Betchyerass I’m waiting for the M3, but I prefer this one if my 3 Series is for every occasion

Can we judge how great a sports car is by the size of the fine the officer hands us? It depends, I guess, on the officer and how understanding he or she is, whether they like sports cars, whether they’re bowled over by my affable humility in accepting that I’ve been caught having too much fun on their beat.

Boy, did I get caught. California’s Highway 1 heading south out of Monterey was barren on a perfectly sunny day. Apparently the explanation was that there had been a landslide down south a ways and so people were avoiding the road out of fear of getting turned around due to the closure. It was a gorgeous day, a day absolutely made for the car I was driving, the latest BMW 335i sedan with 302 SAE horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque in Sport trim with standard six-speed manual. And in Melbourne Red Metallic.

BMW had a range of 328i and 335i sedans available, from the 328i in Modern trim with manual up to the car I was destined to pick, the turbocharged I6 on the Sport chassis with manual. They also had the 335i Sport with optional eight-speed automatic and the paddles of the sport steering wheel, but I was completely uninterested in that, or in any other trim 3 Series this day. I came to drive hard the car I would buy if I was in the market for a German sport sedan.

I’d been tear-assing southward through the famous curves and over the national landmark bridges built in the 1930s, loving every sight, feeling remarkable, not even really minding much the 19-inch Goodyear Potenza run-flats which tend to bother me with their deadness and weight as they meet the pavement. I came to just north of the remote village of Lucia and there opening before me was the last long-ish straight prior to the bunt-and-coffee stop. I laid into it in third gear coming out of the final well designed curve, hit 6,800 revs and pulled the stick down into fourth. I approached a little bridge with a large manzanita bush at the opposite end on the coast side. Right then, I said to myself, “Perfect spot for the CHP to perch.”

When I saw the black fender panel of the Ford Explorer peak out from behind that bush, I must have been doing – yes – many mph and about ready to toss it into fifth gear like a pro.

BAM!! instead on the brake pedal, all my belongings on the passenger seat chucked into the right foot well, and the guilty sound of a muted skid as the whole stationary CHP Explorer went past the passenger windows as if in slow motion. I was making an officer’s day, maybe their week. The ventilated compound brake discs bit really well – not too soft and not too hard – and the feel at the pedal was pretty firm and steady. Car didn’t deviate one inch from its intended line of travel.

The officer was nice about it, gotta say. He ticketed me for 85 mph and saluted me by saying, “Man, I wish I could be out here patrolling in this car instead of that Explorer.” He even joked and said what I had thought just before: “Heck, you made my day!”

The rest of my time on Highway 1 was less hair-brained, don’t worry. But it is not easy to leash the hounds in this car. I do desperately love a good day in an M3 or Mercedes C63 AMG, but my choice would be either this exact car I’m driving or an Audi S4 with manual. The choice would be tough, but I do enjoy much more the new design language on this F30 generation 3 Series, so it’d probably win out. At $43,295 MSRP plus destination when U.S. customers can take delivery on February 11th, too, it avoids the nose bleed section of this sporting segment of cars. Fully duded up in Sport line clothes and just the way I like it, it’d still be under $50k, and that number does make sense to me. If you want a Japanese car or Korean car or American car that somewhat competes with this 3 Series, go right ahead. As far as overall experience behind the wheel, none of these nations’ models reach quite this high in true owner satisfaction. Drive any of the others alongside this 335i Sport with manual shifter and, unless you’re a person who thinks a car is an appliance that wanders occasionally from home and only price per horse matters, you’ll get what I’m talking about here.

After heading back north along the coast highway with my tail tucked between my legs, BMW had a treat for me that would easily make up for the salty fine and the point on my driver’s license record. They insisted that I take unending laps around Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca in a car identical to that which I had driven on the road. What would have been a kick for me would have been to have the officer from that morning in the passenger seat with me as testament to the fact that this 335i set up this way is arguably impossible to drive within legal speed limits. I’m certain he would have torn up the citation right there in the pits. Dontchya think?

