I was over at Isringhausen Imports on Thursday for service on my X5. When I need to go to Isringhausen, I always plan in plenty of time to peruse the huge selection of eye candy they have sitting about. On Thursday they had this beauty sitting in their showroom. It’s a 2008 Mercedes Benz CL65 AMG.

Twin-turbo V-12 producing 600HP, all while cradling the driver in pure luxury. This thing even has an infrared camera so you can see beyond the limits of your headlights at night and another camera looking out the back so you don’t run over your dog.

Here’s the kicker, though. This kind of exclusivity will set you back a whopping $200,775. MB must stand for Mucho Bucks. I’d need a 30-year mortgage and even then I’d have to give up my house and sleep in the car. Gives you an idea just how much money the “other half” makes.

I’ve often heard it said that dreams are best left to remain dreams. Your imagination is always perfect. Real life is less so. You may dream of climbing the Alps, but when you start sucking air at 12,000 feet and your feet are screaming in pain from the blisters, you wonder why you ever dreamed of doing this. You may dream of free falling from 20,000 feet, but when the moment of truth at the door of the plane arrives…well, you get the idea.

I once owned a gorgeous BMW 633 CSi just like this one. From the moment I saw it on a used car lot in Germany, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. All good sense left me and I convinced myself this was the car for me. It was a pure joy to drive, but it was a lemon. In the 5 years or so I owned it, I probably sunk as much into it as I paid for it originally.

As I approach my 50th birthday, I’ve decided I deserve another car for pure fun. Not something to slog back and forth to work in, but something to get the blood pumping and the heart rate elevated. Something to enjoy for its looks as much as its performance. It’s an old cliche that middle aged men in sports cars are just going through a phase wishing they were younger, but the truth is, it’s the first time in their lives they can actually afford a car they’ve always wanted. The kids are gone, the bills are paid, and there is disposable income to be had. In my case there never were kids, but the rest applies. I can finally afford to indulge my love of fine automobiles. But what to get? That is the question.

I stumbled across this stunning example of one of my favorite cars of any era. It’s a 1987 BMW M6. It’s the muscle car equivalent of my earlier 633.

It is the precise car of my dreams, right down to the color combination. This particular car has low mileage, is supposedly flawless and well maintained, and is priced accordingly. Still, I could afford it. But ( and there’s always a “but”), could I drive it? Look at the perfect paint. I’d be horrified if it got hit by a rock thrown up by a truck. My dear departed 7-Series had dozens of rock chips on the hood. Out here in corn country, they still pave roads like Fred Flintstone did, with oil and gravel. They patch the highways with pea-stone. They salt the road with chunks the size of billiard balls. Rock chips are a certainty. So I fear this car, should it become mine, would sit shiny and flawless in my garage like a prized work of art. (Which is exactly why it is flawless and has such low mileage.) Not exactly how my dream goes. Reality always trumps the dream.

I’m currently taking a class on Total Quality Management, which is a business practice based on the idea that if you improve the quality of every facet of your business, the end result will be lower costs and higher profits. The class discussions have me thinking a lot lately about the quality of work I see in businesses I frequent. Take for instance, lunch. I’m not as conscientious as I should be about making my own lunch. Even though I usually would rather bring lunch than buy it, I’m most often too lazy to make a lunch at night. I end up buying a sandwich at one of three places near my office. The first is my daily coffee shop, Espresso Royale. I like their coffee. The staff know me and know what I want. And they make good sandwiches. They’ve earned my continued patronage because they achieve quality in all aspects. But they don’t always have sandwiches available. On those days I can either go next door to Subway, or one more door to Silver Mine Subs. I’ve written about Silver Mine Subs before. Of the two, Silver Mine is far better. The staff at Subway (the one near my office, at least) are usually dour and act like it’s such a pain to have to make sandwiches. Their final product reflects that. The sandwiches are usually skimpy and poorly made. On the other hand, the staff at Silver Mine are usually quite friendly and even jovial. They joke around a lot and work quickly, but their sandwiches are always well made and generous. Accordingly, they have earned my repeat business.

This past winter my beloved BMW 740iL blew out its coolant expansion tank. The expansion tanks and radiators in the BMW 4.4 liter engines have a design flaw which causes them to crack every 70k miles or so. Poor quality in an otherwise high quality car. Because my expansion tank blew right down the street from the local BMW dealer, I had the car towed there. I normally have my cars serviced at Isringhausen Imports in Springfield, Il, but that was 80 miles away. So despite my better judgment, I let the local dealer work on my car. I should have paid the extra to have it towed to Springfield. My car was in and out of the local dealer’s shop every day for the next two weeks. In the end I feared they had damaged my engine so badly that I traded the car in on a newer X5. At Isringhausen, of course. Isringhausen has always done quality work, they always find me an almost new loaner car, and they’re quick to address any concerns I have. I always feel I’ve gotten a fair deal from my salesman, Jeff Colman, from whom I’ve bought 3 cars. Isringhausen exudes quality. The local dealer has lost my business forever.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a $4 sandwich or a $40,000 car; quality will keep people coming back and ensure a continued income. I’m just amazed that so many businesses lacking in quality manage to survive.

Not much going on lately. The semester is winding down, the Red Sox are winning again, Manny came out of his slump in a big way last night, and there’s still a few weeks left to enjoy the mostly deserted backroads here. This is one of my favorites. It’s flat, smooth as glass, and completely devoid of sight line obstructions.  😎

Nice sunset captured by the Mt. Washington summit cam.

