The Glade 4.0

Not entirely sure which direction I'm going with my next car. A lot of it will depend on how much I want to spend, and how the disposable income is, not to mention my various investments. Might go the raw brute power of an M3, though I may go with an STi or Evo. The S (or preferably RS) Audi 4 or 5 could be nice, as well.

The chief issue that causes plowing with the 08 WRX I have is the suspension. I know they stiffened it up the following year (in addition to more power), but realistically I'd be going aftermarket for springs anyway. Cobb tuning makes a nice kit for it. I'll probably be putting some money into power and suspension upgrades on my 08 in a few years to get some more life out of it, since they're solid cars that can give you well over 100k miles... the only drag is their fuel economy isn't that economical. C'mon Subaru, give us some Direct Injection love, not only will it result in better power, but also better gas mileage.

O' course, if I can afford M3 money, then that puts me in the ballpark of the Nissan GT-R... which is also AWD, and Cobb makes an access port for that, too...

M3 > GT-R :p

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Holy shitsnacks!

So I called my Credit Union. They're giving me a secured savings loan for the money. Its basically borrowing on what I already have invested with them. The borrowed money will be at less than 4%. I figure since it will be paid off in about 3-6 months, the loan won't cost me a whole lot of money.

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The Dude abides.

Two entirely different classes of cars, outside of the 180+ mph top end that I'll never see in the US anyway. Well, not without losing my license, and possibly spending some time in jail. Porsche is still mad that the GT-R beats the 911 around the Nürburgring, and it's Nissan's shot at supercar greatness. The M3 on the other hand, well, that's more along the lines of an old school muscle car in a German wrapper, and it corners better.

Nice! Congrats

Awesome! When you get it post some pics.

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If I had to choose between the M3 and a GT-R, I'd take the M3 in a heartbeat

The GT-R would be fun on track day, but I don't think I could *live* with it.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Well, the GT-R suffers from the same thing that all other cars that start hitting supercar territory suffer from. They are horrible as daily drivers. That being said, the GT-R is probably one of the more forgiving daily drivers. The M3, of course, can be had in sedan form (or saloon, if you are of British origin, or just a Top Gear fan). The M3 could be fun on a track day as well, however. Not as much fun as a GT-R, or any other dedicated go-fast machine, but still, it's a beast.

Some guy at my office building has one of the new ones, love the sound of that V8. It just screams.

The M3 is wonderful. However, I'd take an M6 over it

But for that kind of scratch, You're up in Porsche Country.

Also:
http://www.porsche.com/microsite/cayenn ... a/usa.aspx
/drool

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Holy shitsnacks!

Ugh, for M6 money I expect a car that handles well, and the M6 just... doesn't. Too heavy, though it's got plenty of power on tap. It's nice to look at, but in that price range you're looking at Aston Martins, Maseratis, and the like.

True. Astons are a *bit* more cash though. For a DB9 you're looking near 200k, and similar pricing for the Vantage.

But my god they're pretty. If I was going to go the GT route, the Jaguar XKR (or XFR for the Saloon), for the money, they're incredible.

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Holy shitsnacks!

I think my wife would part me out on the black market organ market for a Maserati. If money were no object (which, once you get over 200k for a car, it really isn't), I'd probably have a Gallardo. A bright orange one, because if you're getting a rediculous super car, you need to go all in, and do it up with the most obnoxious color the car comes from the factory with...

Heh, there's an Audi/Lamborghini dealer here. We were in there a while back looking at the A3, which is on my wife's "I want my next car to be... " list.

I'll take my Gallardo in Yellow. LP560-4 Version please.

Audis are alright. Like *most* German cars though, they seem to have no soul. Sterile, technical, wonderful to drive, but no passion. My Audi would be an S4 or an R8.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Amusingly enough, scratch a current era Lamborghini and you'll find Audi all over it. In fact, the V10 version of the R8 has the Gallardo's engine, though not as hotly tuned. And the AWD system Lamborghini has across the board? Audi's.

My dream Audi would be the RS4, but they don't make it any more, which is a damned shame. The R8 would be on the list as well, and they're working on an R4 as well, which will be a cross platform car available in Porsche, VW, Audi, and a bunch of minor distros that aren't available in the US.

What really sucks is some of the cooler cars in Audi's lineup don't make it over here. They have a 180HP turbo diesel in Europe that just rocks, and there's also an upper end S/RS line 5 cylinder turbo that puts out 300+ hp.

Hell, even Ford has a Euro spec Focus RS that's rolling 300HP that is just not available here... damned Europeans get all the fun cars. I blame the fact that the average American views small with cheap.

That Focus RS has some *wicked* torque steer though.

And a Lambo may be an Audi, but the Italians still did the important bits

There's a lot of cool stuff in Euro-Land that would be good over here. Look at the VW Polo BluMotion... a diesel that gets 73mpg. People would be all over that thing.

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Holy shitsnacks!

I advocate the purchase of this car. Because of the awesome.

Well, yes, any FWD car with that much power is going to tear your arms out with torque steer. They've done what they can to compensate for it, but there's only so much you can do when you're putting out that much power. From the Top Gear review of it, it looked like it would be a blast though.

Lamborghini actually benefited from having some solid German no-nonsense engineering, when they were on their own the fit and finish was just terrible, but now it's all around well put together.

I'm hoping that some day folks will realize that some of the Euro spec cars would do well over here, even as a niche market. Out on the Subaru boards I lurk in there are a lot of folks that would gladly pay for some of the stuff they sell over there that hasn't made it here.

And Vauxhall needs to bring this:

To the states.

Also, I want a Bathurst *just* for the sound it makes.

[youtube]PkiZdcAR6WU[/youtube]

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Farsky, if it can't make it around the Nürburgring in under under 9 minutes, no. Not gonna happen

Ah, another Top Gear watcher. Bloody brilliant show it is.

I don't know why some of the Euro Spec cars don't come this way. I mean, their safety and emissions standards are probably just as stringent as they are in California. I haven't looked into it too closely though.

They can keep their G-Wizzes though

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Holy shitsnacks!

I'd rather have the new VXR8, that supercharger whine is just beastly.

It's amusing that some of the last great cars that Pontiac produced were rebadged Vauxhalls.

Yes, Top Gear fan. And, as a matter of fact, I am the Stig.

Sorry to sound like a dick, but if you cross shop an M6 with an M3, you really don't get what an M3 is all about.

An Audi should be crucified for taking the name of this:


and giving it this:


I don't care how much of a 911 beater it is.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

M3 = corners, speed, power, the pinnacle of automotive design and execution.

M6 = Raw Straightline Goodness.

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To really understand what the M3 was all about, you'll have to go try drive a BMW 2002 or an E30 M3. The E46 hearkens back to its roots, also. I haven't driven E92, but something about it seems listlessly sterile, refined and too ... grown up.

Likewise, hop on a Yamaha YZF-R6, Kawasaki ZX-10R or Honda CBR1000RR for the same visceral experience.

The M3 of 'ye old days can be summed as: a car you can't live with, and a car you can't live without.

The pinnacle of automotive design is either the Ferrari F360 Challenge Stradale, Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) or perhaps the McLaren F1. I doubt any other car would put you in motion in a way less describable by computers and more in the way of glazed eyes and quivering, drooling lips than those three.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

Depends on your focus. From what I've seen, and read, the M3 is the perfect blend of power, handling, and drivability.

Pure out Balls to the Wall Screamers that will kill you if you flinch?
Koenigsegg CCX
Ascari A-10
Paganni Zonda F Roadster
Ariel Atom
etc etc. There's more, but there's a bunch that we can't get in the States.

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Holy shitsnacks!