Laps on a track are the greatest way to see just what I might swap out on my 335i Sport in order to make my laps all the better. I would get a non-run-flat set of 19-inch tires that work perfectly with the car, maybe some Michelin Pilot Sports, and I would hunt around for a more robust brakeset. Basically, these are the items that are always on my list after thrashing around in any 3 Series-sized sport sedan. The run-flats are very predictable sliders in the bends, I must say, and they are fun in their way, but they slide simply too much of the time. I kept the car in Sport+ of the Driving Dynamics Control at all times and this made it easier to compensate for the lifeless tires by playing with the more responsive throttle and steering, and leaning on the more rigid suspension.

In Sport+, the Dynamic Traction Control is switched off while the Dynamic Stability Control stays on the job, albeit with a slightly higher threshold allowed by the ECU. The conditions were so ideal this day that I wanted to go further and switch off the DSC, too, but then I felt the loosey-goosey tires would work even more against me. Get the better tires for track day at least and, on a sunny day, poke off the DSC to let the real lap times begin. Nonetheless, the optional sport-tuned suspension on my car, which lowers the chassis by four tenths of an inch, was my greatest ally lap after lap. (Adaptive M Sport suspension is also available on the options list and lowers things to the same degree.) The grace and balance under the hardest lateral gs with the run-flats howling was exemplary. Definitely an M3 would nail all this like there’s no tomorrow, but then I don’t want to drive an M3 every day, not even in my dreams. This every day driver, however, I could see in my garage without a moment’s hesitation.

Which brings me to something that deserves to be in some hall of fame for sports cars: the Getrag six-speed manual “K” gearbox. The clutch and shift lever work like a vaudeville duo that’s been on the circuit for twenty years. The shifts are remarkably faithful, just notchy enough without being chunky style, and the exit and entrance into each gear is silky sweet. Not once did I find the wrong gear in the forward or rearward trio on the lever, and into and out of some of the eleven turns at Laguna Seca this is a regular occurance in many other cars. Would I rather live with an essentially dead left foot and flicking fingers, or revel in the joys of well executed heel-and-toe shifts and blipped throttles? Need you ask?

The N55 TwinPower Turbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder that’s getting so much attention these past couple of years is sensational here. The sport exhaust with separated twin blackened tailpipes is a sweet singer for a not-quite-an-M3 car. Pulling power and pushing torque from the rear axle and twin-scroll Borg Warner turbocharger with 8.7 psi of boost pressure are both so damned smooth, and the even smoother Getrag six makes the powertrain and drivetrain even more tank-like in their smoothness, if you get my drift.

And zero to 60 mph acceleration in 5.4 seconds? My ass. This manual 335i Sport in Sport+ can do this dash – I’ll swear by it – in 5.0 seconds flat, maybe even having a 4.9 in it somewhere. Top speed, a figure I really don’t care about at all unless the straights are really long on this or that track, is a typical BMW top trim 155 mph, or way more than adequate.

I do like the exterior-matching red trim accents on the interior in this Sport, and the leatherette with red stitching of the standard power front seats with lumbar support is attractive and comfortable for many miles. Go ahead and whine about the sobering colors of my car’s interior, but I want black in there if the exterior is red. The support from the seats while under lateral duress especially could use just a scootch more upper body assistance, but the three-spoke sport steering wheel kind of makes up for this by being really good to grip and leverage. And four adults can have a hell of a good time in there while on the track, too, although at that point maybe it would be time to admit the need for an M3 to transfer all that weight side-to-side and up toward The Corkscrew.

When driving that everyday route and with traffic, the timid new Eco Pro mode of the DDC helps save fuel and recuperate energy for the battery via smart charging using natural engine braking. This recuperated energy allows the air conditioning and other ancillaries to run off the battery directly instead of off the alternator which saps a surprising amount of power from the engine.

I have to admit: I didn’t like much the Eco Pro way of doing things in the 335i Sport with the manual. The shift indicator is almost immediately urging me to get to sixth gear and I don’t want to do that until speed is sufficient. The DDC with Eco Pro is most at home in the 328i with eight-speed automatic, which is no surprise, but I can thankfully just choose to not indulge it in this 335i with six-speed.

After about 25 hot laps at Laguna Seca, the 335i Sport and I were one. I found it was smarter to leave the Getrag ‘box in third through a few of the turns where some less ambitious drivers might force it to second gear. The amount of torque available down fairly low is just right for third-gearing like this while carrying through a bunch of speed and enough revs. I was having a ball and, like with our diligent CHP officer, this Bimmer had made my day.

