentally peeled out trying to put the car through the paces, with 263hp the car moves impressively well for its size. After a few test drives and some calls to the other dealers, Julie found the car she wanted and I think she got a good deal. We saved $2,500 from the Indy guys, and Julie got a dozen roses and a gas card.



We even had out picture taken with their mascot horse, Top Kick!



All in all it was a fun trip, a complete 180 from the experiences we had at other dealers and Julie found what she was looking for in a car at a good price. Like Julie said, "It was nice to go to a dealer and not feel like you got beat up!"

I'd highly recommend looking into the Bob Ridings chains of car lots, probably your best bet is if you are in the market for a used car.

Acceleration (Fun with Physics)

Which has a faster acceleration? My 300+ hp car, or gravity? (ignore the different planes in which they operate)

The question came up today because I was joking with Dave K. that my old 48hp 1980 VW Rabbit Diesel accelerated from 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds - then I clarified "off a cliff". Hence the debate.

Gravity seems to be such a weak force. I mean if I drop a tennis ball no one points how how that ball just peeled out of my hands. So how fast would gravity accelerate you from 0-60 mph? Is it faster than my car which goes 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds? It turns out that gravity is pretty darn fast (accelerationally speaking). For those science geeks I will be referring only to gravity here on earth.

Here are the numbers (G = force of gravity)

2008 BMW 335xi     0-60 in 5.1 s ~ 0.55 G
2008 "Gravity car"   0-60 in 2.7 s    1.00 G

Turns out an F1 race car can pull 1 G accelerating, but if you want to talk fun facts, the same race car can pull 5 G's braking!!!!1 It can go from 200-0 in 1.9 seconds or 180 ft! That is amazing!

A human can accelerate at about 0.4 G's running the 40 yd dash
The space shuttle takes off with 3 G's
A 1997 Dodge Viper can go 0-60 in 2.9s or 0.94 G's
A falcon can pull 18 G's pulling up from a dive!

Other fun fact:
In 1954 Col. John P. Stapp rode a rocket sled to 632 mph in ~6 seconds and then came to a stop in 1.4 seconds. He experienced deceleration forces averaging 25 G's with a 40 G peak!

(since I rarely post 2 blogs on the same evening, be sure to check out the Shelby modeling blog below!)

6 Month Reviews

2008 BMW 335xi
After 6 months I still love my car. In fact I still haven't gotten used to it being my car. I still find myself walking out into the parking lot and seeing this car and thinking "wow - that car looks bad-ass" and then figuring out "Oh! That's my car!" I also love the fact that I can "chip" the car and get an extra 50-70 hp out of the car (up to 400 hp!) all while staying under warranty (yay Dinan). I think that would make my car a lot of fun even after I have had it for a while - to make it feel like new. I got almost 10 years out of the Audi, hopefully I can do the same with "Jill". I also am very happy with the AWD, I know many purists prefer RWD but I don't get it when the car is slightly faster with the xi and from what I understand the more hp you put into the car in the form of a turbo tune "chip" - the better performance you will get out of AWD vs RWD in terms of getting the power to the ground. Also I like getting up in the morning (especially winter) and driving my car without worrying about the weather like some RWD friends I know. Of course AWD only helps you get going, the stopping part is on the ABS brakes! Favorite car features are bluetooth and iPod adapter.

iPhone
I also love the iPhone. It is hard to think what I did before I had it. I can get anything I want at the tip of my fingers, plus it's like a little GPS with google maps (no need to print directions anymore!). I think the 3G phone is a must since the edge network is so slow when you are off wi-fi, I also hope they improve the speaker phone volume. It's also an awesome video ipod.

Garmin Nuvi 360
I love my garmin. I have used it for many a road trip, as well as for some local trips where I didn't know where I was going (Cat Breeder, etc). The garmin gets a great satellite signal anywhere in the car and the points of interest are a great feature. I no longer have it on all the time, only when I need it, but I still am very happy with the purchase.

