Pulp Free

I couldn’t pass this one up… Buckle up, it’s a long one… And so here goes the story…

As you’ve previously read – I’ve been on the hunt for a new car and had even taken a few test rides around  that had me pretty much settled in on a new BMW M3. So much so that I think I probably broke the “Build Your Own” BMW Web site components. Nice Melbourne Red Metallic with the Beige Novillo Extended Leather – of course with all of the extras… Even had invoice pricing lined up and was ready to place an order…

Just had to do one more thing… Take the wife on a test drive.

Well – I still had fun with the second test drive but it turned out that the car was claustrophobic and the seats were way to uncomfortable. To be fair, the BMW interior is pretty much in your face… For me, a good thing. For the wife – a bit too much. In this case it was essentially the black interior (all over the place) that sealed the deal for the no-go disapproval. The M3 doesn’t have the full beige interior (floors, side panels, etc.) like the regular 3-series do and the extended leather helped – but not enough. So what’s next?

I took out the M3′s German cousin – a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG that had come in at a local dealer. Oh yeah – the sound was awesome. That big 6.2L V8 just rumbling as soon as you start it up. It had the awesome power under the hood and was sitting with all of the right credentials… A fast, sporty 4-door with more grunt than you know what to do with. A 15 minute ride around the block and it had plenty of gusto. In reality – I’ve never had a Mercedes-Benz on my list. I’ve always been a BMW, Audi, Acura kind of fan… But I was starting to become a convert. After hearing fantastic stories from a friend that had a few C-Classes and a family member that had a few E-Classes – it required at least a first look. The C63 AMG however, had the most hideous seats imaginable. The side bolsters just stabs you in the side. I knew I hated them – the wife test had already failed before it was taken. So I thanked the dealer and headed on out… but not before providing a glance at a 2008 E63 AMG. The salesman said that it had the same engine but a much roomier and comfortable interior. “Hmmm” I said to myself… Then he told me the price and I moved on.

Price was an issue so to even take a peak at the larger, big-engined sedans I needed to stick to the used market. So with the new cars out of the way, I took on the task of finding perhaps a used Audi S6 and BMW M5. Just happened to be that a local BMW dealer had a 2008 M5 available to test drive… Nice black on black that was the finance manager’s demo car… And a 6-speed with all of the options as well! While priced still too high (don’t they all price too high so that we have to haggle?) – I needed to at least see what it was like. Oh – and it was awesome as well – even if I did wait 45 minutes for them to pull it around. It did reek of cologne… or body spray – or whatever was spilled in the car… But was a blast to drive. At least until the side bolsters reached out and started molesting me. The power came on strong through all the gears – and in the end tt was enough to come back around that evening for the wife test. (Still didn’t like the older generation iDrive – but perhaps I could live with it…) – In any case, it failed the wife test as well. Similar issues which I could also understand. All of the black provided a cave-like feeling – and even though it was a bigger car than the M3 – it still seemed up front and in your face. I was actually thinking more Acura like… I don’t really need the dashboard smacking me in the face if I’m moving up in size. And those side bolsters scared the crap out of the wife as well. Oops…

Now I’m starting to get scared. The used market for the Audi S6 is pretty empty. Nothing around town to test drive… And the more regular A6′s that we looked at over the weekend the less I liked their interior and technology packages. I absolutely love the Quattro All-Wheel-Drive – which is why the Audi was still in contention…

Back to the drawing board. I’m starting to get consumed with this effort… I over-analyze and research just about any purchase these days. Looking through BMW M3 & M5 – Audi S4, S6, RS4, now toss in the Mercedes which I’ve never looked at before and I was keeping myself awake at night absorbing information. AGH!! Loads of Top Gear and Fifth Gear reviews… Along with head-numbing forum posts and review Web sites & videos…

But then I decided to at least try out with the wife the Mercedes E63 AMG. Maybe we could talk down the price A LOT! If anything, see if she even likes the seats, the interior – and to see if it still had the fun-to-drive feeling of the C63. We left work a bit early and headed to the Mercedes dealer once again and they pulled the E63 around for us to drive. Knowing that it had been around for a few years on their lot wasn’t that big of a deal… But they could have at least washed off the grass clippings!

