Car review/appreciation
Posted: May 03, 2011 3:36 PM
E28 (long)
When I bought Tim’s (m-racer) e28 I told him I'd send him a note telling him what I thought of the car. This is a version of an e-mail I sent to him a few days ago, thought it might be a fun post.
Tim,
You never should have sold me that car for what you did, the more I drive it the more it seems like a steal.
The BMW e28 M5 is one of the great creations. It holds its own next the buildings of Pallido, next to the Eiffel tower, a Ming vase, an impressionist canvas. I feel like the guy who exchanged a sack of beans for a few canvas from that nutty Vincet fellow, who now spends his afternoons mesmerized by the images on the one he called Starry Night, and look again and again at the one he called Sunflowers #4.
Let me explain.
Cars, of course, are lots of things; point A to point B transportation appliances, works of art, petrol and iron animals commanding more power than any ancient potent ever knew, now unspooling in the hands of the common man while he dances on the track or the highway. They are springboards of our imaginations, departure points of our understanding of ourselves and our world. I’m not saying that same can’t be said for a nice Camry, they can, and a bottle of MD 20/20 will get you wasted and quench your thirst. A ’98 Silver Oak, however, has a little more going on.
I got a sense of it again today. Just a dumb drive, a nothing trip from spot on the urban ring to another, just running an errand. Now I don’t know how to drive, I couldn’t throttle steer to save my life and mastering heel-toe shifting is going to have to wait for a point in life with fewer small children and less work responsibility. Still I know my local highways. I got on the interstate going south, traffic dense but rush hour congestion over. I’d been working all day and my senses still had that extra edge that can happen so I kept things moving. Now the car is dancing in and out of the center lane, jumping between of 3rd and fourth speeds between 60 and 80. The rpm meter bouces like the floor of a packed club, right arm shifting, left arm steering, left foot clutch, right accelerator. There’s just the right amount of traffic, I’m totally involved in the effort and she’s humming like a turbo jet, the euro version is lighter and louder than the previous NAE28 M5 and better for it. Now I start to focus. I turn off the radio, max volume on the V1. Next summer I’ll ship her in Berlin and do this on stretch of unrestricted autobahn but for now it’s going to be I-494.
Situational awareness. It’s not just a tag line. I identify every car visible in my mirrors, there is a new Charger that’s picked me up. MN state police runs some unmarked but this isn’t one of them. I know the road, if he wants to keep up fine, but he doesn’t know what he’s in for. I find a hole, radar detector is silent, nothing that looks remotely like the law, I wind it up. 4th gear at 6200 RPM 110 mph on the new 3.91 diff making the big turn to the southwest at Burnsville, 5the gear 4500 rmp 120 mph. Nice. They take your license in Minnesota for speeds over 100. Makes things more interesting. Check mirrors, check detector, scan road. Charger has dropped out, drop back into the center lane as I come up on a pack and apply the brakes. Now just shifting for the joy of it, awareness if fully heightened and once again I realize how good the car is, the car is lowered and suspension tight, visibility is fighter plane like, the placement and function of the instruments and controls from the gauges to the turn signals flawless.
This is car from West Germany. Made by and for guy who couldn’t, wouldn’t, bother his fellow apartment dwellers by showering after 9 pm. Who bought his bread on Friday because the baker was closed until Monday, who never thought of eating or drinking in a car, or not wearing a tie to work. The Germans followed the rules but knew that within the tight bars of the tonal scale came the release of Wagner. In the US we can do anything all the time – constant Jerry Springer and Big Gulps at church, but we can’t be trusted to drive over 60 mph on a limited access road. This car was engineered by a different mind for a different people and I carry out my errand transported, unincarcerated and deeply thankful to you for passing the car on. Thanks, my friend, sorry I didn’t get this out earlier, I’m at that point in life where between family and work things are about at dense as they can be, the car helps with the sanity.
When I bought Tim’s (m-racer) e28 I told him I'd send him a note telling him what I thought of the car. This is a version of an e-mail I sent to him a few days ago, thought it might be a fun post.
Tim,
You never should have sold me that car for what you did, the more I drive it the more it seems like a steal.