BONUS: 4 Year Review - Tempurpedic (foam) mattress
I still love my foam mattress. I am a bit bony, especially if I lay on my side (hip). The bed is so soft and comfy, and evenly supports your body, it is something like laying on a cloud, except that it is not a "soft" mattress in that after about an inch or two the resistance of the foam increases significantly so you feel like you are on a firmer mattress only it is VERY comfortable. My only wish is that I got the King size instead of the Queen because now that I am married and have 2 cats - it can get a bit crowded!

New Car is Here

Meghan and I picked up my new car in SC. It's awesome!



Here a shot of the odomoeter before we put 500 miles on the car driving it back. It only had 1.3 miles on it (rounded to 2 on the left side) when we got it!



Also the Performance Center doesn't drill the front liscence plate in for you upon delivery (like they are required to do here in Ohio). Which means so far... no front plate.



Read all about the Performance Center Delivery in the next blog to be posted below (soon)!

BMW Performance Center Delivery!

If you are thinking of ordering a new BMW, The Performance Center Delivery (PCD) is a must! It is the same price as having the car delivered to your local dealer, but you get a day of driving on the courses at the BMW Performance Center in a car similar to the one your ordered. The most important thing they told us to remember was NYC - Not Your Car! So we beat them up pretty good. Our instructors were Donnie and ray and they were awesome.

The events include:
1) Driving an auto-cross style course
2) Testing the Dynamic Traction Control on a wet skid-plate
3) Testing the ABS brakes while learning to steer at the same time
4) An off road course in the X5
5) Delivery of your Vehicle in your own showroom

Typically there is also a tour of the factory there, which makes all of the x5s and the Z4s for the world, but it was closed as they switched over to some confidential build. We also had a tour if their Museum there which was fun for a bit.

1) Driving an auto-cross style course
Probably the best part of the whole trip was that Meghan got to drive all of the courses as well and she loved it. She said it released her inner race car driver! In this video you'll see Meghan driving part of the course, the instructor is talking to her over a walkie-talkie. He is not in the car but in the middle of the course switching between all of the drivers in the course giving them tips.



2) Dynamic Traction Control on a wet skid-plate
Dynamic Traction Control is pretty amazing. When it is turned on, no matter how much you try to accelerate on wet roads or ice, the car will only go as fast as it can while still making the turn. This exercise involved taking a few turns without DTC on and skidding out, then taking a few turns with on.

Without DTC


With DTC
I guess what was most amazing to me is you can still try to floor the car but it won't let you get out of control with DTC



In the car with Meghan - no DTC
Here, Donnie is trying to help Meghan correct a skid by steering into the skid when you don't have DTC.



In the car with Meghan - DTC
Now the car won't spin out no matter what you try to tell it to do.



Reverse Spin Out
Just for fun Donnie had Meghan do a spin out in reverse for the crowd, I wish I got this video from outside of the car! You will see he wanted everyone to think Meghan was driving that way, so he steered but then told Meghan to put her hands back on so everyone would think she did it!



3) Testing the ABS brakes
This was a lot of fun, each driver got 4 or 5 trips down and we kept increasing speed up to 50 mph, and Donnie kept sending us deeper and deeper into the sharp turn. It was a great way to learn how to lock your brakes up and still steer. Your instincts are to do one or the other!



Driving School
In addition to the Performance Center Delivery, this site lets you come down for a full day of driving (regardless of whether out bought a car or not). Here is some video of the other school going on. They had M class drivers there as well as an intermediate class. What you can't appreciate in the video is how fast they are going on this wet turn!



Donnie then took all of the couples for laps on this track. he drove an M5 with 500 hp and it was amazing! One women ditched her husband and went with us again because she had her eyes closed the 1st time she went! It was intense! I even thought we'd die, but since Donnie has even done "counter-terrorism" training on how to stop a moving car by ramming it, I figured we were fine. He even took us through a J turn where he starts off going really fast in reverse and whips around and goes forward without really slowing down!