123►

BMW 335i Sport

Price: $43,295 + Sport options

Motor: 2,979 cc, 4-valve

Power: 302 hp @ 5,800 rpm

Torque: 295 lb-ft @ 1,300 – 5,000 rpm

Transmission: standard six-speed Getrag “K” manual

Fuel capacity: 15.8 gallons

City/hwy combined mpg avg.: TBD by BMW

Performance (est.): 0-60 mph 5.4 seconds, top speed 155 mph

Length x width x height: 182.5 x 71.3 x 56.3 in (55.9-in height w/sport suspension or M adaptive suspension)

Wheelbase: 110.6 in

Curb weight: 3,571 lbs

Cargo space: 13.0 cu. ft.

[ Billy “Snap” MacGillicuty – text; BSM and Greg Jarem – pics]

Top Gear is, for all known reasons, the greatest automotive entity in the world. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are three blokes who do the exact opposite than being automotive journalists: they act like imbeciles. That’s exactly the way every person who writes about cars would love to be. However, we don’t have a government backed news organization, in this case the BBC, to protect us and keep us free from advertisers. Oh, and fund us with millions of dollars to do whatever the hell we’d like.

For some odd reason, everyone tries to replicate it. We’ve had three iterations of Top Gear here in the United States, with the most recent one actually making it to air and being in its third season almost. Then they have Top Gear in South Korea, China, and the now defunct Russian and Australian versions.

You really can’t make Top Gear anywhere, nor with anyone else. It’s an institution.

Nowhere else in the world do you have a Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, MIT, etc. Each and every one of those schools is ranked in the top for their own merits. Sure they teach similar ways, and to a particular type of student. Yet, they’re each inherently different and unique, just all universities.

It’s the same with Top Gear. That’s why I love Fifth Gear; it’s completely different. On Fifth Gear you have Tiff Needell, a former Top Gear presenter. He’s also a professional racing driver with decades of experience in open wheel, touring car and sports car racing, even competing in Formula 1 and Le Mans Series. One of the other presenters is Jason Plato, a two-time British Touring Car Championship winning driver, as well as a former open wheeler, like Needell. Together the two of them typically review two sporty cars on a track and attempt to beat one another in a series of challenges and timed events. Rounding out the presenting crew are journalist and amateur racer, Jonny Smith, as well as journalist and pro-racing instructor Vicki Butler-Henderson. All four of them add their colorful personalities and talented points of view.

Fifth Gear is extremely different from Top Gear, and that’s why I love it.

Top Gear here in America, it will unfortunately die in the next couple of years. It’s gained some fame and notoriety, however not with the real car people. So what’s the problem? The scripts try too desperately to bring the UK version’s buddy comedy here to the states, which doesn’t work. Also, none of the hosts are actual writing journalists. Tanner Foust is a fantastic professional racing, stunt and drifting driver. Rutledge Wood is a NASCAR TV presenter, a form of journalism. And Adam Ferrara is a great professional comedian and actor. I had hopes for the show during the first season, because it looked like everyone was trying hard. Unfortunately, though, it has become dull and not very entertaining. If it were a different show with a different name, then sure, it wouldn’t be as bad, because the expectations wouldn’t be there. But it does have a name, and that name is Top Gear.

So how do you remake Top Gear? Well, simple. You have three colorful auto-journos who know how to get into trouble with cars, have a good time, are actually funny, and have a unique way of talking about a car. Not everyone has that style.

Speed recently tried it with The Car Show, hosted by Adam Carolla, our buddy and The Smoking Tire great, Matt Farah, as well as award winning automotive critic Dan Neil, and throw in NBA champion John Salley. Wait, what? Salley was dropped half-way through the first season. But the show was dropped at the end of the first season, too. So what went wrong? Was it too much like Top Gear? No, not really. But it wasn’t enough of its own thing. It was too under-produced, being done by the same guys who created and managed The Best Damn Sports Show Period. That’s right, a sports show…

One thing I’ve yet to mention about why all shows pale in comparison to Top Gear: funding. Top Gear gets millions upon millions of dollars to do what they want. Now I did say that already, but I didn’t tell you how they get their funds. You see, Top Gear UK is a completely commercial-free television show that airs for one whole hour. They’re funded by the the British tax payers, which is quite funny, if you ask me. The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest news source in the world, being a public broadcasting agency owned by the government and the people, technically. Each tax payer pays a TV fee, essentially. From these monies, Top Gear gets its budget and abilities to work without advertising. Something that no other car show can really do.

