I have signed up for the "See the 3" Event in Santa Monica, and the "Celebrate the 3" Event in Costa Mesa on May 5. I was anxiously awaiting these events, since I have been dying to see the new 3 in the metal. I was hoping that they would have one on display in Alpine White, since that's the color that I was planning on buying (next year, once the bugs are worked out). However, most of the pictures I have seen are either in Silver or Sparkling Graphite Metallic.

In the meantime, I'm currently in Tokyo for three weeks on a business trip. As I was walking through the Roppogi Hills section of Tokyo Friday night, I was shocked by what I saw. A 320i was on display, in the exact exterior/interior color combo that I am considering: Alpine White/Gray! After I recovered from the shock of such a pleasant surprise, I got down to the business of carefully checking out the car.

My first impressions were very, very postive. Virtually all of the worries that I had about the exterior of the car, specifically the front grill and the bootlid, completedly disappeared once I saw the car in the metal. Even the front, diagonal cutline between the wheel arch and the hood, which I always thought looked strange in pictures, looked fine. The only area that still bothers me is the slab sided doors. The aggressive Hofmeister kink helps, but I'd still have preferred that they include side moldings as on the E46.

I was very relieved to see that the car looks stunning in Alpine White. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the interior very well since the car was locked. However, from what I could tell, the interior looked quite nice as well. In general, I would have to agree with what others have said: you have to see this car to really appreciate it. The pictures do not do it justice. However, I figured that pictures are the best you can do on a message board and I know that "this thread is useless without pictures". So I made it a point to go back to Roppongi Hills on Sunday, camera in hand, to shoot several shots so that I could share them with my fellow 'Festers. Enjoy!