4) An off road course in the X5
Then they took us off road in the X5. The car is amazing! They took us on a course that ended up putting the car up on 2 wheel, the front-left and the back-right (diagonal). Then the instructor rocked the car up and down to show that even in this extreme stress on the frame, nothing creaked or rattled, and all of the doors opened. Also through all of the course maneuvers, they have never cracked a sun roof, which is 2-3x larger than the normal sun roof (it starts in the front seat and goes all the way to the back seat)!

Other cool maneuvers included going through 20" of water!



Going over some crazy steep hills that included huge trenches (you were supposed to have some wheels off the ground and learn how to keep going)!





On the steep hills, they showed us how "hill assist" works, which is awesome for a manual transmission. If you come to a stop on a hill, you can take your foot off of the break and the car will stay put for 2 seconds. This gives you time to get over to the gas and the clutch without going crazy. Also there is a button for hill descent, which will control all of the breaking for you to go down hill, you only have to steer. This would be awesome for a slippery steep hill in winter, or driving down Mt. Washington without destroying your brakes (or going out of control)!



We also drove on 2 wheels which puts the car at an almost 45 degree angle!



It's weird to look out the sunroof and see land!



5) Delivery of your Vehicle in your own showroom
Then you spend 2 hours with a specialist going through all the features of your car. I said the same thing you are thinking - 2 HOURS! But it actually went by really fast and we both learned everything about the car!



This is the cleanest my rims will ever be, unless Warren invents that new product!



Museum Tour
We also toured the Zentrum Museum there, it was a self guided tour and we were ready to get the car on the road so we flew through.



Here's my car outside of the Museum, the special parking place they had for us was to drive and park on the sidewalk!



The best part of the museum was that I found a BMW that looked like my Dad's triumph. Since I was a kid I have always liked my Dad's car, but I couldn't keep up with all of the worked it would need, so maybe a new BMW that just looks like a triumph would be in my future!



I also found a BMW model for Mike and Jen. Maybe the can rebuild one of these and add it to the collection!



Summary
I have to say the whole day exceeded my expectations, mostly because I went there thinking Meghan was going to wait in the lobby while we were out on the track, but not only did she go with me, she even drove her turns AND enjoyed it. The only bad news is that I think Meghan is sold on the X5 as her next car, so I better pay this one off ASAP! The whole experience was top notch, they really made us feel like it was our special day, and we had a lot of fun!

Not sure why more people don't do this when they order their BMW.

Fun Car Facts
Other quick fun car facts. The car has a rain sensor to automatically run your wipers, that's not that cool, but the same technology is used to determine if your brakes get wet (either in a puddle or in the rain) and the brake pads slightly tighten on the brakes to dry them and you never notice! Always having dry brakes will be awesome! Also the comfort access is awesome. You can walk up to the car, it'll unlock, and you can start it without taking the key out of your pocket, it just has to be near the car for it all to work!

Winning Car Chosen

OK - so I finally got to drive the 2006 325xi. I have to say the dealer did all they could to accommodate my request for a used car. The 2006 is the bigger body year, and it has almost all of the options I'd want. The car was clean (looked brand new) and had only 10,000 miles on it since it was a dealer executive car. The only thing I didn't like about the car was it was only 215 hp. Barely a step up from my Audi and a long way from the >300 hp 335xi which won engine of the year.

Winning Car: The 335xi!
So I am planning on getting the 2008 BMW 335xi in a manual. After driving the used 325xi I drove the 335xi and liked the engine a lot better. The dealer asked which one I wanted to take home for a night, so I took the 335xi. That was a lot of fun. I was able to drive it around for a night, even took it to work and took some friends out to lunch in it. When I returned the car I had put 114 of the cars 116 miles on it! I told Meghan I was going to sleep in the car than night but I just ended up driving around town and picking people up for a joy ride.

