New Porsche 997
 

You are correct, Burger. I would consider selling one of my nuts for the S6, or even better, the RS6 wagon...

V8 Wagons
 

It is funny how taste is determined by geography. In Europe, wagon variants of most cars are viewed as being for the younger and more sporting set, while sedans are for the older set.

Take the Passat for example. In sedan form, it is the toyota camry and/or mercury grand marquis of european cars: a solid, reliable, but not very exciting car marketed to the 50+ set. The wagon, on the other hand, is marketed t younger families though, truth be told, many younger families are buying the smaller micro-vans (e.g. VW Shaharan (sp?)) rather than wagons. In the US, the sedan is marketed to younger upwardly-mobile types, and it's "sporting abilities" are hyped. Weird.

New Porsche 997
 

You do have to drive one to understand. Better yet, drive an old one to really get the feel for it. As some around here may recall, I've been kicking around this car decision for months. It's not like I need a car, or need to replace the one that I have, so I haven't really rushed into it. I've owned a Porsche before, and I've thought about buying a newer one. Probably not new, as there are no true Porsches made that retail below $70k or so. Most of that time spent trying to decide what to do has been convincing myself not to buy the Porsche because it's too oppulent, too flashy, too expensive, etc. But I just can't pull the trigger on another car. Also, I don't really mind checking out all these cars; I find it enjoyable.

Anyway, the balance, handling and general feel of the cars are amazing. And the interiors tend to be very nice and functional as well. If I were to spend $80-$100k on a car tomorrow, it would almost definitely be a Porsche. They also hold their value very well.

Frankly, the reason I decided not to buy a late model 996 was the carrying cost. Insurance and maintenance are extremely expensive.

From Munich with Love
 

I did so, and here's a response that someone gave:

"That was my first impression the first time I drove an SMG. The salesman was no help and was almost trying to talk me out of smg. Then I tried another dealer that let me drive a couple of them for a few hours at a time. You learn to love it. About 5% of the shifting can suck at times. I got my 3.0 smg with sport about two weeks ago. 700 miles so far. The more I drive it the more I love it. Snap off those superfast shifts with the paddles is just a rush that you won't get with a manual or steptronic. It's a whole new experience. The smg does get better with time. The salesman explained to me that as an adaptive transmission the computer takes the last 7 series of stops, starts, shifts, acelerations, etc. and builds an average or some kind of algorithm which defines your driving style therby maximizing performance. Might be BS, but it works. It seems to get better everytime I drive it.

It takes time to figure out how you want to drive it and how to get the most out of it depending on your driving mood. If you want to cruise, be gentle with it and ease thru the shifts and perhaps lift of the gas in 1 - 2 shifts when at slow speeds or, use automatic mode. Then when you want some action, put it in sport, step on the gas, grab the paddles and go like hell. Best of both worlds that you can't get anywhere else.

I know it takes a leap of faith to spend this much money on a z4 with smg, but I think you will really enjoy it. I think those of us that have smg don't regret it and would highly recommend it. It may not be absolutely perfect, but neither are any of us with a manual. So enjoy the new experience. Do some more test driving and just remember it get's much better. Also be sure to drive a recent build. Mine was built 2/04. I'm sure earlier would be ok, I'm just not sure when they fixed the problems that you hear about on the board(pre blue dot)."

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Audi RS6 Plus. 480 bhp...


http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/uploads/rs6_750_001.jpg

Read about it here.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Too bad you've gotta move to Europe to have one.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

It looks so innocent...
At least from that angle. Pull up next to a Corvette and he'd never know what hit him.

But, at just north of EU100K, it's pretty steep.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Yeah, but that figure includes VAT. So even at a 1:1 exchange rate, the equivalent would be pre-tax dollars to Euros, or maybe $60K.*

*Math is hard.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Meh. The "regular" RS6 sold in the US is about $85k. I doubt this one comes with a stodgy-wagon discount of that much.

But, yeah, talk about a sleeper. Dress it up with a baby seat in the back and the look is complete.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Ummm, as of today a Euro is worth $1.18. Coincidently, this is about the same premium as the average European VAT of 17.5%.

So the theoretical US pre-tax price would likely be the same as the post VAT price in Euros, or about $100k. This would line up with Burger's comments as well.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Did you all miss my "Math is hard" proviso? It protects me from your barbs.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

And yet it allows you to nit pick on other people. Selective protection.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!
 

Wow, my "nut donation" postulate definitely applies to this monster. DAMN!!!

For Ka-t Lovers
 

For those who didn't catch this (supposedly rejected) ad for the SportKa

link

I finally saw a 300C on the road, like the one below. It's got quite a presence in the steel. I was impressed.

http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/1...5/022758-E.jpg