Long-Term Road Tests

Ah yes, more wisdom from the BMW "Expert" who has yet to drive one...
Yawn.

"The traffic round about it pretty awful, but my e36 has cost me so much money already that I'm in fear of how much the DSG might be to fix should the computer ever decide to take a nosedive. "
 
Hmmmm, and somebody else in these forums was trying to tell me how old BMW M-cars aren't expensive to maintain and repair... I rest my case.

That's a cool video. The thing I really like about the E30 M3 is the almost telepathic steering and handling. It's far from the fastest car on street but the original is still hugely entertaining to drive- particularly on the track...

Roadburner that E30 was something esle.
 
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5nuRgzaJ-q8

I looked at the GTO and Charger Daytona. Both were too big and heavy for my tastes. Ditto for the E39 M5 Nice cars, though. Another problem with the GTO was that I thought it looked too much like a weirdly mutated Cavalier. I almost bought a ZHP, but never got excited enough to pull the trigger. I came very, VERY close to buying a 2004 M3-same color combination as the Long Term car, but it wasn't optioned the way I wanted. I wound up buying a Mazdaspeed3 to tide me over until something more entertaining came along. I like the new M3 sedan, but a Competition Package E46 M Drei would also be a nice addition, especially if I could find one sans sunroof. And I still have a soft spot for the original E30 M3-maybe with a 2.5 stroker transplant.
Decisions, decisions...

Oh and about the BMWs, i'd have to drive them to be sure so give me a ring to setup an appointment... ;-)

The GTO isn't a fantastic canyon carver but the one I drove seemed adequete in that regard. Its a sleeper in the right colors. People always mistake it for something else or don't know what it is. This is a benefit in my mind. It is also one of the best hp/dollar ratios available with good 05/06 examples for high teens/low twenties.
  
Unless you really need to seat four (ingress/egress is terrible in the GTO), or can't stand the styling, the GTO will save you $10k+ over a G8 and then you can give that money to Lingenfelter.

The '05 GTO is a great car, but it doesn't do what it's supposed to do. Granted, I'm used to driving an F1-inspired go kart, but the GTO sure felt porky. I'd liken it to a rhino: it can really move, but you can feel all the momentum required to move it.

"Coming from the e36, the 330ci is closer both in dimensions and power (235 vs 240) to my M3, but good lord is that GTO something else. It's been a while since I drove one, and let me tell you if you haven't ever, it's a monster. It might feel nice to have some real v8 torque underfoot again. Any takers?"
 
The power/torque from the GTO's big V8 is great but the car is no comparison to the ZHP 330i in terms of overall performance. Ive driven several 330i ZHPs and its quite a car thats can run in the low 14's, hardly slow.
 
Id have to side with the 330i ZHP sedan as its extremely rare, looks great, performs great and you could resell it later at a great price as the car is still a high demand vehicle. Ive seen more than a few people asking right at $30K for a nice 330i ZHP.

louiswei: Serious/sarcasm? Its hard to tell.

2005 GTO? Oh you meant that oversized Honda Civic coupe...
Nah, I'll take a G8 GT over that in any given day.

Yesterday I stopped by a used car lot here in Orlando and had a look around. Nice prices on everything, but two cars in particular stood out. One, a 2005 GTO in silver. Not my favorite color, but certainly one of my favorite late-model cars. Love it. The other, a 2005 330ci w/ZHP in a dark blue metallic. Both are priced to get out of there in a hurry. Coming from the e36, the 330ci is closer both in dimensions and power (235 vs 240) to my M3, but good lord is that GTO something else. It's been a while since I drove one, and let me tell you if you haven't ever, it's a monster. It might feel nice to have some real v8 torque underfoot again. Any takers?

hondacura4, that gentleman probably has a 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Limited.
 
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/wrxsti2007photos.html
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/wrxsti2007.html
 
Btw, this thread is worthless without pics, hondacura4! j/k

Suby, was the wing an option on the former STi or was it standard? There is an older gentleman about 2 blocks from me who drives a silver STi with no wing and it just looks SO much better without it. It just chages the stance completely, for the better.
 
"Now that is a story to tell the grandkids, Hondacura. Your wife must be some woman! I can't imagine it's easy to jump up and down in high heels and not twist an ankle."
 
She is a combination of Alicia Keys and Lucy Lu. She refers to herself as "BlAsian", Black and Asian. =)

The 2005 STi has a good number of things the 2004 didn't.
 
-17" x 8" BBS wheels 5 x 114.3 (2004 - 17" x 7.5" BBS wheels 5 x 100)
-revised interior
-rear fender "flares"
-helical front differential (replaces the SureTrac one the 2004 model used)
 
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/wrxsti2005.html

Now that is a story to tell the grandkids, Hondacura. Your wife must be some woman! I can't imagine it's easy to jump up and down in high heels and not twist an ankle.
 
I'm in the greater Orlando, Florida area right now and, truth be told, there really aren't that many nice examples of e46 M3s around. They've all been ragged, from what I can see, and the nice ones are all convertibles, and I just can't be riding in a drop-top. Also, I never drove an M3 of that generation before, be it manual or DSG, so I'm not sure which I should try to find. The traffic round about it pretty awful, but my e36 has cost me so much money already that I'm in fear of how much the DSG might be to fix should the computer ever decide to take a nosedive. I'm liking the idea that Subytrojan suggested: an 04-05 STI. There are a lot of them driving around down here, but back home (I'm from a little town in the Florida panhandle) no one even knows what an STI is, so just as soon as I get out of school it might be worth while to pick one up. I'll be on the lookout anyway. Does anyone have any recomendations/observations about G35 sedans? They seem to be going for pretty cheap...
 
Anyway, I suppose I should make a comment about the actual topic of this blog: Me personally, despite the big-as-a-Buick remark I made previously, I'd have to go witht he e92 M3, just because I can get it as a sedan. I love me some four-doors, and that's the rawest one I think I've ever seen. Except, of course, the Holden HSV Clubsport....now that's a beastly car.

rkoe, Im not sure where youre located but E46 M3's are pretty reasonable here in Ky. I would suggest you really really really look around and you should find a good deal.
 
When I was looking for my wife an anniversary present back in 2005 I just happend to run across a MINT blk/blk 2002 Honda S2000 owned by an eldery couple in Indiana listed on AutoTrader. The S only had about 3600, yes 3600 miles and he was asking only $21.5. I offered him $21K and drove it home.
 
The best part of the whole situation was seeing my wifes reaction when she opened the garage door. Nothing like a beautiful woman jumping up and down in high heels! Maybe thats the reason we have 5 kids.

It's been my observation that the naysayers are also the ones that aren't in the market anyway, no matter what they claim...

The thought had crossed my mind. If only there was an easy way to disable the front diff on those rather beastly sets of wheels...I had thought about an e90 330i, but I think if I wanted a Buick I'd just buy any of the 87 Grand Nationals for sale in Orlando, and the G35s of the previous generation are a little too slow and the new ones a little too ugly. How dare BMW inconvenience me by making the 135i so expensive!

If (relatively) inexpensive performance is your thing, you probably can't go wrong with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or Subaru Impreza WRX STi (2004-2005)/STI (2006-2007).