Performance Test Drive
When I returned the car and told the dealer I was interested in the 335xi he said I should come in on Saturday morning for a performance test drive. I said sure, but had no idea what I was getting into! Long story short it consisted of taking a series of tight turns at a crazy 55 mph and going from 0 to 125 mph to get on the highway! I have to say I was a bit scared at times since the salesman that took me out was younger than me and we were in his personal 335i. The car handles amazingly well and would be a lot of fun to drive. Though my car will have options for a little more luxury than sport. This guy had all sport options and didn't take some luxury ones (like Nav system) because he "couldn't afford the weight!"

Performance Delivery
I think the dealer recommneded the performance test drive because I mentioned I wanted to do the performance center delivery if I ordered a BMW. Basically I get to tear around a series of courses on a test track with a professional driver instructing me (in a car idential to mine), and then tour the factory and museum and then have my car delivered in my own showroom. And it costs the same as having your car delivered to your local dealer. It'll be a nice 7 hour drive back to Cincinnati in my new car!

So that's it - the car search for me is probably over, I am sure everyone has their own idea of the perfect car but the 335xi is a great fit for me and has just about everything I'd want. Now I just need to pick an exterior color (I am down to picking among 3-4 colors). I will keep you posted on the progress.

Crazy Car Buying

Here is how crazy car buying can get.

I have put down a $500 deposit on a 2006 325xi BMW that my dealer bought at an auction because it was an AWD manual. I have not seen the car, I have not driven the car, and I am probably not going to buy the car, and in an email the dealer mistakenly told me it was going to cost $437,800! (I told him that was getting out of my price range, he said it was a typo).

Long story short they did buy it at a BMW dealer auction thinking it had everything I wanted, but my deposit is refundable. It just gave me "frst right of refusal" so I can drive it and then tell them if I want it. It's kind of a flier, but I figured it's a safe bet, and they won't rip me off of $500 to lose the sale of a new car. I guess they think this car will move fast.

In other news, the ONLY 335xi manual in town has been sold! At least I got to drive the manual twice beforehand, however I was planning on driving it a few more times :)

The other really weird part about test driving cars is that sometimes I'll ask to drive a specific car and they say, "Oh yeah, we have one, we just sold it but you can drive it today." So a couple of times I have driven cars that other people have bought but haven't picked up yet, and let's just say people are not gentle when they test drive a car! This happened at multiple dealers and I would be a little pissed if I bought an expensive car and people were out joy-riding in it!

Additional Test Drives

A few quick updates on the car search since the last car blog.

2005 BMW 330xi
The BMW certified Pre-Owned warranty is a pretty good deal. It's 2 additional years under a warranty or an additional 50,000 miles. So a 2 year old car would still have 4 years left under warranty (up to 100,000 miles). So I figured I better see if I can find one I like.

First of all I like the interior of the 2005 3-series (2006 is the body change to the current version). I like how the dash is tilted to the driver, the radio display isn't polarized, and the built in cup holders are a lot better than the flip out version.

Driving the 230hp 2005 330xi I really enjoyed the car. It would be a fun car to drive, significantly faster than the Audi but significantly slower than the 300hp 335xi.

The 2005 options are somewhat limited though, and the body style looks "dated" according to Meghan. So I have also been looking for a 2006 330xi (really the only CPO option since the 2007 335xi's were a mid-year model). It's nearly impossible to find am xi (AWD) in a manual. I think there are pros and cons to to both and have been taking a look around.

Audi A4
I enrolled the car expertise of Jake to test drive some cars. We drove the 255hp Audi A4. I say "we" loosely because while we both planned to drive it, it was so unimpressive I just drove it down the road and returned within minutes because we had seen enough. Jake didn't see the point of taking a turn driving. It was slow, and had a cheap interior. It's too bad because I have enjoyed my Audi but really I think my 1998 interior looks way better. I think Audi went cheap on their styling now. There is NO room in the back seat, an indicator of that is how Audi carved out two grooves in the back of the seats for your legs, so you'd have an extra 1/2 inch if you kept your legs lined up! The price point puts it in line with the BMW 3-series, so Audi is in big trouble. It's also more expensive than the Infiniti G35 so it's hard to justify an A4.

