Will We All Be Driving 2 and 4 Series BMWs?

Reports are surfacing that BMW may be changing their convertible options for the 1 and 3 series cars to be 2 and 4 series vehicles.

You can read more about this breaking news on AutoBlog.

MSN Declares 335is a Top Ten "Need to See" Convertible

"Living up to the company's motto, this folding hardtop is a fantastic package for anyone who wants a BMW with "M" specs but who can't afford it." - MSN article

If you wanted to feel better about your decision to purchase or continue driving what you already have, MSN today made the 335is convertible one of their Ten Best picks. No surprise really since it is the one to beat in the four seat, hard-top convertible segment.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=1183495#5

A Couple New Zealand Reviewers Pit the 335i against a Volvo C70

The Volvo reviewer feels the C70 is enough car for him and for most people. He is probably right. The C70 is a nice car but it doesn't match the sophisticated driving dynamics of the 335i.

What's interesting is the comparison of "the boots" (trunks) of the two vehicles. I thought BMW's was bad, the Volvo requires the top to be lifted back up to get underneath the space below the folded top. At least Volvo has a button that's easily accessible in the trunk to make this simple, but still it shows an interesting difference I had not seen in other reviews of the Volvo C70.

Not a lot new here, but an interesting perspective on two competitors in the hardtop convertible market.

MotorTrend Bores Us All with a Tease

Okay you may just want to skip this post. I was really hoping MotorTrend was going to race the BMW 335i convertible against the Infiniti G37, Lexus ISC 350, and Audi S5 but instead this is just a lame race to see whose top folds down fastest.

Even more boring, it is the Audi because guess why? It's a soft-top and the other three are hard-tops. The Lexus wins that pointless contest, but really who cares about this. Why didn't MotorTrend show us a top-down drag race? Now that would've been worth writing about (oops, I still wrote something...) more.

Is This Too Much of an Exhaust Note for a BMW?

One of the best parts of making the car you have "yours"is the research in finding what performance and cosmetic modifications make sense to your car and your taste. Choosing a pedal set or a front lip is pretty simple stuff. Deciding which exhaust upgrade to buy is the most complex of all, in my opinion. Sound, look, cost, and performance gains all go into one of the most cosmetic performance upgrades you can do to your convertible. Most performance changes you can see when you pop the hood, exhausts can beautify and increase your horsepower gains.

After spending a little time in my friend's new 2008 E93 M3 and hearing how amazing the quad exhaust of the M3 is, I decided to spend some time researching exhausts. I had narrowed down my choices to two: Active Autowerks and BMW Performance. I thought for sure I'd order one of these in the coming month that was until I heard the Eisenmann quad RACE exhaust and how amazing a quad exhaust looks on an E93.

Of course, going with a quad exhaust requires some other cosmetic changes to the rear end of the car. The best look I could find is using the 92/e93 OEM M-Technik Rear Bumper with a carbon fiber rear diffuser. An example can be seen on the E93 at right; though, not with quad exhausts. The M-Technik gives the rear a clean look in my opinion, add quad exhausts and you'll have a very sweet custom change to your E93. Non of this is cheap when you add the $2,300 for the quad exhaust and about $1,800 for the M-Technik parts.

For those interested in a less dramatic and less costly change, the BMW Performance exhaust is getting some great reviews on E90Post.com and you can pickup this exhaust for about $1,500 and it is a simple bolt-on installation.