2 door – Cars Break

BMW Performance Driving School – 2 Day Car Control Class in Spartanburg, SC

I give you the happiest place on earth.

Recently I had the opportunity to be a stow away on a friend’s private Jet that was headed from Salt Lake City to North Carolina. That in and of itself was a very cool experience aboard a 1994 Bombardier LearJet 60. Very fast, very smooth aircraft.

I decided that if I was going all the way to Greensboro NC that I might as well drive down to Spartanburg SC and indulge in a little BMW fun. That particular week all they had was a 2 day car control school so that’s what I signed up for.

The school starts off with some really great hot chocolate (I’m not a coffee drinker) and introductions to your teachers. We were lucky enough to be instructed by none other than the Guiness World Record holder for the longest continuous drift – Johan Schwartz. He is also two time winner of the Pirelli World cup racing series. Very cool guy from Denmark who knows his stuff.

The first thing we did was hop into an M235i and do some slalom exercises. Then it was off to the skid pad in a 340i which was probably my favorite part of the whole experience other than the “BWM Buffet” on the last day where you drive an M3, Z4, M6, and X6M one right after another on a closed course at full tilt.

We also did some “autocross” stuff with the M235’s where you are timed in driving through a slalom with a wet U-turn. The second day also had some romping in an X5 which was somewhat interesting although the course was a bit cheesy and most of us probably wanted to jump the thing rather than drive slowly through 30″ of water.

On the last day they take you for a “hot lap” in one of the cars, this one is of Johan blasting through the mini course on one end of the performance center.

If this looks like good times to you, the 2-day car control course is $1550 but if I buy it for you and you pay me back you get 20% off because I have a BMW credit card The 2 day M performance course is $2900 and that’s the one I’d like to do next. It’s more race training and you get a bit more time behind the wheel of strictly M cars. They have tracks for this in SC and LA.

Here’s another video of their “Hot Lap” for people who are picking up a brand new car from the performance facility. You get to try you new car out on a track and get some professional instruction with it.

2016 Dodge: Another Day Another Challenge…er.

When the first Dodge Challenger you drive is the SRT Hellcat it sort of spoils any chance for the other models to make a good impression. However, it doesn’t take an upscale automotive pallet to taste the Burger King quality of the entry level Challenger.

It’s an obvious throwback to 1960’s muscle cars and that’s great for the target market who’s likely buying this car. For most people, however, the Challenger is a behemoth nautical vessel boasting average performance and efficiency with very little room for passengers.

Let’s start with the size. 4000lbs is a bit on the chubby side for a 2+2 vehicle these days and it shows in the city mileage. You’re lucky to get 18 mpg and that’s carrying around a 6.3 second 0-60 number. Hardly what you’d expect from a claimed 305 horsepower. There are Toyota Camry’s on the road right now with a claimed 276 hp that will run a 5.6.

Another downfall of the husky Challenger is visibility. The hood is enormous. I’m sure it provides large amounts of nostalgia for some, but for most it’s a popped tire on a curb or parking lot ding waiting to happen. It’s fairly hard to tell where your giant nose is pointing half the time. The cabin feels a bit like a chopped hot rod’s and zero rear visibility reminds you of that at every blind spot check. Not exactly a safety-mobile.

The dashboard layout overall works well enough and the digital control of car status works well. Most of the buttons, however look silly with their huge font and larger than necessary size. That part feels very “Dodge”.

A couple redeeming factors that really scream ‘Murica are the large, easily accessed cup holders, the range, and ability to run on regular; which all coincidentally reference drinking. The cup holders are even illuminated via some nice LEDs hey! As for range you can go about 450 miles on one tank if you’re on the freeway most of the time. That’s way above average for the 2016 model year, nice job Dodge! Some pretty serious road trip capability there. Nice thing about being somewhat low-tech is being able to run on the cheap stuff. I just filled up for under $30 @ $1.69 per gallon! These are strange times.

If you love the challenger style and can’t be without one do yourself a favor and spring for something with a V8. It doesn’t make it nicer to own on the day to day but at least it will be fast.

2016 BMW i8: Much future, many fast, wow.

The i8 is the first BMW in mod’n times with super sweet swing-up doors. And they work great! I was expecting them to be difficult to close and cumbersome to open but was pleasantly surprised.
092_BMW_i8

Getting in, however is a bit of a chore. Pretend you have a mini-skirt on, turn around, bend at the knees while keeping your legs together and fall backward onto the seat. That’s the routine I found myself performing upon entry. Plus there’s a rather tall lip to overcome when you get into the car due to a carbon-fiber bucket the majority of the frame is composed of.

i8_Interior

One strange thing I’ve noticed about 2012+ BMW’s is they all have this v8-sounding throaty exhaust note regardless of engine configuration. The 328’s I-4, M4’s I-6, etc. The i8 is probably the most surprising vehicle to sing that song because it only has 3 fuel-burning cylinders. And it sounds fantastic.

Acceleration really feels like a standard petrol car, there’s no strange rush of space-god force attacking your rear like in a Model-S or whining electric noise like in the i3. All you can hear is the beautiful exhaust note an a subtle squish noise from your face smiling.

Supposedly if you drive like a grandma (who’s not a car enthusiast) you can get about 100mpg but in the real world and under normal driving with the occasional burn of glee I’m guessing you’ll see something like 40mpg. Pretty impressive for a car that can blast you to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

2015 M235i: The Not-So-Little Engine That Can

Pigmy Rocketship. This car officially has a new name. It’s BMW everclear, distilled and crushed up into a powder, snorted through a $10 bill, or taken orally via capsules, your choice. This car really is everything fun about BMW wrapped up in the (surprisingly) most affordable car they sell.

I will admit the badging goes way too far. I wish they would just call it the M2 and be done, but for some reason in Munich if it’s not a real M car, they need to compensate with “this car brought to you by the letter M” and slap in every corner possible. Hubs, steering wheel, front, back, doors, seats, everything has an M on it. Even more M’s than an . . . M car. But 4.3 to 60 mph makes you forget all that. For less than $45k.

And look how practical! You can park it anywhere, and it’ll get 32mpg on the freeway! Plus it looks WAY better than the old 1-series it replaces. That old dog was kinda fugly.

One interesting thing you can do with a 235i that you *can’t do with the other M cars is a brake-stand. I guess they weren’t as careful with the traction control system (of course switched off) on the 235i, but just put your foot 1/3 way down on the brake, hit the gas, and boom you’ve got a 2-tire fire. She’s real pretty in blue, too:

I drove the automatic with paddle shifters and although I’d really rather throw my own gears it was pretty responsive. Shifts aren’t lighting-quick 911 fast, but it’s enough. It’s as much as you can expect out of a true auto-trans and not a dual clutch setup.

If you don’t mind 2 doors and eety beety living space this is a great commuter or weekend track-day toy.