Audi S4
We also drove the 340hp Audi S4. The car looks sporty and it is fast. Though it is NOT as fast as the 300hp BMW 335xi, but certainly the 2nd fastest car I've driven overall. From just a car standpoint it might rank 2nd on my list of all cars. The interior is more sporty, had comfy seats. Some of the interior design left you scratching you head, and it had some cheap buttons and knobs that you just feel like you'd have to replace a few times. Some negatives are that it is a gas guzzler with 16 mpg and only a 16 gallon tank. You wouldn't get too far from home on one tank of gas.

The Audi S4 is also MORE expensive than the BMW 335xi. So it's pretty much not in the running. The S4 is not as roomy either. I'm guessing reliability and resale of the BMW will be better than the S4 and there are more options on the BMW that I like. Besides a major strike against Audi is that after driving the S4 I asked for the S4 brochure and they said they were out of them (and that I should just go online and look at their website)! I don't think they should be trying to sell an expensive car like that.

The final indicator would be that the BMW dealer was busy on saturday, and Audi was empty.

So what does it all mean?
NET I keep driving the BMW when there is nothing about the drive that would make me NOT want it. Last week I had an hour to kill after work before a dentist appointment, so I told Meghan (jokingly) that I was just going to go sit in the back of the BMW and "be with the car for a while." She said that I have a problem. I didn't really go, but it was funny.

I think the BMW is still the leader in the car chase, I just take my time making a decision and wait to get comfy with it. The 2008 pricing should be in any day so I'll have to take a look at that, the good news is they said they are changing the rims which I think could be good so I'll have wait and see a new one in the show room and see what all of the changes are (though likely minimal).

Test Drive - Final Round

Test Drive Round #2 - BMW 335xi vs. Volvo S60 R
This is what we have been waiting for! Finally a test drive of manual (stick shift) AWD cars. (This blog is a long one, if you get through this one be sure to comment!)

The 300hp Volvo S60 R
The Volvo S60 R has a nice interior. It's not as nice as the Infiniti but has more of a sporty theme going than the BMW (but we'll get to that later). The Volvo also has all of the features you'd want, they really thought of everything. There were also 3 push-button settings for the suspension. Comfort, Sport, and Advanced. In comfort you really wouldn't feel the road much. In advance a rail road track would shake you silly. Also the seats might have been the most comfy of any we'd seen, they were a fluffy "pillow-y" leather. Also the black leather interior had blue colored stitching, which I know sounds crazy but it went well with the theme (and Meghan agreed).

However, the Volvo S60 doesn't ride well AT ALL. We 1st drove a used 2004 S60 R manual. It's too bad I didn't like it because it's the exact Volvo I was looking for but for the 1/2 price. It had a crazy horizontal vibration, actually I thought there was something wrong with the car. I told the dealer when we brought it back to basically investigate the issue before letting people drive it. So we took out a new 2007 S60 R (automatic) and it had the same thing! (Only slightly less rough). We have dubbed it the "Volvo Shimmy" and the ride is ROUGH. The S60 R also wasn't as fast as the BMW or the Infiniti and you could certainly tell. The engine was LOUD. I mean LOUD. I don't mind hearing an engine, especially if it sounds cool, this one sounded like it was shouting "shift me" but it didn't need to shift. It sounded wimpy and over worked. Also the S60 R has a TERRIBLE turning radius. You'd have a tough time taking a right turn into traffic and staying in your lane, and you need a lot of room the swing in to park. In fact all of the Volvo's parked in a row were crazy over the lines at the dealer. I think bringing them out one person was slightly on the lines and a cascade effect took over. As if this weren't enough the back seat was too tiny, A4 style, and there is a giant oddly shaped speaker in the center of the front dash about 1 foot square! There are a lot of other nit-picky things I didn't like about the Volvo but it's already DOA.

