Cars We Drive!



GreenFrog said:

Care to explain? Sure, I've read complaints about how the SMG transmission can be clunky and whatnot, but isn't the E60 M5 supposed to be a great car?
I'd love to have one in my stable, someday.

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Mainly, I was talking about how the guys on M5board kind of blew up the SMG clutch issue bigger than it should've been - yes, it's a big dollar job, but nothing compared to exotic car ownership. Anyway, I've never driven one. It sounds cool flying by, but it doesn't particularly look that great. How good it looks is going to affect it's value over time IMO - most of the Bangle BMWs looked dated before they even finished their production runs. Consider how old the Joji Nakamura-designed cars are - the E46 M3 and the E39 M5, and look at their market values. The E46 M3 started in the mid-$40k's when it was new, fwiw. Both still hold decent value, especially the E46. They're just handsome in a way that most BMW fans like.

ahh gotcha. I've never driven one either but the sound is intoxicating enough. I just don't want to buy an M5 before I get an M3 as I'm sure the extra torque and horsepower will make the M3 feel underwhelming, lol. Also, I actually like the look of the E60 5 series.. for some reason it appeals to me even though I know the vast majority of people think the eye brows on the headlights and the bangle butt are hideous (although, the butt isn't as bad as, say, on the 6 series or 7 series of that era).

Def agree with you on the e46. Such a ******* classic design and it will never look old. So you're saying a japanese dude designed the e46? I googled him for a quick sec but couldn't find anything on him. That's fascinating.. I woulda thought the Germans would've kept it in-house, if you know what I mean (aka LET ZHE JOPONESE DESIGN OUR CARZ? NOOOOO)

Anyway, when I eventually pick up an M5 in a couple years, hopefully I'll be in a position where gas mileage is not a concern at all. It'll be to me what a high perf. wagon would be to you

My ideal stable (will probably change as I get older):
- my current 6spd zhp to drive once a month for nostalgia's sake
- e36/e46 m3, 6spd to drive when I want to experience something more raw
- e60 m5, 6spd for hauling **** (actually may want to get it in SMG if it's going to be a 'utilitarian' vehicle)
-e92 m3, dct as my DD



looks good to me!

ah sorry, Joji Nagashima, not Nakamura - alot of these cars designs are attributed to different people if you ask, because officially they are just done by 'Designworks' or whatever stylecentros are contracted.

Project car idea for me - 318Ti Active (the Ti with the full M-tech aero and steering wheel, some come in M3 colors like Estoril) with the Euro S52 swap and M3 brakes/LTW wheels/an aftermarket suspension? yay/nay? It could be a cheap little city car/htchback for under $10K (spread out over the project run), could be a fun and cheap beater?

asking price for this car is around $2,000 - the Ti's that are still alive in Japan are all in good condition (like <50K miles) and $2,000ish, with the full M-tech kit. Swap would be several times that but still fairly cheap considering how different of a car it'd become.

http://ucar.autos.yahoo.co.jp/model/bmw/3series-compact/CU1210754476/

Sounds like a something of a 135 or even 1M on the cheap. Those 318's always looked a little...funny to me. Awesome color though.

Also, swapping the engine/****** should be no problem even though that one in particular has a slushbox?

Having driven both the M5 and M3 (E92/E46 and E60) extensively on the track, you will NOT be underwhelmed with the M3.
If anything, the M5 feels lazier... Until you glance at the speedo.
Very deceptive power from the V10.

Having owned a V8 E60, I can say (although we're in the minority) I loved the way it looked.

impolyt_one said:

ah sorry, Joji Nagashima, not Nakamura - alot of these cars designs are attributed to different people if you ask, because officially they are just done by 'Designworks' or whatever stylecentros are contracted.
Project car idea for me - 318Ti Active (the Ti with the full M-tech aero and steering wheel, some come in M3 colors like Estoril) with the Euro S52 swap and M3 brakes/LTW wheels/an aftermarket suspension? yay/nay? It could be a cheap little city car/htchback for under $10K (spread out over the project run), could be a fun and cheap beater?
asking price for this car is around $2,000 - the Ti's that are still alive in Japan are all in good condition (like <50K miles) and $2,000ish, with the full M-tech kit. Swap would be several times that but still fairly cheap considering how different of a car it'd become.
http://ucar.autos.yahoo.co.jp/model/bmw/3series-compact/CU1210754476/

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TBH I'm kind of surprised BMW doesnt have something like this still in production to go up against the A3 (and maybe the wrx sti?). Any purists feel free to flame the idea. Seems like it would be a great project though.



mike1445 said:

TBH I'm kind of surprised BMW doesnt have something like this still in production to go up against the A3 (and maybe the wrx sti?). Any purists feel free to flame the idea. Seems like it would be a great project though.

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1 series hatch?

xpress said:

1 series hatch?

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not stateside...

Don't really have a good reason, but the "low end" Audi and BMW (a3 and 1 series) always appealed to me. (Possibly )

maybe I'm being simplistic but, to me it seems the "low end" A3 is only a sporty parts away from beinga rebadge of the much sought after VW R32 or golf R now, i dont think there's anything in either the a3 or the 1 series to be looked down upon.



mike1445 said:

maybe I'm being simplistic but, to me it seems the "low end" A3 is only a sporty parts away from beinga rebadge of the much sought after VW R32 or golf R now, i dont think there's anything in either the a3 or the 1 series to be looked down upon.

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The 3 series compact sold like warm ****, so that may explain why they dropped it.

They are doing international launch of the new A3 in Copenhagen at the moment, so I've had a look at the brand new one and it's far from MK6 interior wise, it has the same navi/dash as the new A6, but I would go BMW over it.


VAG uses the same engines etc. in the golf, A3, Leon etc. so you can basically get the same car with 3 different badges and the seats are interchangeable, the engine in the R and S3 is highly tunable and with 400hp it does 3.5-4ses 0-100kph

impolyt_one said:

Project car idea for me - 318Ti Active (the Ti with the full M-tech aero and steering wheel, some come in M3 colors like Estoril) with the Euro S52 swap and M3 brakes/LTW wheels/an aftermarket suspension? yay/nay? It could be a cheap little city car/htchback for under $10K (spread out over the project run), could be a fun and cheap beater?

asking price for this car is around $2,000 - the Ti's that are still alive in Japan are all in good condition (like <50K miles) and $2,000ish, with the full M-tech kit. Swap would be several times that but still fairly cheap considering how different of a car it'd become.

http://ucar.autos.yahoo.co.jp/model/bmw/3series-compact/CU1210754476/

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Yes, fantastic idea.

I have a friend with a 318ti with some ungodly (like 200k+) amount of miles on it. The original engine blew a year or so ago and I was screaming at him to drop something better in there but he didn't have the $$ at the time (nor the mechanical ability to do it himself) so he ended up with just another 4-banger. Still a really fun car and a great drive even with the small engine.

When I had my E36 I did most of the work on it myself. There are a few things that will make you go insane; ask any E36 owner or read any of the forums (as I'm sure you probably have).

Just picked up an E36 M3



Only "issue" is that it came with straight pipes and is way too loud....probably going to end up getting a ticket if I don't put a muffler back on

Whatever you do, please get the stock M3 muffler. Sounds awesome.



stickshift said:

Just picked up an E36 M3

Only "issue" is that it came with straight pipes and is way too loud....probably going to end up getting a ticket if I don't put a muffler back on

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excellent. one of the better performance bargains on the used car market today. what green is that? seems lighter than Boston green