Some, if not many, have considered me to be a Proctologist's objective....on occasion. However, I fear we are being scolded by Herr Editor for veering off-topic.
Roger that! I don't think he appreciates East Coast humor... BTW, hang on to your current BMWs as long as you can... technology is making it difficult to buy a car a Purist would be proud of.
The e34 has been around the garage since 1992 and it still doesn't have 100K on the odometer. So, I don't seem to have a problem keeping them. But, I agree with your comment. Finding a fun, simple recent model of BMW (car or bike) is pretty hard these days. In the ideal world, I would be happy with a basic 1-series hatchback.
The simplicity of the "Tard" was really what sold me on it, I mean you crawl into some other options (for some ridiculous reason I though maybe an RX-8 was the solution to me new car needs, but I'm not pointing fingers at anything) and you feel almost overwhelmed, and desensitized to the whole driving experience. Personally I like to get into the vehicle and know I'm driving, not feel like I'm sitting in my living room with some sort of high tech steering device and a zillion buttons that do god knows what. Or just sitting in my living room with an old Atari video game driving apparatus (I had a car once, Bertha....now THAT was sitting on a sofa with shocks). If only I could get the seat warmer installed on my couch at home....that'd save me gas....
Seat warmers? In Georgia? Why? 60% of the year it is too hot to do a darn thing in GA and you folks need/want seat warmers? My niece has told me the same thing....much to my chagrin and amazement. But she is family, so I do have to accept her and feign agreement with her delusional notions. As you may tell, I'm having difficulty understanding your infatuation with seat warmers. Now, back to that simplicity thing...........I recall an Oldsmobile from the 1980's that had 27 push buttons arrayed in 3-rows below the radio. It's was almost as silly as I-drive, but you could still start and drive the car without a training session with a company rep. At some point in those years, I found a better option......a used 1985 325e with the sport package. Not excessively fast, but really fun to drive in the rural expanse known as PA. .
My Bee was built to impress, overbuilt would be an understatement. From the color, to the options, it would be easier to list the accessories left behind, than the ones on the build sheet. Not my choice, but after over 8 months on the lot, lets just say most of the extras, were on the house. So let me try to redeem myself: Two doors, two seats, twin turbos, dual clutch, sport plus & launch control. Can you forgive me for being too weak to say no to a 20% discount off the list price...How about if I pull the fuse on the heated seats? (Too hot here in Texas anyway)
This is my third BMW & with out a doubt, the best one yet! Once I got past the shock of the Citrus Yellow Package, the combination of the power train & attitude make this car a stand out in a lot full of high end cars. I think the thing I like the most about this car is the total atypical nature of a BMW with this color & configuration.
I never understood the desire to select car colors on the same basis as evening attire. I have a preference for bright, light primary colors in cars........just like exterior house colors in Italy. Of course, I have no desire to drive a limousine, so that keeps me from making a real fool of myself.
Hey now, 109941, which sounds a bit like something the IRS does to you if you don't kiss agent ass, I'm in South Carolina, not much better BUT I have learned a few things in my ripe age of 27, when your back muscles are hurting and body feels like somebody has beat it with ball peen hammers--nothing compares to the feeling of that hot seam melting the pain away (or until you can DRIVE yourself that sells items to alleviate your pain...Alleve, Tylenol, Bourbon...) I have an extrememly physical job that requires me to be out in all elements AND cold. Very cold. Once I moved out of the miserable midwest I made a promise that my Butt would NEVER be punished by being cold again. For a brief period of time my fella (whom I'm incredibly thankful for turning me onto BMW's in the first place) had a Solar Orange TT, and it was nice and flashy and all, but almost TOO flashy. He made the comment once "that's it, I've got to get rid of this thing, I'm sick of wiping old man fingerprints off of it" I like to let my driving do the talking for me, not the vibrancy of my paint job. Although maybe the brightness of the paint might make up for my lack of brightness in the old noggin
Shelbyvnt said: Gotta say, I'm with you on this. I never, ever tire of THAT shape, in THAT color as I walk up to drive these wonderful cars. Yeah, the Silver-Blacks are less trouble to find and buy, and they drive just as nice and are a joy to own. But, I respond to real colors. So, it's worth it to me...