The BMW e28 M5 is one of the great creations. It holds its own next the buildings of Pallido, next to the Eiffel tower, a Ming vase, an impressionist canvas. I feel like the guy who exchanged a sack of beans for a few canvas from that nutty Vincet fellow, who now spends his afternoons mesmerized by the images on the one he called Starry Night, and look again and again at the one he called Sunflowers #4.
Let me explain.
Cars, of course, are lots of things; point A to point B transportation appliances, works of art, petrol and iron animals commanding more power than any ancient potent ever knew, now unspooling in the hands of the common man while he dances on the track or the highway. They are springboards of our imaginations, departure points of our understanding of ourselves and our world. I’m not saying that same can’t be said for a nice Camry, they can, and a bottle of MD 20/20 will get you wasted and quench your thirst. A ’98 Silver Oak, however, has a little more going on.
I got a sense of it again today. Just a dumb drive, a nothing trip from spot on the urban ring to another, just running an errand. Now I don’t know how to drive, I couldn’t throttle steer to save my life and mastering heel-toe shifting is going to have to wait for a point in life with fewer small children and less work responsibility. Still I know my local highways. I got on the interstate going south, traffic dense but rush hour congestion over. I’d been working all day and my senses still had that extra edge that can happen so I kept things moving. Now the car is dancing in and out of the center lane, jumping between of 3rd and fourth speeds between 60 and 80. The rpm meter bouces like the floor of a packed club, right arm shifting, left arm steering, left foot clutch, right accelerator. There’s just the right amount of traffic, I’m totally involved in the effort and she’s humming like a turbo jet, the euro version is lighter and louder than the previous NAE28 M5 and better for it. Now I start to focus. I turn off the radio, max volume on the V1. Next summer I’ll ship her in Berlin and do this on stretch of unrestricted autobahn but for now it’s going to be I-494.
Situational awareness. It’s not just a tag line. I identify every car visible in my mirrors, there is a new Charger that’s picked me up. MN state police runs some unmarked but this isn’t one of them. I know the road, if he wants to keep up fine, but he doesn’t know what he’s in for. I find a hole, radar detector is silent, nothing that looks remotely like the law, I wind it up. 4th gear at 6200 RPM 110 mph on the new 3.91 diff making the big turn to the southwest at Burnsville, 5the gear 4500 rmp 120 mph. Nice. They take your license in Minnesota for speeds over 100. Makes things more interesting. Check mirrors, check detector, scan road. Charger has dropped out, drop back into the center lane as I come up on a pack and apply the brakes. Now just shifting for the joy of it, awareness if fully heightened and once again I realize how good the car is, the car is lowered and suspension tight, visibility is fighter plane like, the placement and function of the instruments and controls from the gauges to the turn signals flawless.
This is car from West Germany. Made by and for guy who couldn’t, wouldn’t, bother his fellow apartment dwellers by showering after 9 pm. Who bought his bread on Friday because the baker was closed until Monday, who never thought of eating or drinking in a car, or not wearing a tie to work. The Germans followed the rules but knew that within the tight bars of the tonal scale came the release of Wagner. In the US we can do anything all the time – constant Jerry Springer and Big Gulps at church, but we can’t be trusted to drive over 60 mph on a limited access road. This car was engineered by a different mind for a different people and I carry out my errand transported, unincarcerated and deeply thankful to you for passing the car on. Thanks, my friend, sorry I didn’t get this out earlier, I’m at that point in life where between family and work things are about at dense as they can be, the car helps with the sanity.
She just sang through all of the gears and never missed a beat. We had so much fun.....The second time was well after the complete restoration and a couple of awards. We had won the concourse at Monterey and had packed up the car to head home. Down Highway 1 a ways a way from Carmel, I realized that I had missed the only road east to the 5, so with huge grins, we began the road home....it was not dull at all as after a few miles of my cruise mode and I was met up with a Maserati 3500, a GT 500, and a Porsche 911. We went about 9 tenths all the way to Santa Cruz. That car just STUCK to the pavement and the hotter the tires got, the more rhythm the car had. Can't wait to hear stories about her trip back to the Fatherland! I didn't want to drive the car often as it is almost impossible to replace!