Now on to the conclusion. How exactly do you make a proper car show without being too much like Top Gear? Well, being like Top Gear is inevitable. Sorry, it just is. Saying you’re nothing like ‘em only means you’re the exact same thing. Acknowledging that they’re an influence is to be honest. I do think a genuine car show similar to Top Gear can be done here in the states, and The Car Show had the right initial idea. It got 3 car guys who weren’t racing drivers together to talk about cars. Advertising dollars need to come from places outside of the automobile industry. Tires, insurance companies, banks, lending companies, etc. they need to be exploited. This way, you’re not pissing a car company off Sunday night and saving your ear drums from hurting Monday morning after they call you and whine over the phone, or via e-mail.

Without a doubt, America could do the exact same setup as Fifth Gear and it would work perfectly. Racing drivers with journalist-esque opinions, as well as fun challenges and races between two greatly matched racing drivers would be great, too. No NASCAR drivers, though. Unless it’s some of the guys who grew up in karting, sports car and open wheel racing.

So there you have it. Try going out and making your own, see what you can muster. Don’t complain when you fail at being the next Top Gear, though, because I certainly warned you.

I have to say, it’s about damn time that Fox Sports, owners of Speed TV, get their act together for this race. We’ve all been wanting full 24 hour coverage any way we could get it, and now we’re getting it!

94 is out. Engine problems … Not much more I can say about that. 93 is running p14 (GT), p18 (overall) as of now. Fastest lap a 1:49.614; Brake pads just changed up front. Car is running OK. Just running as smooth as possible, staying out of trouble and see what we can do. Porsches are fast and are getting better fuel mileage. If we get some lucky breaks we can get up front.

After that e-mail I asked Jay about the drivers and their feelings on the 93 BMW M3:

Overall car feels good. Handling is balanced. Braking is good. Car is strong. Germans like the car but have trouble getting used to tired. Car is much more of a point and shoot car unlike the finesse cars they are use to.

Overall no huge complaints. Drivers are holding up fine. Marsal has had one stint. Werner Muller and Auberlen have all had multiple stints. Some visibility issues with mirrors in car. Have been relying on a spotter.

The number 93 car having mirror issues isn’t good. Granted, while it’s most important to be able to see out of the windshield, it certainly doesn’t make life easy not being able to see what’s about to pass you. Luckily Daytona Prototypes will typically flash their lights when passing certain GT cars.

You can follow all that Turner Motorsport are doing via Facebook, their 100% live pit stream (below), or if you go to the link provided, you can get involved in the live chat room. Don’t forget to follow the #50thRolex24 search on Twitter to keep up to date on all cars. Or you can go to Grand-Am’s website to listen to live radio (audio starts automatically), and check out the live timing and scoring.

As usual, spottersguide.com has you covered for this year’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. There you can save the pictures showing all Daytona Prototypes and GT cars.

I’d post the pictures here, but it would be against their policy… so you need to go to their website.

The race starts this Saturday the 28th at 3:30 PM ET, ending at 3:30 PM ET Sunday afternoon.

If you don’t know about Turner Motorsport, then let me clue you in. They’re a team that runs in the GT segment with two BMW M3s. The driver line-up for this year’s Daytona 24 in the 93 and 94 numbered M3s will be Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana -who are listed as driving both cars- Jorg Muller, Dirk Werner, Michael Marsal, Dirk Muller, Boris Said, and Billy Johnson.

You’ll see more blog posts over the course of this weekend, so stay tuned and enjoy!

Feel like watching Turner Motorsport’s live broadcast of the full race? Well, you can watch all their coverage below via their Ustream profile. You can also check out Turner Motorsport via their Facebook page, where they’ll be updating the whole 24 hours with pictures, video, interviews, etc.

Keep it up, guys. I mean no sarcasm in that statement, either. General Motors have the absolute best product they’ve ever had, and a good understanding of what the future can look like with a little extra money spent on new, classy interiors; how proper exterior styling can sell cars; but most important, how being sporty is still what buyers want.

