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...is a question I get asked as often as “What do you think of hybrids?”

The answer: a 1995 M3 3.0 (not to be confused the ‘96 and later 3.2L versions which – as good as it they were had a taller, less balanced chassis setup and a more constricted intake manifold).

It certainly isn’t a car for everyone but it’s met my needs (daily use, advanced driver training, shuttling clients to dealers and serving as a benchmark for chassis dynamics) perfectly for the past ten years. I’m proud to have chosen it before the magazines started gushing over it and my continued happiness with it also embodies a fundemantal car counsel philosophy: you’ll lose less money on a car you want to keep than one you pay less for and trade after a few years.

(It’s also nice to know that automobile magazine founder David E Davis considers my car his favorite among all the ‘all-stars’ his magazine has chosenover the years…)

But enough about my car – what do you drive, and what does it say about you?

(04.12.06)

While it doesn’t appear dramatically different to the existing model, Mercedes claims that at least 2000 parts in the new car are new ‘or further developments.’ On the safety front, the E-Class gains flashing brake lights to prevent rear-end collisions during a panic stop. Mercedes claims reaction time can be shortened by up to 0.2 seconds with flashing brakelights. As a result, the braking distance can be reduced by 5.50 metres at 62 mph. Mercedes is claiming a first with the Intelligent Light System, available as an option. There are specific modes for different conditions; country mode provides brighter, further illumination of the offside verge than the previous low-beam headlamps; motorway mode, activated automatically at speeds above 56 mph, produces an even light cone that extends to a range of up to 120 metres, illuminating the entire road width; enhanced fog lamps reduce backglare in dense fog. To counter the long held perception that Mercs are comfortable but BMWs are better to drive, the E-Class gains steering that is around ten percent more direct than before, which should at least give the feeling of more responsive steering. There are also newly developed spring link bearings that contain lateral forces more effectively when cornering, which should aid a neutral and balanced cornering attitude. [Certain] models come with the amusingly titled ‘rebound buffer springs’, which are said to limit body roll through corners. – 4Car

UPDATE: Perhaps the most significant change is one you’ll feel every time your foot moves for the brake pedal:

As with the latest S-class, Merc has ditched the E-class’s problematic electronically operated Sensotronic brakes for a new hydraulic system offering more progressive pedal action and greater bite. – Autocar

...’Four-C’ adaptive dampers with comfort, sport or ‘advanced’ settings [are available] but the differences aren’t huge. You can also have power steering adjustable to three levels of assistance, but the feel is artificial in all of them… In some ways the new in-line six, matched to front-wheel drive, is more pleasing… Furnishings? The matt wood looks either Scandi-cool or plastic according to your viewpoint… The rear doors shut with a surprising clang, the column stalks feel hollow, the climate control makes the cabin too stuffy. It’s a well-made car, and that ‘floating’ centre console adds to the internal airiness, but compared with German rivals the quality is skin-deep. – evo

Commentary: Traditionally when GM buys a brand, it invariably forces engineers to use existing parts and runs the company into the ground. In contrast Ford tends to supply companies it takes over with the money needed for R&D required to improve product dynamics and quality.

The S80’s platform will serve as the basis of a number of new models in Ford’s global line-up… I can’t help but wonder if this car’s lack of attention to detail, like that in the Fustion and the Miata, are a harbinger of the kind of products we’ll be seeing from Ford and its sub-brands until the corporation is less preoccupied with its shaky financial footing…

Acura has taken steps to reduce torque steer in TLs equipped with a manual transmission. When the TL is in first or second gear, input from gear position, speed and steering angle sensors is used by the ECU to reduce power during acceleration, thus reducing torque steer. In first gear, torque can be reduced between 13 and 27 percent at full throttle, while in second gear, torque is reduced between zero and 10 percent. Torque output is reduced proportionately based on steering input—the larger the steering angle, the greater the reduction in torque. – Acura press

Speaking of phones, now that you can get driving directions from your cell phone how many people would benefit from spending on an often hard to use and soon to be outdated built in NAV system?

One caveat TIME magazine points out:

it needs to be able to talk to the network in order to download navigation information. It can steer you into the wilderness with no problem, but you better remember how to get back out because this won’t be able to help you.

UPDATE: The system can also tell you where the cheapest gas is within 5 miles of your present location…

Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m addicted to my phone. Taking calls 24/7 or pictures of the one paragraph in your average car magazine worth reading, my phone gets more use than most. So when it failed last Friday I was understanding; we’d been through a lot and it had given me good service…

What I didn’t realize until I got an identical replacement phone was how badly I needed a new one. Apparently the speaker, the headset port and the battery were barely functioning but I’d accepted their performance as normal because the degredation happened over time.

And so it goes with tires, wiper blades, air filters and especially shock absorbers (the old bounce test or visual inspection doesn’t work anymore now that shocks are gas pressurized rather than simply hydraulic). If you have any doubt, replace ‘em with the same or higher quality and you’ll see what you’ve been missing. Come to think of it this applies to significant others too…

But I digress… If you’re considering a used car, factor in how much it would cost to replace these items or have the seller include them in the deal.