Oh man – was it everything the C63 AMG was and then some. Same smile on my face as the M3 & C63 – but a lot more comfortable and the cabin felt just like my Acura RL. We took it around the test loop, through some back roads and on the highway and clearly a great car. My only fear at this point was looking at too much of a car. Kind of like house shopping where you know what your budget is and yet when you’re out and about and see an open house – you’re compelled to take a look. (Real Estate agents know all about this phenomenon…)

We finished up and then headed out to dinner to discuss. The wife was strangely quiet for most of the ride… Could have been that the salesman was talking the whole time telling us about every little feature and why Mercedes-Benz was a better car than anything else I was looking at. (Please… just be quiet for a few minutes!) But in the end I was looking to simply get feedback if we were heading in the right direction. Was I going to get a thumbs up? Thumbs down?

Two thumbs up!!! Woo Hoo!!! Now we’re getting somewhere! And now it’s time to get some more research done. That equates to less sleep.

So this particular car was a great option as long as you factor out the cost. Even though it was a 2008, it only had 200 miles on it. I liked driving it, the wife liked riding in it! I started a hunt on the used car Web sites for comparable pricing. Now that turned up an interesting tidbit. The dealer’s pricing was a bit too high – even if they wanted to call it a “demo”. I wanted to compare it to a used car and found that it was potentially getting closer to my affordability. I submitted a few requests to these other dealers and even on their lower prices, wouldn’t budge to get into my budget. I didn’t want to raise my budget – so I kept looking.

And then a few more revelations. Come to find out that the model year 2010 was a complete refresh (which I didn’t really care for) but in that the 2009 had a technology refresh… Meaning upgraded navigation, blue-tooth and other connectivity changes. While the 2008 test drive was okay, I hate seeing new technology is similar cars. BMW had that same issue with their iDrive and I’m sure it’s held back some interest in their older cars as well. So 2009? Well…

At this same time a friend of mine pushed again on the Mercedes-Benz connection, but from a different dealer that he had worked with. Knowing that the 2008 option was unique, I still talked with the second dealer to see if they could provide any assistance. Turns out that I received a call from their Sales Manager and right away they seemed much more attentive to listening to our needs. We talked a bit on the phone and he mentioned that he’d look around their options and see if something could be done in the area of used E63 AMG models. A few days later I revisited one of his voice-mails and picked up on his “we might have some options on a new E63 AMG that was still have in our showroom.” I bit and called back.

Come to find out that Mercedes-Benz was offering some crazy dealer incentives on their remaining 2009 models now that they were a few months into their 2010 model year. Hmmm… Sounds good so far. Additional fleet discounts actually brought the price down into a range that was less than what the first dealer was selling the 2008 E63 AMG at and we sealed the deal!!! Granted there were a few days in-between those efforts including a few more test drives and national dealer discussions. But in the end it came down to an E63 AMG with the exact options I wanted, a local dealer that I actually respected, and price that was within our budget.

So now that the decision had been made and “New Buddy” is home tucked away in the garage, I figured I’d try to keep a running discussion on the new car experience. I came across a few posts on the Web from another fellow named Ken Hanscom that outlined his personal experiences with his BMW M3 and really enjoyed the first-hand perspective. Strangely – it’s really hard to find people that actually write about their own personal experiences when you’re searching Google or Bing. You get a lot of car review sites or dismal forum posts from people that don’t even own the car you’re researching. So even though there’s not an custom-ordered M3 waiting for me, I’m not bothered. I’ve got something even better…

The sun was shining, the wind was blowing – yet still a slight chill in the air. It’s been a bit over three years since I’ve been acquainted with new Buddy and I’ve been having a slight new car twitch that’s been bugging me lately. This afternoon, I decided to do something about it. Time to head to a few car dealerships.