With that said, I’m extremely disappointed in the folks over at GM. They’ve done something that I believe can only mean they’re about to fall back to where they once were: pride in sales goals.

You see, when you’re a really big car company, like GM, with billions of dollars spent in so many directions, sometimes things can go awry. I give you the loaning of tax payer monies and inevitable bankruptcy situations. As they say, “Pride comes before the fall”. And to say GM had a bit of pride would be like saying Lady Gaga has an understated wardrobe.

Now believing in what you do is always good. I feel as though I’m one of the better young automotive writers today, and I know I’ll go far. However, I can and will admit when I’m wrong, nor will I be afraid to ask for advice. I’ve owned and operated RawAutos.com for over 4 years now, and I still ask others in this industry for their opinions on certain things we do here.

General Motors didn’t just believe in what they did before bankruptcy, they thought they were the greatest. If you had walked into any American GM brand dealership, i.e., Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Buick, Hummer, etc. you will have noticed this smug attitude on why Cadillac were better than Mercedes-Benz or BMW, or how a Pontiac G8 was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Oh, and also better than a BMW 5-Series. Instead of GM challenging themselves, they set ridiculous goals to try and meet for the buying public: being better than BMW.

Interestingly enough, they’re still attempting to do so. A Cadillac CTS is better than a 5-Series BMW, even though it feels more cramped on the inside than the previous E60 5er, doesn’t have the same luxury, and isn’t nearly as quick. The Chevy Volt is now the greatest thing since sliced bread. And the SUV and truck departments of each GM company is better than anything around, even with years’ old technology and interiors.

Right about now you’re asking me what gives me the gall to attack GM like this, right? Simple, I’ve been raised in a GM family. My parents’ driveway still looks like a new and used General Motors car dealership. I would list for you the models that my family have owned, including myself, but that would take up this whole article. So when I say I’ve been around and driven just about every GM product of the last 20 years (including Corvettes from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s), take my word for it. Along with this, I’ve been around GM dealerships since I was a kid, as the owner of one in particular is a family friend.

Now for some good news. The General is on to something. The CTS is a far better Cadillac than they’ve offered in a very long time; The new ATS should be a proper addition to the luxury GM family; Buick are on a roll with great products; Chevy is starting to get the picture with the new Malibu, Cruze, and Sonic; But more than all else, the management seem to have a ferocity that anyone under the age of 50 has yet seen from this company.

Last week it came out that General Motors had sold over 9 million vehicles worldwide. Good enough for the world sales crown, sneaking in above Toyota and Volkswagen. Chevrolet alone sold 4.76 million cars around the globe. This is where it becomes a problem. General Motors filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws in June of 2009, losing the global sales crown in 2008 to Toyota. Since that time, Toyota have not done too well themselves, what with the unintended acceleration issues, the tragic Japanese Tsunami, as well as the crazy Thai floods.

Even without the tragedies that have hurt Toyota, they were still heading in a bad direction, losing lots of overall quality credibility, as well as building more trucks, SUVs and crossovers than necessary. So they were destined to fall down and scrape their knee at some point.

No matter who holds the top sales crown, it only means bad things for quality and ability. General Motors proved this, as did Toyota with their handling of their numerous scandals.

So I say now, just as many smarter people warned GM years before this time, do NOT enjoy the most sales. Instead, enjoy making the most money from those sales, or having the best quality. If you start back with your ‘we’re better than you’ attitude, you will lose this battle, again. And again. And again. I’ve met certain individuals inside of GM I believed were idiots that didn’t belong working in the auto industry. Then again, I’ve met some great individuals within the company that have made me believe there’s only good to come.

Everyone wants to be the biggest and the best. Once you’re there, though, you have more challengers than you need or want. And eventually, someone will take you out.

General Motors’ Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson was reported as saying about the new sales crown, “In addition to Chevrolet’s record-setting sales, the entire lineup of GM vehicles is meeting customer needs for fuel-efficient cars and work vehicles as well as unmatched luxury.” Unmatched luxury? My God, did someone put a Cadillac badge on a Benz and show him that instead of the real thing? General Motors certainly have some more luxurious cars than ever before, but they’re currently only besting their old selves in the luxury department for numerous cars.

