Aloha,

Sorry, I know this is a Porsche forum, but I know we all have passion for true sports cars!! By the way, anyone test-drive the new M3 yet? Going to? Any thoughts? Do you think these V8 cars, M3 and the coming C63, are suitable and necessary for island driving?

Thanks,

B.

I don't want to do a test drive; I might want one!

As to suitable and necessary - none of our cars are suitable, nor necessary if your perspective is transportation. A Honda is suitable transportation.

Luckily, we're not here because we think of cars as transportation. However, the trend towards V8s in BMWs and M-Bs makes me think back to the 60s and American muscle cars. Are we being herded towards cars with power at the expense of balance? Is 0-60 going to be "the benchmark" due to the lack of proper driving venues?

In a past life, it was always the biggest and baddest V8 for me. That changed when I first heard an early model 911 - I was hooked. From there on, it was small, light, responsive - power came second.

When I got into motorcycle racing, it was first on a 600 - the goal was a 1000cc bike. Then I got a 125cc 2-stroke GP bike - that was the most fun I've ever had and it taught me so much more than time aboard bigger bikes. That's one of the reasons why I went with a 2.7 Cayman (although I wish it had the 6-spd transmission).

So, to end this long-winded tale - based upon where we can drive, the M3 would be great and a serious alternative for me. I want a little more space as the Cayman is my daily driver and it would be nice to be able to carry more than 2 people.

My neighbor, who is into BMWs, wants an M3 just based upon the sound of the engine.

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"I thought I was invincible, but that's only true for comic book heroes." Valentino Rossi

I owned versions of all 3 previous M3 models. They always meant cars that handled well. My favorite was a toss up between the E30 M3 (a car that was produced so BMW could race this series), and a 95 E36 M3 LTW (Lightweight), a car truly made for the track.

Now the M3 is a bulged out body and hulky V8, it is a 3 series on steroids. Previous versions were honed, trained and fit versions of the 3 series.

On top of that, it inherits features of the Chris Bangle styling, not pretty to my eyes.

I switched to the svelt, sleek, quickfooted Cayman S. My favorite over all the BMW 3's I have ever owned.

I agree with gtkyl. But to answer your question, no I haven't tested the M3 yet. I did test the 1 series, which had a little bit of punch to it. I do like beemers, loved the 5 series. That was a very comfortable ride.
But I love the CS and I think its perfect for driving on the island( it does need another 50hp though).
Btw justbeebe, did you test drive the M3?

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Aka Wani = Red Croc, formerly known as "The Kloser".

Hey, thank you all for sharing your thoughts!

To RobMason- For sure this current model isn’t the prettiest M3 ever, since I too did own the previous E36 and E46 M3s. E36 and E46 are hard-trained willing athletes but its interesting to see these athletes on steroids. Even though it looks not very balance from head to toe, but “beauty is skin deep.” IMHO, it takes time for your eyes to love Bangle’s design. But I am still worry about BMW’s craftsmanship due to my previous experience. Porsche definitely builds better car then B's in terms of reliability.

To Gtkyl- My daily driving is from Kahala to downtown and downtown to Kahala, and how much fun can this be? Sorry to be sarcastic, but I am afraid to ruin my driving by big horse power V8s when I can’t drive more then 65mph, most of the time. M3 and C63 will be my top choice if I am living in CA., where mostly are highway driving, for sure. Therefore, beauty comes first rather then performance for me at this time. CS is a beauty, no doubt! It has the shape of a big hip female, very attractive and sensual IMHO.

To Aka Wani- My ego wants me to do a test drive but was wondering if you guys did. BTW, do you guys know that we will get the Nissan GT-R?

To justbeebe: No problem, I agree - beauty over brawn any day!

As much as the magazines have touted the GT-R as "it", I can't get used to its transformerish styling - to me it looks like the designers combined a Mitsubishi front end, Corvette rear, with a strange (60's pony car) roof line. And, the interior is not cohesive, it looks cobbled together. Why couldn't they use the Infiniti G37 as a base?

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"I thought I was invincible, but that's only true for comic book heroes." Valentino Rossi