Since I did bring it up originally, here's my responses to my own questions:
There's only the two of us so we don't have the minivan issue some have. Our baby is an '01 Z3 that I bought new and treat it like its made of gold. I still bring it to bimmer for service (there's a few reasons for that) and store it (properly) from October through early May. It isn't worth much anymore but it looks and drives brand new. It has never been in the snow and rarely in the rain. It has never been in any of the 5 boroughs and rarely south of I-287. Got 65,000 "play" miles (about 64,500 with the top down
) mostly looking for the twisty turnies Westchester north and west on the way to a nice summer picnic. If you see a Topaz blue Z3 zipping up the Taconic or the road leading up to the Bear Mt. Bridge with a couple of old folk, give a honk, that's probably us.
That's my passion. Roadsters one can actually drive. It started a long time ago when I bought an MG Midget and fell in love with genre. The old adage that it's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow is true. I don't know where one drives their GT3 or MP4-12C around here but I see NY State troopers on every road I drive. I would be in hand cuffs within a month.
Of course one needs to be practical so we also have a '14 Mazda CX-5 GT. It's our first SUV but I hesitate to use that designation because it is really just a tall compact cheapo Japanese car, albeit a pretty good one for the class. The only "sport" that applies to it is that it goes to CitiField and the Meadowlands. The fun part is that after driving it, the Z feels much lower and faster than it did before. The car provides a great amount of "U" though and I get sitting up higher now after doing it for a year. We spent a long time testing these things and the CX-5 has it all over the competition (CR-V, Forester, etc) in acceleration, handing and especially an amazing auto tranny. The first one that I have ever driven that I didn't hate.
So what's the dream garage then? Since the rule is McMansion (which thankfully we do not have) 3 car garage I would assume that we do not have the cash for Maclarens or a Veyron so I'll keep this "realistic" (i.e we win LOTTO but not Arab Sheik amounts). That leaves us room for the roadster, the utility car and one more.
For the roadster, I'd like to try out the Porsche Boxster GTS. I may want to tune it down to an S or a standard for NY State Trooper issues as noted above, but definitely a Boxster over a 911 for the balance of a mid engine car alone. The new Vette is intriguing as well but only because you seem to get super car performance for an executive toy price. If one gets a bit more practical in their thinking, the new BMW M235i cabrio which looks like a hybrid between a true M and the regular 2 series could be interesting. But press me now and I have to choose the Boxster for this garage space
The "utility" car is a bit harder. I'd try out the X3-Q5 types and load it with every option that they offer. Press me and I say X3 35ix. Sheik money and I'd love to see the new Lambo and Rolls versions.
The third space is a "debate" between me and the Mrs. She wants to keep the Z forever and store it until we can get historical plates. Then she wants me to get a cap and be the od guy in the vintage car toodling down the road
on a summer Sunday afternoon. I don't have the heart to tell her that we're already doing that without the historical plates. Now I, on the other hand desperately want a Jeep and by that I mean a real Jeep, setup lifted, winched and ready for the Poison Spider trail. That requires a different thread, Any offroaders here?
So sorry for the long post. The Mrs is demanding that I get up and exercise with her and Denise Austin. Sitting here and typing had been my excuse and now Denise in her "cool down" so s'long
Zoom zoom guys ...
