Out with the M3, in with the 5.0

[2001GTTT]

who cares about status.....why drive a car that other people like instead of one that you do? makes no sense.

[vitaleffects626]

Status haha

[PaxtonShelby]

Yea, that was the car man.

no no no...I'm not obsessed or anything...it is perfectly normal for someone to know which lot a car was sold from...

So do you live in or near Moon? How many "test drives" have you given the last few days??

Congrats again - that's a sweet ride! Now they have a bright red 6-speed with black leather in its place. It is the GT Premium with optional 19 inch rims - for $995. The rims alone seem like a silly option choice - because if you get the Brembo brake upgrade for $1695, you get the Brembos and the 19 inch rims - so the Brembos only cost $700 more than just the rims.

[White5.0]

A friend of mine has an 08 m3 and I have been trying to convince him to go with either a 5.0 or the gt500. he complains that neither of them have enough "status" or "practicality" of course this was someone who was nutting over the GT-R for a year and half until he got the M3 so who knows.

well then your friend is a dbag and obviously isnt into cars if all he cares about is the 'status' the car gives you lol

[phillysrt4]

who cares about status.....why drive a car that other people like instead of one that you do? makes no sense.

Status haha

well then your friend is a dbag and obviously isnt into cars if all he cares about is the 'status' the car gives you lol

LOL i agree with you on the whole. I don't know if Id go so far as to relegate him to "dbag" status, but there are things that he does that seem contradictory. For example the whole "im buying a GTR" yet claims a 5.0 or a GT500 isn't "practical" (as if a GTR is... his excuse is "but its AWD so its usable in the snow" my counterpoint is "are you REALLY going to drive a car that expensive on the shitty salted philly roads in the winter?" and of course coming from subieland AWD>* but whatever...). Then there's the whole thing about "status". And of course he's one of those people who is stuck in 1985 with respect to American quality control and design versus imports.

Plus in his mind "its just a ford" and BMW has more "status" than Ford.

You cant totally fault him though for a few reasons. His degree and his current job are in marketing where it seems image and status rule over substance. He claims he needs to portray "success" to clients and a 5.0 or a GT500 doesn't send the "right message".

That being said, I did have a chance to get some time in the M3 and I have to say I can understand why he bought it in and of itself. It is one hell of a machine and I can see why he bought it (especially since he paid well under 50k for it). It seemed to be a car that he liked but also fit his OCD BS about "status".

Anyway, enough of my threadjack... I'll wait for a more in depth review of the 5.0 versus the 06 M3.

[White5.0]

ha! im messing with ya man. i dont mean it when i call him a dbag, i dont even know him. but i do disagree with what he said

[ModularMike]

Nice car man! I don't know if I could resist the urge with that car though, I'd have slicks on it by the next day haha.

[phillysrt4]

ha! im messing with ya man. i dont mean it when i call him a dbag, i dont even know him. but i do disagree with what he said

I do too and there are times where I call him a dbag on this issue LOL so no need to worry about it.

[Mark Aubele]

Anyone who wants to call him a dbag should go drive any generation M3 on a racetrack and get back to me. Thats coming from someone who lusts over a new 5.0 as well. I took a new 5.o out, and trust me, skidpad g's don't translate into feel on the street. I believe a new 5.0 will hang with a V8 M3 on a racetrack, but they just haven't gotten to M3 levels of handling feel yet. Not that I care about anything but lap times (which it shown by the fact that I drive a cobalt ss, see car and driver lightning lap test results) but just stating what the general car buying public thinks. The BMW just builds a confidence in the typical enthusiast driver the Mustang has not yet matched, mostly because of the solid rear axle which works on a track, but just doesn't inspire confidence the way an irs does on our bumpy roads.

[White5.0]

Nice car man! I don't know if I could resist the urge with that car though, I'd have slicks on it by the next day haha.

^x2!

[phillysrt4]

Anyone who wants to call him a dbag should go drive any generation M3 on a racetrack and get back to me. Thats coming from someone who lusts over a new 5.0 as well. I took a new 5.o out, and trust me, skidpad g's don't translate into feel on the street. I believe a new 5.0 will hang with a V8 M3 on a racetrack, but they just haven't gotten to M3 levels of handling feel yet. Not that I care about anything but lap times (which it shown by the fact that I drive a cobalt ss, see car and driver lightning lap test results) but just stating what the general car buying public thinks. The BMW just builds a confidence in the typical enthusiast driver the Mustang has not yet matched, mostly because of the solid rear axle which works on a track, but just doesn't inspire confidence the way an irs does on our bumpy roads.

I think the point behind people questioning his choice is because he placed such a heavy emphasis on "status" relative to performance. I don't think anyone is going to doubt the 08 M3 is an awesome car (i've had some seat time and I agree its an awesome machine). Its more the whole notion of "status" and "cachet" that motivated the choice. In his mind, being able to buy a brand new 2011 5.0 or GT500 doesn't show enough "status" or "success" because "its only a Ford". Its that blind dismissal of Ford's products for his questionable reasons that make his decision making kind of dbaggy.

(EDIT - Don't get me wrong, if someone said "you can have a 2008 M3 or a 2011 GT500 for free which would you want?" it would be the M3. If I had to spend my hard-earned money on an 08 M3 or an 11 GT500, id pick the GT500 hands down.)

[venom]

Anyone who wants to call him a dbag should go drive any generation M3 on a racetrack and get back to me. Thats coming from someone who lusts over a new 5.0 as well. I took a new 5.o out, and trust me, skidpad g's don't translate into feel on the street. I believe a new 5.0 will hang with a V8 M3 on a racetrack, but they just haven't gotten to M3 levels of handling feel yet. Not that I care about anything but lap times (which it shown by the fact that I drive a cobalt ss, see car and driver lightning lap test results) but just stating what the general car buying public thinks. The BMW just builds a confidence in the typical enthusiast driver the Mustang has not yet matched, mostly because of the solid rear axle which works on a track, but just doesn't inspire confidence the way an irs does on our bumpy roads.

Great way to say it.

[Mark Aubele]

I think the point behind people questioning his choice is because he placed such a heavy emphasis on "status" relative to performance. I don't think anyone is going to doubt the 08 M3 is an awesome car (i've had some seat time and I agree its an awesome machine). Its more the whole notion of "status" and "cachet" that motivated the choice. In his mind, being able to buy a brand new 2011 5.0 or GT500 doesn't show enough "status" or "success" because "its only a Ford". Its that blind dismissal of Ford's products for his questionable reasons that make his decision making kind of dbaggy.

(EDIT - Don't get me wrong, if someone said "you can have a 2008 M3 or a 2011 GT500 for free which would you want?" it would be the M3. If I had to spend my hard-earned money on an 08 M3 or an 11 GT500, id pick the GT500 hands down.)

I agree with you, I guess I should've been a bit more clear than I was. But I think he has kind of a point with customers and such. I think a 4 door 4th gen M3 would be a nice classy Mustang substitute for clientele. I think it is also worth noting that if the 11 didn't finally actually get power, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. :p

[TYR FRYR]

Congrats, Tim!