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Author: Carter

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Tuner Tuesday: 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo X50 Techart

Published May 20, 2014 by Carter

It’s fairly shocking that for around the same price as a fairly lightly optioned base model Cayman, you can leap into entirely another world of performance with a 911 Turbo. Of course, there’s a price to pay for this relative leap in performance, and that’s that you have to settle at this price point for the current ugly duckling of the Porsche world – the 996. Now, of course there will be drawbacks to buying into an older car – for one, it’s not new with a warranty, and the 996 isn’t the prettiest Porsche ever built. But in terms of performance for dollar spent, right now it’s pretty hard to beat a package like the 996 Twin Turbo with the X50 option.

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Motorsport Mondays: 1988 BMW M3 DTM Tribute

Published May 19, 2014 by Carter

I know this probably comes as a surprise, but in general I try to stay away from posting E30s. There are several reasons for this; first, it seems like we have an E30 posted on this site nearly every day. In part that makes sense as it’s one of the best small sports sedans ever produced and there are many different versions, but we like variety here at GCFSB and I like to find the lesser appreciated examples of German motoring. Then there’s the second reason I stay away – the market on these cars is just nuts, especially when you’re talking about the M3. You could list all of the merits of the E30 M3, and there are many to choose from, but at least in my mind the bubble that these cars are experiencing just isn’t justified. Sure, they’re solidly worth $30,000 to maybe $40,000 for the best, show ready examples in my mind – but at double that amount, I find it hard to explain. After all, you can get so many equally (if not more) rare, equally (if not better) performing, and equally attractive cars both from within BMW and from other manufacturers too for less money. When cars like this go through bubbles, to me they just become unappealing. I remember going to the track when these cars were throw-aways; it’s not that I wished I had bought one when they were more affordable, it’s more that I wish the folks with money hadn’t soured the experience for me. Such is the market today that even non-original, less than pristine examples are commanding a serious premium over other desirable cars. The perfect illustration of this is today’s DTM-liveried 1988 M3:

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1988 BMW M5 with S54 Swap

Published May 17, 2014 by Carter

Not many people would dare to accuse the E28 M5 of having faults, but I will. First, the engine was turned down for the U.S. market. That’s a reality of the 1970s and 1980s, I know, but it’s still a gripe. Second, it only came in black to U.S. shores. And that too is a shame, because the E24 M6 really shows what a little color does to those classic lines. Third, on top of the black-only stance, it had bumpers that easily double as benches – for Americans, even. Fourth, though wide 16″ wheels were pretty advanced for the day, the reality is that there are increasingly limited good options for filling out those rims. Fifth has to be the interior. My dad has an 88 M5, and it’s a very nice car – but the seats are well worn and look nearly double the mileage they actually are. It’s often the case when I look at an E28 M5 that the seats either look completely redone or wrecked. Sixth has to do with the engine again – because the reality is that 25 plus years on, keeping the S38s running in top condition can be an expensive proposition. Okay, so maybe I’m overstating my gripes a bit, but it just goes to show that there’s at least room for improvement with the U.S. spec M5. How do you fix my list of gripes? Well, buying this car would be a pretty good start:

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Pre-Production: 1998 BMW M Roadster with 41,000 Miles

Published May 16, 2014 by Carter

A few weeks ago I went on a rant regarding production numbers, and while I thought I was going to be chastised by the masses the reaction was rather surprising – it seems I’m not the only one ticked off by the over-use of “rare”, “limited”, and “1 of X produced”. I have to admit, I think I’m even guilty of it; there are many uncommon cars that we write up that we often refer to as “rare” when the reality is that the company just didn’t sell many. Perhaps it was a bad choice of colors, or bad market conditions, or any number of factors combining into low sales numbers, but not often were these cars limited to only a few examples. Does that make them less or more desirable? Well, that depends a lot on the customer I guess; to me, I really like having something that everyone else doesn’t have. Phoenix Yellow is a great example of this; a polarizing color that I love on the E46 M3 but many hate. So what we have here today is a claimed 1 of 1 that’s just cannon fodder, right? Well, not today – this is a legitimately neat car; a pre-production M Roadster in a ultra-rare color combination of Evergreen and Kyalami:

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2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant with 33,000 Miles

Published May 15, 2014 by Carter

Earlier in the day that I wrote this, I was out and about doing errands with my son in my 2002 Volkswagen Passat 1.8T Variant. I was enjoying a sunny spring day that has finally arrived in New England, sunroof open with my son pointing out everything of interest to him; which is most things, as it turns out. But what struck me as I drove around is how nice and underrated the Passat is; an Audi in a Volkswagen dress, it’s a well built, quiet and comfortable cruiser. When you want to go a bit faster, it acts more like a big GTi than a small Audi. And in back, it can swallow a load of cargo that would leave most sport utility vehicles to shame. Yet the Passat is often overlooked as a choice, heaped into the Check-Engine-Light generation of Volkswagen Audi products to look out for. Well, speaking from now 6 years of Passat ownership, it’s never once left me stranded and for what should be a dull daily driver, it’s a good looking and fun to drive reminder of why we buy German cars. To top off my drive, I ended at my mechanics where I had to drop off some parts for the Coupe GT; one of the patrons walked out and up to the Passat and remarked “It looks like a new car!” While that may be a bit of a stretch on my 12 year old, 115,000 mile example, it’s not on this top of the line Passat today – a W8 4Motion Variant with a scant 33,474 miles covered since new:

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