I went for "Drive for a cure" yesterday and all of you MUST MUST MUST attend!!! The goal is to raise money for breast cancer research. You choose a vehicle, take it for a drive and BMW will donate $1 per mile to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I felt like it was a dream! It was more fun than I've had all year. I had a headache by the end of the day from my sustained raised blood pressure. It was a dream come true; 10 BMWs, got some cancer education and an oppurtunity to donate, talked to our mayor for a bit, even got free food! I could do this for days on end! I drove the new 3 series, a E46 330ci convertible, 6 series convertible, a 545i, 750Li (facelifted), a Z4 3.0, an X5 4.4 and a X3....All on a 15 mile course at speeds not legal to mention (I'm a careful driver wary of family drivers and cops). There was no excessive lines and no passenger salesman yapping and no sales pitch but what genius; The whole thing is for breast cancer research and they have a guaranteed in love customer for life! I was surprised by my end tally on the best cars. Here's how I rated them (on all factors but mostly "fun to drive" :

1. 545i (Near faultless. brutal speed...an M5 goes faster!?!? )
2. 750Li (Hate I-drive and gear-shift lever!! Felt a little "old-man" but 100% luxury effortless stressfree, quiet, superfast, best suspension bar any car )
3. 6-series convertible (Not too about front-end styling and this car is overpriced but love that exhaust sound! Nothing like a German V8 with dual exhaust. Solid, sexy car. Turns heads. Great torque )
4. Z4 (Underpowered, little harsher suspension but OK. Pure BMW handling, tracks like a go-kart, cuts like a knife, awesome exhaust boom at 1500-2500 rpm )
5. E46 330ci convertible (Has notable cowl shake, but has got that beautiful exhaust note again...cheaper than others with top-down motoring )
6. 2006 325i- Improved over the E46 but by not much. Rear end styling is Jappyuck. Car definitely needs low end power. Only comes alive past 4500 rpm. Car handles perfect. Brakes can't get better .
7. X5 4.4 - Most dated design of all the vehicles. Driven the 3.0 before and this has much more power. Handles great at high speed and dosen't feel top-heavy like other SUVs. I'd take this over an ML any day, but I'd take a Cayenne over an X5
8. X3 3.0 - Well made up to BMW standards but (yawn!) almost fell asleep driving it. Basic vehicle, gets the job done. Has adequate power, OK handling and braking and space....but with that it'll trump the competition in it's segment.

So there you have it. They remain legendary cars with an edge only others wish they could emulate. If only I could forgive the interior/exterior styling I'd swear by them and only buy BMW. (Mercedes has the edge on styling nowadays.) But when it comes to performance, handling and fun to drive, nothing can touch em .