General Motors, I beg of you, enjoy modesty. Adopt the word as a belief in who you are. Dictionary.com defines the word modest as, “Having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one’s merits, importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions.” You need to learn to challenge yourselves before you can say you’re better than anyone else in advertising, social media, press releases, etc.

Always know your worth, and never be afraid of it. However, think before you go saying you’re the biggest again. Because the next minute you tout your bigger status is the chapter before your preceding bankruptcy.

The DeLorean DMC-12

Quite an obvious and prominent example of this disappointment has to be the glorious failure of the DeLorean DMC-12, or better known as the ‘Back to the Future’ time machine car. It was claimed to eventually be the ‘affordable supercar’, with its elevated gull doors and the creative design concept of stainless steel body panels, along with added accessories of pin striping and luggage racks. Every quality fuelled the hype, promoting individuality and prospects.

The media frenzy surrounding the car was epic, each new development slightly uttered was reported immediately; with many waiting in the wings to drive this ‘supercar’.

So where did things go wrong?

The prolonged anticipation prior to the car actually hitting the market began the downward spiral. Things began to plummet even more when the car was found to be rather less than ‘super’. The stainless steel panels could not easily be painted, resulting in almost every DeLorean made to be identical, lacking the initial theme of individuality. The price of the car at $26 000 in 1981 was more than double of the ‘affordable’ label, and the performance of 10.5 seconds from 0-60mph, was nowhere near good enough to be labelled a ‘supercar’ or to justify that price.

Overall the vision did not greet the reality.

The Sinclair C5

Another case of sheer disappointment in the automotive world is that of the Sinclair C5, an electrical vehicle that was claimed to cause a revolution for transport. Understandably, just like the DeLorean, the hype surrounding this new design was huge. Teenagers as young as 14 could drive it; no licence, insurance or tax were needed, it was beneficial for disabled drivers and environmentally friendly. Sounds appealing?

However we see another embarrassing failure to erupt throughout the masses. The Sinclair C5 was neither safe nor reliable; it required an 8 hour charge time prior to driving and had poor lights and horn. Also with the car structure being so low, an unavoidable inhalation of exhaust fumes arose!

In regards to these two failed ideas, what is it that made them so significant in history? Is it the media frenzy? Or are the initial ideas just simply ‘visions’ of an aesthetic nature, never thinking practically on what they will be able to deliver? Of course there are pros and cons with all aspects of life; however these have been overlooked by blind ambition.

It is daring to compare the current ‘EV’ revolution to these two perhaps ‘mickey-mouse experiments’, but the current ‘hype’ surrounding the ‘must have’ electric cars is similar to the previous hype.

Of course the positives of an all-electric car are the 100% no emissions, quite obviously excellent for the environment. The cars are cleaner, more efficient, lighter and more compact. All positives yes?

How about the re-charge time for the battery? Isn’t it easier to re-fill a car with fuel? Just one simple negative; and it is that one simple negative that could cause yet another significant failure.

Yes the ‘EV’ is not a joke, an excellent idea in fact, but what we have learnt over the years; is that the higher the expectations the further it is to fall.

Avoid automotive disappointment yourself with deals on used cars from Netcars.com

When I was a car salesman, and now as an auto writer, I’ve watched every automaker update its lineup over the years before they do the full redesign. What really gets me, though, is that they tend to upgrade and update the wrong cars…

When I was selling cars for Mazda I had a 2006 Mazda Mazdaspeed6, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Except for the hard, uncomfortable seats. And while I’m being honest, sitting on set of cinderblocks while being towed down a gravel road would be far more comfortable.

You can imagine, then, how I felt when the Mazdaspeed3 came out with its MS goodies, such as better, more comfortable seats, Mazdaspeed trimmed seats and dedicated Mazdaspeed gauges. The Mazdaspeed6 had none of those things. My interior was as standard as a regular 6 sedan. On the outside, you could tell I was a tad different. But when on the inside, you’d just be complaining about the horrible leather seats.

These days I’m driving a 2009 BMW M3 sedan. In 2011 BMW decided to update the front and rear of the standard 3-Series coupe and convertible with bright, beautiful LED corona rings. Guess who they forgot about? That’s right, the M3. Since 2008, the M3 has had two exterior styling updates. In 2009 the E90 sedans got newly designed LED taillights, and for 2010 the E92 and E93 models got LED taillights, as well. All M3s received a new iDrive control unit starting in 2009. Where are our LED angel eyes?

