mikegarrison

The S2000 is far from being a minimalist true track car. For that you are talking about something like a Radical. If you have ever seen a race-prepped S2000, you'll know what I mean.

However, the S2000 is a very sporty compromise between daily driveability and track-readiness. It definitely is more ready to take right out onto the track than anything BMW has sold in at least 15 years, and that includes the M cars.

I'm actually a BMW CCA member, and have a lot of BMW-owning friends. I do kind of laugh about how proud some of them are about how trackworthy their cars are right out of the box -- with only several thousand dollars of suspension work needed to bring the M-cars up to the S2000 specs. (That's not to say they aren't fast as sold by the dealers, but much of that is just straight-line power.)

JonBoy

Are sales really increasing on all models or is it just an overall increase in sales due to more vehicle models?

I'm asking, not being facetious.

Poindexter

I'll agree with that. Even the E30's need some work before hitting a competitive track.

Anybody (especially car enthusiasts) have a strong appreciation for his or her own car - it is blinding at times. When I had my S2000 I thought it was the hottest thing on the road under $60,000 but my tastes have changed and I don't feel that way anymore. People forget to look at a car for the purpose that it was built......and it is getting tougher and tougher to say a particular car was built for a particular purpose because 98% of the cars out there are built to appeal to a wider range of people.

I guess my biggest beef (and it isn't with you Mike - you actually look at things rationally ) is with the folks who are so blinded by what they drive, they cannot see the value in other vehicles. It is called being close-minded, and can also be known as ignorant - and this drives me nuts.

Poindexter

I'll take your Devil's Advocate another step further. One could also say that the world's population is increasing every day (I think the statistic is 10,000 new babies are born every hour ), so it is only natural for sales to go up.

However - if you simply look at 3 Series sales, yeah, they've gone up tons!

PsychoBen

[QUOTE=Fanman,Jul 20 2006, 02:11 AM] The 3300 lb weight is test weight, The actual curb weight is 3197 lbs.

rockville

Anyway, why can't BMW make a car as light as Porsche or ... GM?
Perhaps I will be a bit more critical of BMW because I think they took a good looking line of cars and made them ugly but I can at least respect much of the engineering. However, that car weighs almost as much as the old 5 series. It weight more than a Corvette coupe (3180) and convertible (3200).
BMW's are still nice cars but I get less and less interested in them as they add more mass, gimmicks and ugly styling. I haven't driven a Z4 because I don't like the looks. The Boxster and Cayman I would consider.

Edit: If 3300 is the test weight as opposed to curb weight I have more respect for the car. Still heavy but no longer significantly heavier than the Vette. Too bad it doesn't have the Vette's light and powerful motor

(ducks again)

KaiWang

For those that have driven bmw M cars back in the E30 and E36 days understand that current BMWs have lost their BMW'ness. They lost their great road feel and steering feedback and have gained tremendous weight.

Luke530

I'll add one more thing...

take the M3 for example: weighs ALOT more than the s2000, makes up for that with 333hp, an extremely balanced motor with an amazing powerband, and great suspension. It feels sooooo much more planted, it's pretty forgiving on turns, has great features that make it super-practical, and IMO, just as fun to drive as the s2k... oh, and it's one sexy car

The 3.0 z4 can hang with the s2k, my friend had one... the transmission wasn't "as good"... well, it sucked... but once again, the motor was great! nice torque, very drivable, and handled quite nicely too. Plus... had some very nice features.

99% of car shoppers are not looking for a car to mod as a track car, but as a daily driver, or fun weekend ride. very few look at "curb weight" - most look at 0-60

Saint_Spinner

Well, regardless of weight, I love the new Z4 Mcoupe.

Young_R

Its not so much about the weight for me, but I still cant get over the ugly front of the Z4.....