Driving Perfection

After spending several weeks selling the Saab, then spending two weeks on a whirlwind search for the perfect next car, I've found it.

Well, technically it was found for me.

Back in Colorado, I owned a BMW 328is for a year or so; it was easily the best car that I had ever owned. Fast, comfortable, excellent handling... and it could even seat four in a pinch. We had to sell the car after we moved to Maine, though, as we were trying to become more financially responsible.

Fast forward a few years, and my wonderful wife (now in charge of finances after I left her with no money in the bank account when she tried to pay for gas one day) has gotten our finances in shape. Knowing my passion for cars, and that the automatic Saab is slowly sucking the life out of me day by day, she authorizes money to be spent on a car that I will enjoy. At first, I look for inexpensive BMWs - old E36 325is models. It's tough to find a clean one, though. Then, a used Technoviolet M3 comes up for sale in Windham. I've always had a thing for the violet M3 cars, ever since my first BMW CCA autocross when I rode in one. Could this be the perfect car?

I looked it over, and the owner mentioned that it was a salvage title. Uh-oh. Still, it looked pretty good. Knowing that my judgment on these matters is historically poor, though, I arranged for a pre-purchase inspection. Which turned up over $3500 of needed repairs. Ouch.

The folks at Autowerkes, though, were nice enough to steer me towards another M3 for sale locally, a 'gem' as they put it. Way too much money, though.

And then my wife surprised me by saying that we should go for it. Financial responsibility was thrown to the wind! A little bit of negotiation later, and it was settled. 

The car is indeed wonderful. Every day is a joy now, every opportunity to drive somewhere a gift.

The right car makes all the difference.

Objects in mirror are too damn close.

Not too long ago, I found myself in heavy traffic on my way home, near the first northbound Freeport exit on I-295. I was in the passing lane, and I could see that traffic was jammed up ahead of me, with everyone following the next car by no more than a single car length. I kept seeing flashing brake lights and suddenly realized that I didn't want to be in that lane. So, I moved over to the slow lane and opened up a nice healthy distance between myself and the car ahead of me. Far up ahead, I saw some quick movement and a sudden flare of brake lights. I could clearly see the ripple of cars slowing dramatically, but of course I had a better vantage point than all of those bumper-hugging, overstressed commuters in the 'fast' lane.

Sure enough, as the ripple compressed, people realized their mistake in following too close, but realized it too late. Cars started diving for the median or darting into the slow lane. Then, screeching tires, and...

BANG

One fender bender to my left. In fairness, I don't even think they bent their fenders - the following car nearly made the stop.

Ever since then, I've been studying following distance habits on the interstate. Basically, they are ridiculous. Travelling at 70 to 80 miles an hour, people are leaving maybe one car length between their car and the one ahead of them. They're counting on their quick reflexes and modern braking technology to save them, I imagine. When they're not talking on their cell phones, drinking their lattes, or turning to talk to their friends, anyway.

Three Seconds

That's the recommended following distance to make sure that you have enough time to react to events ahead of you. Go ahead and count it off the next time you're on the highway - it's a lot further than you think it is. So, I've tried it. And you know what? It's a lot more relaxing than trying to intimidate the car ahead of you into moving up to intimidate the car ahead of them into moving... you get the idea.

Car-aholics Anonymous

Hi everyone, my name is Brandon, and I have a car problem. [Hi Brandon!]

I recently came to this conclusion after I started thinking about buying a different car. Again. There's nothing particularly wrong with my current car, objectively speaking. It's fairly new, has decent performance, has enough room for my dogs, and gets me from Point A to Point B with a minimum of fuss.

The problem, though, is that's boring. Sure, it's fast, but it lacks pizazz. Maybe it's the slushbox - that single invention that can suck the soul out of a car nut faster than the flashing lights in your rear view mirror. Maybe it's the wagon. Or maybe, just maybe, I have a problem.

When I bought the 9-2X, I did the math and realized that my wife and I had owned 16 cars so far in our driving careers. At age 30. Even then, I didn't really admit that I had a problem - there were perfectly valid reasons for each change, you see. The cars weren't practical, or they were breaking down too often, or they didn't get good enough gas mileage, or we needed to cut back on our monthly expenses.

This time, though, there are no good excuses. So, the first step in my car-aholics program: admit that you have a problem.