I had read online that while the BMWs aren't discounted much, you can get the S60R for about $4,000 below MSRP. In fact the salesman offered the fact that the S60Rs are "significantly discounted" now because they aren't making them any more. When a salesman on the 1st day is already talking discount that's a sign. I think you could have gotten a brand new one for $6,000-$8,000 off MSRP but why bother. The ride was so poor I didn't even consider looking at the S80s. Besides we drove it after we had just driven the BMW 335xi. It didn't have a chance!

The 300hp BMW 335xi
I need to preface this review because there wasn't a 335xi manual on the lot. In fact there wasn't even a 335i manual on the lot (no AWD). We had to test drive an automatic 335i because manuals are typically ordered and they don't stay on the lot. Bummer, but it really didn't effect my review (what? is that possible?) Check it out.

The BMW 335xi is FAST. I mean noticeably faster than the Infinit G35 (is that possible when both are 0-60 around 5.3). In fact I liked driving the BMW automatic. I hate to say it but I did. Meghan also commented on how smooth the automatic drove as I tried to take it from 0-60 and ended up at 70 before I even knew it! Of course there was the typical lag of "I just floored it and the automatic hasn't yet figured out to go as fast as it can" but once the automatic figured it out, each shift was seamless. A marked improvement over the G35 where you noticed each shift.

The BMW 335xi has a fairly plain interior. Some call it conservative, I think it's definitely not luxury, but not cheap. It's not sporty like the Infiniti it's just kinda plain. It's fine for me. But visually the interior won't impress anyone, but at least there is nothing to really complain about. The seats are nice leather, comfy but not as comfy as the Volvo's. It was a more rigid leather surface which I think is more typical of leather seats. The pillow-leather of the Volvo I hadn't seen before. The back seats of the BMW have plenty of room. I wouldn't say roomy, not as roomy as the Infiniti, but not much smaller, and certainly fine for back seat passengers. In fact the back seats, while still being a bench, actually had a bucket seat design built in. Once you sit down you kinda sink in. Not only is that comfy but it seems even roomier.

The ride of the BMW was almost like riding on a cloud. In fact it might have had a bit too little road feel, but certainly worth the fact that the car drove extremely tight. Tight corners cause almost no lean and the car seemed to hug the road. It is a totally different sensation than driving an Audi. I love the Audi drive, kinda sport, the BMW drive can best be described as luxury-performance. You know the car is going to drive well, but it almost arrogantly handles the road feel (what road). I guess I just haven't driven something that smooth before. That's a better word. Even a bump in the road seemed smoothed out.

Negatives for the BMW? There aren't too many in my book, and we are really down to looking for small things. The cup holders are hidden in the dash and when you push them they fold out. They are certainly pretty flimsy and don't fill you with confidence. A drive through soda might be trouble, but then again I am driving an Audi where the cup holders have NO SIDES so when you turn the drink tips over! So at least I am still moving up in the world in that regard. One minor annoyance is that I wear polarized sunglasses, and the display of the BMW is polarized too. Therefore when I looked at it from the driver's seat I thought the stereo system was off the whole time, turns out I had to tilt my head a bit to see it. Certainly annoying! The audi has the same thing but the polarized direction is the opposite (the glass may be "upside down" versus the BMW) so I couldn't see it if I were in the passenger's seat. If I get the BMW I might have to invest in some nice driving sunglasses that aren't polarized.

Other things to note, there is no spare tire in the BMW. The tires are run flats, which I hear could ride louder, but I didn't hear them at all. It has all the bells and whistles you could want including 4 year no maintenance costs which is rare now. In fact brake pads and the clutch are covered. They even have my Umass maroon color (as pictured above) though it looks better in person.

If you haven't seen keyless entry, it will become a MUST HAVE. Basically you can keep you key in your pocket, walk up to the car, open the door (it automatically unlocks the door when you try to open it when you are near it). Once you get in, just push the "Engine On" button and away you go. No need to get a key out of your pocket! If you get a car with this option be sure to negotiate for 2 sets of these keys, they are $500+ to replace.

The Results
The Volvo S60 R is eliminated. In fact it has soured me on testing any other Volvos. But I will give a tip of the cap to Volvo for still offering a 4 door sporty AWD car available in a manual, apparently a dying breed of car.

