I’m about to drive a trusting friend’s immaculate E30 Touring. It’s a drive that I hope will answer a few burning questions. First, I’m eager to know if 1990s BMWs fall in the sweet spot between classic thrills and modern(ish) capabilities. This question stems from my recent drive of a 1963 Porsche 356. It was… Continue reading Comparison: 1994 BMW E30 Touring vs 2014 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon are Beauty and the Beast
We are about to do something ridiculous: compare two cars with no reason to go head to head. Though the 1M and CTS-V were contemporaries, they were never competitors. One was a lithe Skunkworks sports car, while the other was a plus-sized ass hauler. It didn’t make any sense to pit the Bimmer against the… Continue reading Comparison: 2011 BMW 1M vs 2014 Cadillac CTS-V is Apples to Oranges
It takes just a second in my brother’s new car to remind me that I’m a BMW guy. A myriad of clues spark the reminder, including the chunky grip of the M Sport steering wheel, the granite-solid doors, and the stepped twirl of the iDrive controller. Thanks to my six years in the BMW fold,… Continue reading Review: 2017 BMW 540i xDrive is Stealth Wealth
BMW would like to sell you a shark on wheels. They call it the M850i xDrive Gran Coupe, and it is a beastly machine meant for dusting Dacias and pulverizing Peugeots on the autobahn. If you have petrol in your veins, I think you’ll like it. Be warned, though, in the age of performance EVs… Continue reading Test Drive: 2023 BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupe is a Prehistoric Pleasure
As gas-burning cars become increasingly unwelcome in a warming world, BMW is furiously investing in electric vehicles. After a rocky start with the i3, BMW is back on stride and rolling out its iX, i4 and i7 EVs. To me, the most interesting is the iX, as it’s electric-only; it can’t be bought with a… Continue reading Test Drive: 2023 BMW iX M60 is a Rocket in Pig’s Clothing
Let’s talk numbers, okay? Name this BMW: ~$70k MSRP, over 500 hp, four drive wheels, and a neck-snapping 3.7s to 60 mph. Oh, and it seats four passengers (five in a pinch) behind one horrendously-oversized kidney grill. Sounds like the G80 M3, right? Wrong. Because this five-door BMW has just one gear, a gob-stopping 586… Continue reading Test Drive: 2022 BMW i4 M50 is the Almost M
Parked in front of me is a 2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i. Its key is in my right hand. I look at its squinting eyes and flared nostrils and think, “what a strange bird!” The X1 looks like a safari-ready 3-series, a wagon with a lifted suspension and raised roof. I open the driver’s door, wondering… Continue reading Review: 2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i is the Safari 328i
Beep!...Beep!...Beep! Click. Ugh. You turn off your alarm clock and grope around on the bedside table for your glasses and phone. Getting up this early seemed like a good idea yesterday, but your kids woke you up twice overnight, and now you are wishing for more sleep. You roll out of bed and groggily start… Continue reading Long Term: CTS-V, GT S, M3 or Model 3—Choose Your Own Adventure
I'm attending the BMW Performance Driving School at Thermal for a private driving lesson. This isn't my first visit; I took lessons here in 2019 as a contestant for BMW's Ultimate Driver Competition. The experience was a blast, so I'm back for more! During the competition, my weak spot was finding speed out of the… Continue reading The BMW Performance Driving School Deserves More than a Quick Visit
I have friends who say that free beer and pizza tastes worse than suds and pie you buy for yourself. I'm skeptical: free food is delicious! Regardless of who's right, it's true that I lost my taste for BMW ownership once my extended warranty expired and my free lunch at the BMW service center ended.… Continue reading Long Term: 2011 BMW M3
Mike's Steering Column 