About 5 years ago I took the plunge and test drove about everything I could get my hands on – specifically around my price range of $30,000. BMW, Mercedes, Acura, Audi… Just to name a few. It was a good time to really see what was out there and to gauge how far my hard earned money would get me. At the time I ended up going with the new 2004 Acura TL and loved every minute of it. It had a beautiful shape to it, four-doors… Plenty of power and technology goodies galore! (I thank my TiVo for prompting me with one of the first user-selected ads to run for the introduction…)

Flash forward back up today and while I’ve graduated up to an Acura RL (and I’ve truly grown attached to Buddy and love how awesome of a “grandpa” car that it is) – I’m really wondering what else is out there. What’s new… What’s wow… What’s just a few more dollars in monthly car payments. While technically my lease is up in December – the fantastic buying opportunity and low borrowing costs are tempting me to start Christmas shopping early. So what was up for this past afternoon?

BMW 335i & M3

I took my first visit of the afternoon up to Autohaus BMW where C has had great service with her own BMW. Might as well start with the car that I’ve been wanting since I was just a youngster… The magical 3-series. I’ve read too many Internet discussion boards and more than my fair share of TopGear (and other car shows) to know that it gets not better than the king of the hill… The M3. Essentially my goal was to see how different the 335 was from the M3 in terms of driveability and if I’d be happy with the 335… You know – not pine for the M3.

Well… The M3 is just awesome. I can’t describe it any other way unless you’re actually in the car driving it yourself. Having that V8 with 414 HP available in every gear – just waiting for you to punch down on the accelerator and feel it pull you forward just never got old. On the highway in 3rd, 4th, 5th or even 6th I could give it a bit of a flip and just let the noise in. I smiled every time. I mean – 6th gear!!

Granted – I’ve never had a V8. My trek to the top of car mountain includes mostly all 4-cylinders with just the last two really having powerful V6′s. The 300 HP in my Acura RL is no slouch and makes straight line acceleration pretty lively. But that smooth, silky V8 in the M3 is just addictive. I won’t go on here – there’s plenty of YouTube videos and reviews on the Web that nail the M3 experience. So what’s up next?

The 335i. Again, for the most part the “car” is the same – but the components are mixed up with a turbo V6 with 300 HP and in my demo, all-wheel drive. I even had the chance to play with the new iDrive and I was really impressed compared to the 2008 iDrive (which really sucked). The 335i is a great car. But the issue really comes down to… I’m now already under the influence of the M3. I felt I needed to down shift each time in the 335 to pull out the same grunt of the M3. There was a little bit of lag in any acceleration whereas the M3 always just provided the grunt. Did driving the M3 first ruin my 335 experience? Yes. Could I be happy with the 335 and dismiss the memories of the M3… Only time will tell… Only time will tell… Of course, dollars will speak on the real decision. That’ll be for another day. I’m still needing to get back to my M3 blissful happy place…

Jaguar XF time…

I first laid eyes on the XF at a stop light near my house and there was one right in front of me. The rear end is just blissfully beautiful. I snapped a picture of it on my iPhone (and of course, uploaded it to Facebook). My first accidental viewing stayed with me and I kept it on the list of next-up cars to keep in mind. I ran into that same XF at least 3 more times in the next week so my karma was starting to get the better of me.