I found another webcam that’s oddly captivating. This is the entrance to the Nürburgring race track. On non-race weekends, anyone is allowed to take his or her vehicle on the track to test its limits (or their own). The highlight of the course is the 14 mile long Nordschleife section. Several deaths occur here each year when drivers overstep the limits of their ability or their vehicle. Such a thing would never survive in our lawsuit happy land. What makes this webcam fascinating is the endless parade of high end super cars rolling though the image. Equally fascinating are the cars that make you go, “Hunh??” like the station wagon in the lower left of this image. Can’t image he stood much of a chance against the two Porsches behind him.  🙂

The 740iL made it to the dealer without blowing up. And in its place now sits this 2003 X5 3.0. So far I’m impressed with the ride and handling. Very solid and surprisingly quiet. And with 100,000 fewer miles, I’m hoping for a few months without a trip to the dealer.  😀

I’ve long been a fan of Formula One. It’s the pinnacle of motor racing with awesome technology, incredible driving talent, and some pretty involved strategy. This promises to be a really interesting year with some veterans changing teams and several extremely talent newcomers. Add in the best team of announcers in any sport (SpeedTV crew), and you have a great way to spend a few hours on Sunday mornings.  😎

One week ago I posted about summer being right around the corner. We still have snow on the ground in places, yet tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60s with temps in the 70s slated for Tuesday. What a difference a week makes. I just hope Spring lasts a few months. It’s too early for air conditioning.

On another note, my beloved 2001 BMW 740iL will be going away this week. Not since I owned a 1977 BMW 633CSi have I enjoyed/hated owning a car so much. The 740 is my third BMW. My first, the 633, was incredible to drive when it ran well, but it was a frustrating beast and spent nearly as much time in the shop as it did on the road. The 740 has been pure joy to drive, but lately the 147,000 miles on the odometer have really been taking a toll. When I lose faith in a car, it’s time to find a new(er) one. So this week I’ll be trading it in on a 2003 BMW X5. My second BMW, a 2001 530i, never gave me a single problem. I’m hoping the even numbered cars, like the even numbered Star Trek movies, turn out to be the classics.

My name’s Mark and I’m an addict. I’m addicted to my car. I’ve owned many cars in my time, and some were really special. But I’ve always been able to consider getting rid of one car in favor of another. Not this time, though. I’m hooked and wouldn’t trade it for the world. My car went in the shop this past Thursday to have snow tires mounted and to check on a weird creaking noise from the rear suspension. $2000 later, I have it back. As it turned out, the creaking was from a worn rear ball joint. Both were replaced. Plus my brakes were completely shot all around and the right front caliper was frozen. So they installed new pads and rotors on all four corners and a rebuilt caliper on the right front. Add in an oil service and a door trim piece replacement and you have a bill totaling two large. Ouch.

But for two days I’ve been driving a new 330i sedan. The same bright red one I’ve written about before. It has some Gee-Whiz features and is very quick, but if the dealer (Isringhausen) offered it to me in direct trade for my 740iL, I’d tell them no. It just doesn’t have the soul, the personality, the comfort, the security, or the Gemütlichkeit of my 740. My car is like a well worn recliner or easy chair. It just fits me perfectly. I know exactly how it’s going to react in any situation. There are no surprises. This is not to say the car doesn’t thrill me, though. It brings a smile to my face every time I drive it. It has instant power on tap when I need it, it’s as stable and smooth as a 12 ton slab of marble even at high speeds, and it’s as comfortable as my living room. The phone works through the stereo system, so when I get a call, the stereo mutes and I carry on the conversation just as I would if the person with whom I’m speaking were sitting in the seat beside me. When the call is finished, the radio or CD resumes playing. It simply works.

I’ve driven this car out to New England twice and it’s been perfect both times. You can easily drive for 10 or 12 hours and not get sore. And on cold winter days, there’s nothing as nice as a heated steering wheel. The Directional Stability Control has been my guardian angel through many snowy commutes. This car just about has it all. One day, maybe after it’s paid off, I’ll swap out the current CD-based navigation system for the DVD-based system. And sooner or later, Verizon will call it quits on non-E911 phones, so I’ll be forced to install the Bluetooth upgrade to replace the current StarTac phone. So be it.

Sure, it’s an addiction, but I don’t see rehab in my future. 😉

Some days I just can’t deal with the highway, especially when it’s raining. So today I had a somewhat solitary ride home. Very relaxing. 🙂

This weekend at the Mid-Ohio Grand Am race, driver Joey Hand was bumped off the asphalt and onto the grass. His car hit a newly (and foolishly) installed raised access road and was launched into the air. It nose-dived into the grass and flipped eight times, coming apart in the process. Hand was able to crawl out of the wreck on his own and suffered no serious injuries.

Hand has been in wrecks before and probably will be again. He plans to continue racing and was back at the track the next day. Some may say he’s a tad insane for his willingness to risk life and limb again, but today Joey Hand is feeling especially alive; more so than many of us have ever felt. It’s that feeling of living on the edge, I think, which drives people to risk everything for the sport they love.

This wreck also shows how a well-built car and proper safety gear can mean the difference between survival and certain death. It’s a pity so many folks refuse to learn that lesson.

Here’s the full video of the crash.