Thursday 2 May 2013

Childhood hero

When I was rather young I saw this magazine:
Quite a long time ago if you note the date. The cover article sparked a near long interest in that car. The more I read and learnt the more I wanted one, a 535i manual with cross-spoke wheels.
Years of reading about E34s and the mighty M30 straight six did little to dampen this. Getting a e30 316i in 2002 and learning the joys of RWD didn't harm it either.
Until finally many years later:
My own 1988 (March or April for that matter) 535i manual, with cross spoke BBS wheels. A lifelong dream fulfilled or meeting a childhood hero? 
They say you never should and in many ways its been a mixed bad. I still find the car beautiful and the M30 is an even more magnificent engine then I had imagined. However its not quite the dynamic paragon I had hoped, its magnificent but not fun as such. Its fast but not quick. In the confined driving environment here its mighty and intimidating. While it was in for a recent service I was lent a lovely late model E36 316i compact (the 1.9 M43 model) and honestly it was more fun. Not as good to look at, to sit in, to start, to hear, or to tell people you own, but honestly more fun to drive.
That combined with the effort and expense of owning a "summer only" car, makes me being to wonder if what I really want a simpler, lighter, more sporting second car. A traditional lightweight sports car?
Is this turning ones back on a childhood hero, or merely achieving a life goal and then moving on? 

1 comment:

J.C-Gillies said...

That's starting to get a bit deep for me... That is the issue with so many desirable cars, particularly ones that we've dreamed of owning for a long tome, we don't really think about or expect the flaws and to an extent they catch us by surprise. I would be inclined to say that you've reached a goal and can move on if you want. Just be sure that you're not going to regret it shortly thereafter.