Wanted
 

Join us here:

shiftyworld.com

Wanted
 

Try this:

http://www.designyourvolvo.com/dyv3/...612_TMP900.jpg

The Volvo S40. It is 69.7" wide from the tips of the outside mirrors.

Wanted
 

no manual transmission, I would think. does Mercedes sell any stick shift cars in the States?

Wanted
 

Yes. It comes in manual. Or, the website had it as manual, and I think I had to put in my zip code.

Volvos bring back iffy memories of childhood, unfortunately.

ETA the "sport sedans" come in manual.

Wagon hotness
 

http://www.jalopnik.com/assets/resou...007/01/m5a.jpg


Holy.Shit. The M5 Touring. All 500 bhp.

Link.

Wagon hotness
 

When I saw that on Autoblog, the first thing that I thought was, I gotta tell Alex.

Wagon hotness
 

:) :) :)

Wagon hotness
 

I saw a new 3 series coupe on the road yesterday. It's pretty. I may have broken the tenth commandment.

Wagon hotness
 

Those are pretty hot. Sedan is just as nice, too. Faster than you'd think.

It's finally here
 

After almost 2 months of waiting, being a 1 car family, and having test driven everything under the sun (see previous), it's finally here and we pick it up tonight.

Alpine White with Cream Beige Pearl leather. If the convertible hadn't been well over 100k, it might have been selected. It was the quietest convertible I've ever been in and the rear window upper/downer thing is cool as hell.

http://www.bmwusa.com/LeadGenBYO/Ima...qfront_zsp.jpg

It's finally here
 

Very nice. Enjoy it. Specs? Options?

It's finally here
 

4.8L V8
0-60 in 5.3
Electronic limiter on 150mph top speed.

There's not much in the way of options - it comes pretty loaded.
Nav - included
Cold weather package (heated steering wheel, side mirrors, seats).
Sport package - 19" wheels, 8 way power seats, trim, Bridgestone Potenzas 245R40, run flat.
Pearl leather - really pretty.
Active steering (screw Car & Driver, this is a necessity)
Premium stereo.
Bluetooth handsfree- included.

Head's up - didn't get, didn't want.
That's about it for options.

It's finally here
 

Have you tested this?

It's finally here
 

No. We're supposed to "break it in" for 1500 mi first.
As if. We took the demo up to 120mph on the I-580. Solid.
I'll let you know.

It's finally here
 

I heard white has a lower resale value, true?

The Hamster
 

Pictures of Top Gear's Richard Hammond's crash.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

Uh... in case you can't tell, I want a new car. The nanny is driving my SUV and I've been borrowing my dad's car.

I want a new car. I have no idea what I want.

But I want a new car.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

I thought you wanted a Saab? Have you test driven one of those? One of our friends leased a decked out one last year and I rode in it recently. Pretty nice. He seems to really like it (though shortly after he leased it, they came out with the 2007's, and he covets one of those instead, because they made some console/display changes the make it more driver-friendly).

I sort of covet the A3's (as Coltrane and I have discussed), but not enough to take on a car payment once again since my older A4 has only 32k miles on it and I'm trying to minimize expenses so I can get out of this "practicing law" racket.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

I saw a M6 yesterday. I was tempted to pull alongside and give the geeky thumbs up to the driver. Looked exactly like this, except CA plates.

http://www.autothing.com/images/Fun%...BMW-M6-01b.jpg

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

I did want a Saab. And then I thought maybe I wanted a BMW. And now, now I don't know what I want.

Story of my life. (sigh)

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

Mr. Man recently leased the 330i. Great car. Back seat is actually useable. He is in love. His only minor complaint is that the iDrive (is that what it is called?) nob is not appropriately responsive. He thinks he got a dud, because the other BMW's that he rides in (his boss's 550, for example) have more responsive iDrives.

It is, however, probably $10k more than a decked out Saab. If such things matter to you. Which they may not.

I'm not a big car leaser (never done it), but it was fascinating to me how much the residual value calculation seemed to affect lease payments. That made it so that a bottom-line BMW was barely more than a decked out Jetta in monthly payments. Mr. Man had to up the mileage allotment, which really cost him though.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

Leasing is better than financing UNLESS you always keep a car past the point of having paid it off. If you're looking to get out of law and live on cans and bottles maybe you should buy and hold.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

I have bought and held. I'm old skool that way though. Car as an asset, yadda yadda. I have a 2001 A4 with 32k miles that I bought new. It was paid off in year 2 of ownership (with my bonus cash) and I'm now getting close to year 7 of ownership. I'll probably have it for another 3 years if nothing goes horribly wrong with it (it has been a great car so far). I am really attached to not making car payments. And I drive only 15 miles per day. On surface roads.

Mr. Man is a leaser, but he also has to be in his car a whole lot more than I do (a 35 mile each way commute in LA is no piece of cake). And he isn't as anxious to get out of what he is doing.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

I went with the Acura TL. Don't regret it one bit. Consumer Reports loves it, and so do I. It rode considerably smoother than the A3. I like the design/look of the A3 much more than the ride.

The back seats have more leg room than any other entry-level luxury car (it appears to be the same length as my old Grand Cherokee). There is room for me to sit back there, and I'm (almost) 6'2". The sound system is outstanding.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

I went with the 335i sedan. All kinds of fast, handles remarkably well, smooth ride, and lots of what that blogger masquerading as a car columnist at the Washington Post would call "gewgaws."

It's finally here
 

Where the F in SF do you have 2 car parking?

It's finally here
 

Y'all don't even have tandem? (Note -- I think tandem is an abomination, and should be specified as such in all cases rather than people being able to advertise 2 parking spaces. Happily, I live alone, so my car can use both spaces.)

It's finally here
 

If she can afford a 6er . . .

It's finally here
 

I don't live in the city. The parking situation (and price) pretty much killed it for me. That's why I take the Bart (or $150 cab ride).

3 car garage was part of the deal for me moving. I don't know if you know this or not, but I didn't want to move.

Back in the day, we were a 4 car family (2 commuters and 2 Saturday night specials). That all ended with a move to California. Until this summer when the new Cooper S w/JCW upgrade comes out. Then probably a 3 car family.

I want a new car! I want a new car!
 

One of my socks got the 20th anniversary 9-3 convertible.....[outable] #326 out of 400 [/outable]....after 7 months I can honestly say, we both love it.

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

The F6:

http://images.motortrend.com/feature...arter_view.jpg

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

Here's another recockulous artist's rendering, dubbed teh X6

http://www.bmwfaqs.com/wp-content/up...2007/01/x6.jpg

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

I like the blue one, actually.

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

It seems like you would have to be alying waaayyy back, pimpin' style to drive it or your head would be hitting the top of the windshield, but maybe it's just me and my crappy spatial depth perception.

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

It looks to me like it's shaped something like the upcoming revision to the Ford s-max:

http://www.automotoportal.com/media/.../061213003.jpg

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

That's an optical illusion brought on by the fact the the doors are really tall. Like this thing - where the window begins right at about chin level for me.

http://www.4wd.ru/images/car/sojuz/i...x45/fx45_1.jpg

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

You must be popular in elevators.

DISREGARD

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

it looks to me like someone used that to photochop a concept. All they've done is green light initial thinking, right?

BMW's answer to the R Class
 

I would bet there's more than that. The R is doing pretty well (in Europe, at least), and BMW doesn't want to miss the train.