The first generation Altima was a compelling mix or room, build quality and driving dynamics that has withstood the test of time – I’d rather be in one than a number of brand new family cars sold today. Then Nissan got cheap; the second generation car (like the Camry and 626 of the time) was a lower cost, watered down version of the first. It was safer but it didn’t drive as well or feel as rich. Then Nissan got cheaper: the Altima that’s sold these past few years (and the Maxima it begat) feels like it was designed over the span of a few lunch breaks – massive copious amounts of torque steer, appalling materials quality, more size and style than substance.

Apparently Nissan’s decided to do what Mercedes has done with the revised SL and E class cars: to get back to the basics. The new Altima doesn’t look much different, but beneath the skin is a new chassis that lets the engine sit lower and utilizes equal length half-shafts (tidier handling and steering, less torque steer) and a completely new 3.5L V6 that should rev smoother and sound sweeter than the outgoing one (which hasn’t revved smoothly or sounded sweet since it went from 3.0 to 3.5L in displacement.

Nissan has a long way to go to be competitive again, but the thinking that’s gone into the Versa, the next G35 and this Altima bode well…

If Henry Ford’s vision had prevailed 75 years ago, says Joseph B. White in The Wall Street Journal this week, Americans might all be driving latter-day versions of the Model T—practical, inexpensive conveyances designed to get us from here to there. But Ford lost out to the concept pioneered by General Motors (and later given a soundtrack by Bruce Springsteen): the car as an expression of power and beauty and personality—freedom molded into metal. Today, if Americans didn’t see cars as projections of their essential selves, we could all be driving vehicles getting 40 or 50 mpg, and we could tell the Saudis, Iranians, and Venezuelans where to stick their oil. – William Falk, Editor-in-Chief, The Week Magazine

On paper and in motion the Porsche Boxster is a textbook example of how a car should be laid out (flat engine mounted in the middle of the chassis) and dialed in (rigid body, uncorrupted steering, low inertia handling, a suspension that maintains body control and travel). But some have said of Boxster (and Cayman) that it lacks the edge that makes the 911 so rewarding – its not just the fact that the power’s been capped to protect the 911’s sales numbers but rather the sense that anyone and their 16 year old could extract all it has.

Now that M engineers have stripped the Z4 of electric steering and runflat tires and stuffed it full of motor, magazines are running a string of ubiquitous comparisons, and I’m seeing a surprising trend: German cars, particularly BMWs, have often been criticised for lacking soul and being laden with too many electronics. The Z4M is a refreshing departure from that stereotype.

Here’s a quote from evo
:

Objectively, the Boxster S should win. It copes more convincingly with a wider range of roads and conditions thanks to polished damping, silken steering and a benign, infinitely adjustable on-limit balance. It’s not challenging but, given a clear road, it is totally absorbing. However, if you’ve stepped out of the M Roadster…the Porsche feels a bit flat, lacking poke and playfulness… The M Roadster…doesn’t set a new benchmark for sports car dynamics (that accolade still belongs to the Boxster), but it’s a bold, ballsy car that exhilarates and challenges in a way the oh-so-accomplished Porsche can’t match… that’s enough to give it the nod by the narrowest of margins.

A: That would depend on the year…

The E36’s M50 and S50 motors were pretty free breathing and cammy, perfect for a weekend in the canyons and best paired with a manual.

By contrast the M52 and S52 were more torquey in everyday conditions but they didn’t sing at high revs. The manual M52 was paired to long gearing that saps some of the fun but is still preferable to the 4 speed automatic.

E46s had terrible manuals thanks to the CDV and electromechanical or electronic throttle. 01-> rear wheel drive cars had a ZF tranny rather than a GM one with closer gear ratios.

Similarly the E46’s M52TU (‘99-’00) was pretty muffled while the ‘01 and later 325i liked revs. Oddly the 3.0L is relatively rough due to its long stroke – the ZHP Performance Package’s different cams and management gave it more zeal but its hard to shake the fact that this engine was meant to haul the mass of the X5 around.

So far my answer is simply taking into account engine note and torque curve, but there’s more to consider such as build quality (the E36 feels more disposable, the E46 more like the E39 - meant for a long service life) throtttle response (which McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray agrees is more important than horsepower – >‘96-’98 M52/’96-’99 S52 sharpest) or chassis feel/handling balance. (I don’t care for anything on staggered rims, aftermarket Limited Slip for non Ms after 96 is a must. The 95 M3 my favorite E36 chassis, followed by sport pack non M – the 3.2L M chassis is too biased towards high speed stability. Considering E46s, ZHP E46 on lighter wheels or 03 and later 325i sport feel best, the Xi surprisingly is most neutral of all and can be faster from point to point as you don’t need to slow for rough pavement – it feels the closest to the way BMWs used to feel – long suspension travel, dirm damping).

The E46 had 3 steering iterations: heavy/vague (due to slop in bushings)/slow, light/precise/slow, then heavy/precise/quick (some say excessive weighting), I can’t decide if I like the 2nd or third one better overall – depends on tire size (my favorite being 205/50R17s all around). Suspensions didn’t gel until the 02-03 model year – before that the base models seemed underdamped/somehow Japanese and the sport packages too nose led and soft at the rear. Later base cars were almost too firm – many who get sport packages would be surprised at the balance and composure of the base cars…

Basically you have to try them all as I have and decide what you’re most sensitive to, but at least now you have a sense of how many differences there are from year to year…