Subject has come up in another thread . . .
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...lacement/page2
. . . but rather than jump in over there, muddle things up, I'm starting another here --- to go on about the qualities that make some cars special for me
To be honest --- this particular comment got me started . . .
I've owned 5 BMW e30s --- all 4-cyls . . . including 2 Real M3s, both '90s = air-bag cars. The first I one bought used, in '92 --- w/4k mi . . . after a faster Buyer bounced a check. Put ~80k on that car before selling it to buy a Land Rover to drive to Alaska --- a trip that never happened. The 2nd one I bought ~2001 w/ --- 32k mi. It 'd been living in a garage (w/ a Cocketoo) about a mile from my house --- a car that I (perversely) did take to Alaska . . .
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ghlight=alaska
Anyway, between those two M3s, I've put ~150k mi on the 2.3 litre S14
And it was the Real M3 that was on my mind, back when I first described what kind of 911 I was looking for . . .
Anyway, Stout's comments about the 2.3 litre don't match my experience. I don't know how he drives --- or the condition of the two cars that he mentioned . . . but I adore the e30 M3. Now, Stout 's a 914 Guy, and I can state unequivocally that the e30 is a no sports car --- its a small sedan . . . w/ room for 4 passengers, ac, proper trunk, blah-blah-blah. And both of mine were Every Days --- cars that went to work, took kids to school, hauled groceries . . . boring
And they had their 'plumage.' Back Then, seeing a boxy little sedan with a snowplow spoiler, extended rockers, and a wing hung on the trunk looked, well . . . goofy. Even today, these cars aren't exactly beautiful --- their sharply folded architecture at odds with the softer, smoother looks of things today
I admit --- I bought my first Real M3 based on its reputation. I'd traded a really pretty 318iS to buy it, and only got to know the car through first-hand experience . . . 12 years-worth?
In a word --- their attraction for me? . . .
. . . is all about their character
Performance-wise? --- at first drive? . . . a Real M3 can seem a bit dull. The cab is much like any contemporary e30, nice + functional, austere, with nothing but a few badges here-and-there --- + the tach . . . to say it's anything special. The controls feel 'German' but not that special, either --- even numb. And the exhaust note is dull, flat, and engine response only ordinary. And, if all I did was prance-around @3k rpm in traffic? --- well . . . may as well be in a Camry
Buzz-kill, huh?
Well. The S14 engine was built to live a >6k rpm --- even stock street engines can handle ~8k rpm . . . but few people ever drive them that way. I did. Kinda why I bought the thing. NA cars have two rev limiters --- there's a 'soft' one that retards ignition and starts nibbling ~7250 . . . and then there's a 'hard' one that cuts the ignition ~7400-7500. Once I had the engine properly warmed-up --- oil temp = ~120F? . . . well, I hit those limiters at least twice a day. Sometimes, just to hear the fury of the thing HOWLing. (No shyte --- the looks on people's faces when I'd ooze through traffic or come in for a landing --- at >6k rpm . . . priceless) I LOVED those silly little cars, and enjoyed every mile of every day that I owned them. Like to think they had a good life with me = fun. I mean --- you could find your way to my house by following all the black marks around the corners. Not the quickest cars, maybe --- or the fastest . . . gutless <3k rpm. And the brakes could be better. But . . .
. . . on any open road, around any corner, in any weather? . . .
. . . ICBMW
Kooky-looking, now, I suppose. Upright, straight-edged, not fashionable, maybe. But --- IMO . . . no better small sedan made to cover LOTS of territory. . . while having fun doing it
Only reason I sold the last one? . . .
. . . was to get something older, crankier, even more anachronistic
....