Since one of C’s requirements for any next-up purchase is to keep it with 4-doors, the XF lends itself nicely. Probably pulling me back from jumping in wholeheartedly this time around is that while, again, the XF is simply a beautiful car – it is a Jaguar. When I headed into Moore Jaguar (the only dealership in Missouri) it had beautiful cars all throughout the showroom. A walk around the back had two XF’s on display for me to poke my head into and to breathe in the aristocrat-ness of the experience. But that’s really part of the issue for some of us “new” buyers into the Jaguar franchise. It was just all to… stuffy! Green carpet on the floors, ponderous wood paneled walls and nice leather furniture everywhere. It was like heading into the Ritz Cigar Bar in Clayton but without the cool people, fantastic food, and well.. cigars! Oddly enough, the place was empty as well. I didn’t see another customer near that dealer for the entire hour or so that I was there. So is this a comment on my driving experience or the dealer? Well – perhaps one in the same.

The sales guy was nice enough. We talked a bit about the XF and I hopped around the showroom display model and even marveled at the size of the trunk. Oddly that Moore chromed out the wheels and vent covers (isn’t that just a Dodge thing?) and slapped on a Jaguar Leaper. Again – old school Jaguar but who wants that?? Really? Next up we hopped into a whilte demo XF and the sales guy drove me out first and took some winding back neighborhood roads quite fast and I will say the XF really performed. It’s own 300 HP V8 sounded great and pulled very quickly… (Sorry Buddy… Your 300 HP just feels… “different”). So doing 80 MPH in a 25 MPH school zone probably wasn’t the best opportunity to show of the XF’s skills – it was grippy, powerful, and amazingly sure-footed. I took my own 5 minute spin back to the dealer and shared in the same gutsy feel of the V8. But this is where my comparisons really start fouling up the XF experience.

If I had never had an Acura TL or RL – the tech, gadgets and quality would have really impressed me. But I’ve had all “that” stuff for the last 5 years and Acura pulls most of it off either the same or better than Jaguar did. The navigation screen is larger and more intuitive (the XF’s screen really looks small… Like an afterthought or from left over, close out technology). The folding open air vents seemed a bit cheesy and I get the feeling would get on my nerves after a while. The pop-up drive control knob was okay… And the remote key fob and button car-start has been done before.

So what I have is a car that’s similar to what I have now… Just 5 years newer and has a sexier back-end to it. At the $55,000 price tag, you can’t fault it, however. It’s a great car. But do I want more of the same? I do like unique. I had a TL before they were on every corner. The RL still stands out as being somewhat unique… But mostly because Acura doesn’t advertise much and most people don’t have any experience with them.

(I won’t even go into the fuglification transformation going on that’s really forcing me to look outside the Acura brand for my next car…)

So overall… It was a great day. The M3 is definitely in the lead from the shear rocket ship potential. But I have time… Let it sink in… Absorb the drives and see what keeps me entertained.

I love TopGear. It’s funny, whimsical, British and once in a while has something to do with cars. Originally I was a Fifth Gear fan since it was shown on the local Speed cable channel. But hiding over on the BBC America channel was an even better car show. It wasn’t until I had a few episodes under my belt did I become somewhat obsessed in needing to watch all of the back seasons. (Sorry guys – but season one really stunk… ugh…)

So with seasons 7, 8 9 and 10 finished off (and now starting at the beginning) – I was happy to see the first few episodes of season 11 show up. So much to my astonishment when I get into the first few seconds of episode 3 than what do I see…

If you say “All I see is Jeremy Clarkson” I suppose you should take a look at these show ticket requirements…

We also ask that groups of people coming to the recordings have a 50/50 male/female split. This is so we don’t end up with a bunch of ugly male car geeks ruining everyone’s Sunday night.

So here’s hoping that we get to see even more great cars… and, um… audience members in the future!

(And yes – I did put in a request for tickets… From what I hear there’s a 3-5 year waiting list…)

I mean… C’mon Jeremy – get out of the way! (I do like how the two ladies are just staring at him… almost like a tennis match!)

Just wanting to share… I came across this video a few months back and just get goosebumps every time I watch it. You want to talk about going fast – 253 MPH… The original embedded video no longer works so I’m just linking over to the TopGear YouTube version of this…