The BMW 335xi has jumped to the top of the list. Basically I can't go wrong with it. I feel like every other car so far has had some trade off (no car is perfect) but at least the BMW the trade off is price, where other cars it might be automatic only or tiny back seats that make the 4 door a 2 person vehicle!

I was also encouraged by the BMW because a few days before I drove one I went to the dealer to see it and I had a great feeling about the car. I think Meghan could tell I was excited about the BMW when I got home, so at least the emotional instincts match my more analytical testing. It was the 1st car I could picture in my garage which is a big deal to say since I was actually biased against the BMW based on it's equity. I couldn't picture myself a BMW driver since I appreciate the Audi's low key equity. I don't want to be too flashy and I am cringing a bit thinking about rolling up to a softball game in a BMW but it'll be worth it since I love the drive so much.

So is it a done deal? Maybe. I could order a mid-year 2007 now but if I order in August I'd get a 2008 for the same price (plus a bit for inflation but I am sure I'd get that back in trade in value by selling a 2008 vs a 2007). So in the next few months I plan to save up some more money, see if I can get comfortable with the investment, and look around at a few more cars for fun. There is also the SLIM chance that a 2007 335xi will be on a dealers lot when the 2008s come in and I could get a deal but since I can't even test drive one yet, seems unlikely. Over the next few months I plan to find a 335xi manual to drive before ordering and give any other cars their last chances. But I am really excited about finding a car that I like because apparently my taste is pretty picky, I didn't even blog about how hard it is to find all the options I want including 60 / 40 folding rear seats for trunk access (which BMW has but not the Infiniti)). In fact the BMW has every feature I want except for ventilated (cooled) seats which is really nice but I can live without that in order to get the other 99 things I wanted.

Infiniti G35 Side Note
If the Infiniti G35x (AWD) could come in a manual, it would probably be the car I would buy. I don't think I would have liked the drive as much and there are some minor things I wouldn't get (like 60 / 40 rear folding seats) but for the money ($10,000 less than the BMW) I would have had a nice car that I would have enjoyed and felt like it wasn't CRAZY expensive (it's still on the pricey side). But the automatic seems to be a deal breaker. In the following months I plan to drive the G35 back to back with the 335xi to re-affirm this feeling.

Audi Side note
What about another AWD manual in the Audi. Certainly a possibility, and I plan to drive on soon. While the reliability isn't great, I have had no problems of late and over 9 years I'd say the reliability was between fine and manageable. However the A4 price point is higher than the Infiniti G35x and not much lower than the BMW 335xi and you''d compromise on the tiny rear seats. Infiniti has put Audi in no man's land in my opinion. But I have become nostalgic driving my Audi of late, it has certainly been a fine car to drive, I guess the older you get the more "nice to have's" add up and the back seat is just a bit too small.

Test Drive - Round #1

As you have seem from my previous post, a number of cars were eliminated at first sight and didn't make it to the test drive round (The Acura TL, VW Passat, and The Hyundai Azera).

Test Drive Round #1 - Lexus GS 350 AWD vs. Infiniti G35x
I am sure you may be asking, why are these automatics on the list? Well they made the cut because they each brought something special.

Lexus IS 250 AWD 204hp - I started looking at the IS 250 AWD, however at the Audi A4 price with a small interior (and no rear leg room) I couldn't pick this car over another Audi A4 so it was eliminated before driving. Also the hp just didn't cut it.

Lexus GS 350 AWD 303hp - At $10,000 above the Audi A4 the Lexus GS 350 AWD goes 0-60 in 5.8 seconds. The "Chardonay Pearl" color pictured here is the color we drove. It couldn't scream "florida retirement" any louder. As a positive, It is full of luxury features, and a lot of attention was paid to hide the buttons and controls away which is pretty awesome. It's a little bit like James Bond where you slide the arm rest back and there are rows of buttons and controls. I really enjoyed the ventilated seats! They are awesome! The back seat is roomy. The front dash left much to be desired as it is 80% rubber. I didn't like the look, the salesman said it was for safety. Overall the car didn't impress me on performance. It came across a little big and slow, but that could also be because I drove it AFTER the Infiniti G35.

