The Joy of Six

I drove the M635 to work today.

It has spent most of the summer in the garage. Things have been insane-busy lately: work is on fire, multiple overlapping projects due, had to refinance the house, the market is on tilt, both my of my parents remarried, my youngest has been having nosebleeds in the middle of the night, I've been getting back into my basketball game, we've got to replace some furniture... sheesh. I've been driving the iX, bowing to gas prices and general practicality. And I like the iX a lot - E30's are fun.

But I was late for a meeting, and it was already out in the driveway, so I dashed out, slammed the briefcase in the trunk and off we went.

Hmmm...traffic is stacking up at that intersection a bit, so let's take that happens-to-be-curvy back way. Yea, that loud, gravely rumble is pretty cool, think we'll skip the radio this morning.

And what do you know, the sea of cars is opening in front of me on the on-ramp. Cosmo wants to stretch the legs a little so my right foot responds appropriately. The engine is like music: as much as I hate the look of what the previous owner referred to as the "elephant dick exhaust" I really, really like the sound. It isn't gratuitously aggressive. It isn't creating attitude from thin air. But really does sound...purposeful....as I wind it out and cruise past bored commuters.

Ah...the exit is coming up. Brake to the downramp as I pick the line. A slow wind back to earth, close to work and the grind. I glide past the E92 M3 in the parking lot and pull into my usual spot, off and away from most cars. I glance back and get what seems to be a vaguely accusatory look from the car, not unlike the ones I get from my kids when it is time to leave someplace fun ("It was only nine miles").

But I'm left with a smile on my face, and really that is what makes me love this car. My E36 M3 was a nice car, and made me giggle to drive, but the M635 catches my eye and makes me drool a little, and it lifts my spirits without fail when I turn the key. Lord knows I needed it today.

And at the end of the day, that is the reason I have it - I really enjoy this car.