Not to sound really wishy washy, but I agree. I could never EVER own a grey or silver car (which made the quest to find a new slightly used car difficult). Its a part of me that says "hey, maybe its not the safest thing in the world to be the same color as the pavement you're driving on" a camouflage mentality. Unless you happen to be going really fast... But still, the red of the "Tard" isn't really red in a crayola way of thinking and its certainly not "orange" in the TT way of thinking, its, well, Sedona Red. Arguments have been had over said color.
It makes sense, but ages ago I recall reading about a study - the most noticeable/brightest colored cars (Red, Yellow, White) get in the least accidents but get the most tickets; vice-versa for the least noticeable, grey, silver, & light/medium metallic blue cars.
There's a lot of truth to your comments about dark colors getting in accidents - they blend in and are easier to for inattentive drivers to hit. I like bright colors for exactly that reason. My first car was dark metallic grey and it taught me to always drive with my lights on to ensure that I had visibility.
109941 is my CCA number and I once considered a job at the IRS. It was back in the day when my then current employer was going down the path of financial oblivion. My MOA number is older than my CCA number and dates from the year you were born. So, yes, I do consider seat warmers to be an expensive alternative to a heating pad, water bottle or tube of BenGay, but I am sensitive enough to ask what you do for a living? However, I'm not easily impressed, but please give it a shot.
The real measure of a car company is it's ability to meet the expectations of the targeted group it considers to be it's prime customers. Business suits for business meetings, Hawiian shirts for vacations. I work 12 hour days, that's the business side, the yellow car, that's the vacation side. I can't wear the Hawiian shirt to work, but I can drive my vacation back & forth to the office.
My goal is an 40-hr work week, wearing whatever shirt I please and a 1-series hatchback with a stick. I'm pretty close on item #2, but far away on #1 and #3.
Let's see here, what do I do for a living. It's so vast and hard to explain this might take bullet points and a bit of time. Neither of which would really explain. So, this is my best shot-I am a landscape designer - sounds fishy I know...but thers only what I do after the 48 hour work week at the nursery. It seems like I'm the go to girl for everything, forklift broke, I'm on it, 18 wheeler full of plants twice my size or more to unload, call nikki, website and IT problems, that's me too, hell i am even the media personality that appears on the south Carolina gardening show.. It seems the only thing that doesnt happen there that requires me to get involved in it is signing checks. If it were up to me, I would do that too, but heck, I am only one person. Back in the day i wouldnt hesitate to throw a load of plants trees manure, you name it, it the trunk of my car and dropping it off as a delivery just to save time and money. I used to be the designated transportation for the nurserymen to get to conferences and sometimes the local seller of adult beverages. Once I got the tard, that stopped. Plants are not allowed in the car unless they have been borderline sanitized and triple bagged and I plan on driving under 30 mph straight home. Which, doesn't happen. Ever. I'm happy with what I do, and it always buts a tickle in the old heart when I walk out of someone's yard after designing an amazing landscape and see the tard waiting for me, almost begging me to drive off...spiritedly. it makes work tolerable. I have a coworker that wears Hawaiian shirts to work all the time, half the time I run,around the place in what a client called "a business bikini". Sometimes I sit and wonder, could I be a suit, could I be serious all day? Could I possibly spend the majority of my life in a cube farm with a furrowed brow? Not this girl, i like being broke and going fast.
Some one once said find a job you like doing & you'll never work a day in your life... I've been working my magic for over 35 years & plan to put in another 10. However, after seeing today's market, it might be another 15...
Mrs. Bee, just saw your writeup in Roundel Weekly, nicely done! The only thing missing was a heads-up here in the forums to find it for some of us email skim-and-skippers that mighta missed it due to a typical overly-hurried scan of the email in-box....! Now why, for some reason, do I have it in mind that there should be a remake of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdTELokKfCk) with a 1-series in place of the Ford, and for the lyrics, "Mrs. Bee" in place of "Dr. Who", "The 'Tard" in place of "The Tardis", and "Nikki Weed" instead of whatever it is they're saying that sounds something like "Gary Watts" or "Derek Watts" or "Hey Wot" (whatever it is!).... hmm...?
