I love the way my 323i drives, but I'm tired of dealing with an aging car. As of right now, I have a slight differential whine (most pronounced in the lower gears), the re-emergence of window seal rattles at all four corners, leaks coming from most of the vapor barriers as well as the sunroof drain channels (via the roof mounted brake light), and a notchy shifter. Numerous bushings throughout the suspension are bad and need to be replaced, and within the next year or two, the cooling system (radiator, pumps, hoses) will need to be replaced. Unfortunately, I'm either stuck with an aging car, or stuck with a newer machine that simply doesn't please me as much from behind the wheel. People tell me I need to find myself an E36 M3, but that means going from one set of rolling problems to another.

I drove a newer E46 recently (2003 330i 5 spd), here in Chicago, and was extremely disappointed. The brilliant steering feel and tightness in the E36 and early E46 cars is gone, the DBW throttle pedal blows, and going from the brilliant M5 clutch and UUC flywheel to the numb dual-mass stock setup is frustrating. How the hell can people here call the 2001-2005 E46 a driver's car? As numb as the 99-00 cars are, the 01-05 seem damn near Lexus-like! I know for certain I don't want to settle for a newer E46...same interior and exterior with a considerable DOWNGRADE in driving dynamics. I really can't get over how much I dislike the feather-weight DBW throttle pedal.

Some of you will call me crazy, but I felt it the moment I went from one E46 to another. My car felt downright alien after driving the newer car for about 45 minutes, and that shouldn't normally be the case when the interior layout and feel is almost identical. No doubt, there are differences and they are pronounced!

I'm currently considering the E90, as I recently drove the IS350 and G35 and found them boring and uninspiring. The E90 outperforms the E46 in virtually every respect, but still lacks the exciting feel of the 323i. The E90 is light years beyond the G35 and IS350, but that's not saying much. Then there's the Z4 Coupe, another possibility. I haven't driven a Z4 in over a year, but I do remember finding it somewhat satisfying to drive. At least, certainly more so than the latest crop of E46 cars.

A lot of people rave about how exciting it is for car enthusiasts these days, with an apparently renewed emphasis on performance and power reminiscent of the 1960's, but honestly, I'm depressed. All of this power and performance is wasted on cars with intrusive stability control systems, automated-everything, overboosted steering, and electronic throttles.

All of the mechanical driver-to-machine interaction has been killed off. You don't drive the car anymore, the car drives you. Please excuse me if I find the newest generation of cars to be worth nothing more than a refrigerator or washing machine. Call me a luddite (you can't, though, as I normally tend to prefer the advancement of technology), but I still want to drive!

I supposed, some day, I'll need to go out and find a nice, mint 930 and put up with something a bit less uninspiring as a daily driver.