***Please note this really has nothing to do with anything, I just had to lament on how great roadsters are***
So my mom came into town over the weekend and asked to switch cars for a couple weeks so she could 'haul' some stuff. I happily relinquished my ever-breaking 528 for her Z4... Now, when I go to visit the family (in Newport Beach, I live in LA), I usually end up taking it out for some coastal cruising; but I've never really had the opportunity to see what the car really does through the hills. After a couple days, I have got to say that, that little bugger single-handedly revived my love for driving.
For over the past year, my car has been breaking almost nonstop. Because of that, the appeal of taking those long, go-nowhere drives has all but vanished. I'm simply afraid that I'll break it along the way, but not to mention, it's getting up in years and is still a rather large 4 door sedan, throwing it around doesn't carry the same appeal. Take all that and add in ridiculous LA traffic, no excess money for repairs/new bmw, and that shining light starts to die.
Getting into the Z however has completely revitalized all that, not to mention has greatly improved my overall mood. It's spirited, sharp, and commands your attention. It forces you back into the moment. Most importantly, it's fun as hell. It carves through mountain turns with such ferocity and power that there really is little that could stop it. While her car is only a 2.5 and lacks the straight line power of it's larger counterparts; through tight technical turns, where power is secondary to braking and raw handling, it is incredible.
Now, to make this time with the car even better, a friend of mine, coincidentally enough, has been house sitting his parents place, along with his mom's Audi TT. Now, the Audi is brand new, top of the line, and fully loaded; so it's undoubtedly faster in a straight line. But in the turns, the playing field levels out. Experiencing these two cars at the same time has been great. Not only are they both rightfully quick, but the comparative driving styles has been really interesting. At the end of the day, I'd side with the BMW, but hey, that's just me.
To round off my roadster rally, my other good friend took his X5 in for some repairs and got a new Z4 3.0si as a loaner. Now, while my Z isn't really a true competitor to the top TT, the loaner 3.0si is. Not only does it have all the nifty acutriments that mine lacks (heated seats, sports package, etc) but it's exceptionally faster than both my Z and the TT. Overall, I'm seriously considering one for my next car (over the E46 M3), unless I can afford the lease on a Z4M. The chassis was carved from stone and the suspension is back breaking, but hell, I'm still young and through the turns it makes all the difference in the world, not so much in the drive, but my sheer level of enjoyment.
It's simply been a blast cruising around in the warm winter nights (gotta love LA) with good friends and equal roadsters all around. It's going to be hard swapping back to the more civilian sedan, but for this week, I couldn't ask for more.
So my mom came into town over the weekend and asked to switch cars for a couple weeks so she could 'haul' some stuff. I happily relinquished my ever-breaking 528 for her Z4... Now, when I go to visit the family (in Newport Beach, I live in LA), I usually end up taking it out for some coastal cruising; but I've never really had the opportunity to see what the car really does through the hills. After a couple days, I have got to say that, that little bugger single-handedly revived my love for driving.
For over the past year, my car has been breaking almost nonstop. Because of that, the appeal of taking those long, go-nowhere drives has all but vanished. I'm simply afraid that I'll break it along the way, but not to mention, it's getting up in years and is still a rather large 4 door sedan, throwing it around doesn't carry the same appeal. Take all that and add in ridiculous LA traffic, no excess money for repairs/new bmw, and that shining light starts to die.
Getting into the Z however has completely revitalized all that, not to mention has greatly improved my overall mood. It's spirited, sharp, and commands your attention. It forces you back into the moment. Most importantly, it's fun as hell. It carves through mountain turns with such ferocity and power that there really is little that could stop it. While her car is only a 2.5 and lacks the straight line power of it's larger counterparts; through tight technical turns, where power is secondary to braking and raw handling, it is incredible.
Now, to make this time with the car even better, a friend of mine, coincidentally enough, has been house sitting his parents place, along with his mom's Audi TT. Now, the Audi is brand new, top of the line, and fully loaded; so it's undoubtedly faster in a straight line. But in the turns, the playing field levels out. Experiencing these two cars at the same time has been great. Not only are they both rightfully quick, but the comparative driving styles has been really interesting. At the end of the day, I'd side with the BMW, but hey, that's just me.
To round off my roadster rally, my other good friend took his X5 in for some repairs and got a new Z4 3.0si as a loaner. Now, while my Z isn't really a true competitor to the top TT, the loaner 3.0si is. Not only does it have all the nifty acutriments that mine lacks (heated seats, sports package, etc) but it's exceptionally faster than both my Z and the TT. Overall, I'm seriously considering one for my next car (over the E46 M3), unless I can afford the lease on a Z4M. The chassis was carved from stone and the suspension is back breaking, but hell, I'm still young and through the turns it makes all the difference in the world, not so much in the drive, but my sheer level of enjoyment.
It's simply been a blast cruising around in the warm winter nights (gotta love LA) with good friends and equal roadsters all around. It's going to be hard swapping back to the more civilian sedan, but for this week, I couldn't ask for more.