Infiniti G35x AWD 306hp - Loaded with options the G35x Sedan is about the same price as an Audi A4 and looks like a fighter jet inside. Seriously, it has an awesome interior, the picture doesn't do it justice, go sit in one. The best interior on the list by far! The G35x goes 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. And it is fast! In the Lexus I was flooring it, in the infiniti I was "feathering" the acceleration because I felt like I could spin out (I'm sure it wouldn't with AWD). But needless to say it was plenty fast enough. However, I did notice the lag from the automatic (can there be lag at 5.3 s from 0-60). I guess I am used to a manual where the car responds so much faster. The infiniti was missing the iPod adapter but the nav system has a 9.3 GB harddrive that you can put all of your MP3s on as your own personal jukebox. While every other car give you a 4 yr / 50,000 mi warranty, Infiniti throws the 4 yr / 60,000 mi curveball.

The Results:
The Lexus GS 350 AWD is eliminated.

The Infiniti G35x survives. It will be driven again after the Audi, BMW and Volvo. If the Infiniti G35x AWD was a stick, it would be a no-brainer. It is a sharp looking car with killer performance for it's price.

Cars: Elimination Day

OK a lot has happened. A number of cars have been eliminated before the "test drive round" just by looking at them in person.

Quick Note: Many cars eliminated here are automatics that have a paddle shifter (shiftronic) to pretend to be a manual. After driving a shiftronic I am confident that it is fair to just call them automatics.

The Acura TL (type S) at 286hp is eliminated because it didn't have AWD until the RL model at 290hp (which is an automatic only) and then the price was in the Audi / BMW range so that's not happening. The Acura's are fairly roomy and can get a lot of "extras" like bluetooth, but they didn't make my cut.

The Hyundai Azera at 263hp was also eliminated. Don't be shocked, the Azera was on the list intentionally as a "low benchmark" but it's reasonably priced and it's a good looking car but not AWD and no frills. They also have the best warranty in America (10 yr / 100,000 powertrain).

The VW Passat at 280hp also did not make the cut. I do like the passat, it's a sporty 4dr car with AWD. However the AWD is only in automatic. You can pretty much pimp out a passat these days except for bluetooth, but the interior is pretty plain.

Making the cut to be Driven:
Infiniti G35x AWD
Lexus GS 350 AWD
Volvo S60 R
BMW 335xi
Audi's A3, A4

BTW - The Audi A8 is totally pimped out now. They are made to be chaufeured so everything cool is in the back seats too. The leg room is CRAZY. But at $84,000 it's too close to the Maserati to be tempting.

Looking for a New Car

I am in the market for a "new" car. I may go the 1-2 year old Certified Pre-Owned route or get a new one if I can't find what I want. The Audi has been good to me. I have 108,000 miles on it, and it is still fun to drive (Thanks Uncle Ed!). I will miss it. Considering Audi's are usually known for below-average reliability, over all the Audi has been pretty good to me. Right after the warranty expired I had a number of odd things come up but since then it has been pretty good. Ignoring the fact that you have to continuously add oil!

Besides the Maserati Quattroporte nothing is jumping out to me. So I am doing the test drive circuit and plan to blog my results for anyone else who might be thinking about a new car.

The MUST HAVES:
- 4 door
- Sporty
- AWD
- Heated Seats
- Manual (Stick) Shift

The NICE TO HAVES:
- Bluetooth enabled
- iPod adapter
- Ventilated (Cooled) seats
- XM radio
- Power passenger seat (not in the audi)

The Short list of potentials includes:
Volvo S60 R, S80
Audi A4, A6, A3
BMW 335xi
Lexus GS 350 AWD
VW Passat
Acura RL
Infiniti G35x

I will post the results of test drives.