Us M3 guys have received zero upgrades to the suspension, interior, motor, gearbox, etc. Yet I find it funny that the 1 M got a much nicer gearbox and clutch than the M3 boys. Wait a second, wasn’t the 1-Series M Coupe (I know, I hate that name, too) with some M3 bits and pieces? Why yes it was. But the transmission has a much better throw, especially from first to second, and the clutch is just perfectly bouncy.

Oh, and starting in 2010, the BMW M3 could be had with BMW Apps, and Bluetooth music playing from your phone, and a few other neat tricks. They updated the system even further in 2011.

Why do I bring this up? Well in 2009 we, too, had the updated iDrive system and screen with CIC. Although we had this stuff, we need a new set of gadgets costing upwards of 1500 dollars to allow us to do something a 70,000+ dollars car should have been able to do since 2008. Thanks, BMW. No simple upgrade. I can’t just pop in to my local BMW service department and ask that they update my technology like they can my navigation maps.

While I know I just sound like a whiny bastard, I just don’t understand why I buy the better flagship cars that I’ve loved for oh so long when the automakers that produce them don’t even love the owners. Sure, they’ll add different things to the regular 3-Series that should be on all 3s, including the M cars. Then they’ll make a new bad boy in town, the 1 M, and give it a better gearbox and clutch feel. But then they’ll just forget the M3 owners out there would like some new stuff, only saying, “Oh, but you have an M3…” Basically like we shouldn’t want for anything.

Don’t get my wrong, I love my M3. I love driving it, being near it, seeing it from afar; I enjoy almost every quality about it. But my question is, even though I love owning my M3, do BMW actually care about me owning one? They seem to add the better stuff to their everyday cars, not the special ones that we dream and fantasize about as children.

Now BMW are hardly the only guilty automaker in this. Chevrolet have done this repeatedly to the Corvette. While every GM car got an interior adjustment, new things here and there, the Corvette was left to do with what it had from 2005 to 2012. Next year we’ll see the new C7 Corvette debut; how should that make Corvette owners feel?

Can someone explain why we spend all of our hard earned dollars to only be forgotten about?

Shelby American hits 50 years old this year, and to celebrate an occasion not too many cars made by the bigger boys can muster, Shelby is making Anniversary Edition Mustangs based on their already stout, performance-oriented cars.

Few distinguishable changes made from their GT500 Super Snake, GT350 and GTS Mustangs make them worth the anniversary badge.

Changes such as unique VINs, different interiors, custom 50^th Anniversary badges, 6-Piston brakes up front, and custom wheels. Other than those changes, everything else remains stock…well, as stock as Shelby’s come. The Super Snake still has the option of a measly 650 horsepower, more muscular 750 horse, or the full boat, reeking of masculinity, 800 horsepower in coupe or convertible form. Price is set at $59,995 on top of the price of a standard GT500 Mustang. The same goes for the GT350 and GTS models. The GT350 has the option of 430, 525 or 624 horsepower, remaining the mid-level Shelby option at a base package price of $59,995, plus the cost of a Mustang GT.

However, if one can’t afford either of these options, as an entry level to the Shelby brand, the GTS is available. Base package price of the GTS is $19,995 on top of a standard V6 Mustang, or $24,995, plus the price of a GT.

Also, the unique VIN included on the 50^th Anniversary, Shelby enters them into their own official registry. Only 50 Anniversary Editions of each model in both white or black will be made.

May I say, these changes amount to one of the most bad-ass looking ‘Stangs to hit the market. However, most of the people to buy these, unfortunately, are of the mindset of letting the car gather dust in the garage, bringing it out once a year to a car show and then selling it twenty years down the road for insane money; only to have the car live the same life as a show piece.

“A 50-year Anniversary only comes around once in life. These limited edition Shelby’s will mark that milestone for a select few who have a chance to own a piece of history,” said John Luft, Shelby American President.

These beautiful pieces of Americana are sure to be respected by all, but only truly loved by few. Let’s be hopeful those lucky few use these cars for what they are made for: to kill everything on and off the track, and to put the biggest grin on the faces of the driver of these fantastic cars, as well as the driver of the car you inevitably will pass.