Tach...kinda cheesy....and othe robservations

[boostmiser]

Checked out an M3 today. Two on the lot, one sedan, one coupe. No markups on either. The sedan was a 6-speed in jerez black with black interior, carbon trim and Nav. A bit dark inside but still very nice looking inside and out. The steering wheel diameter is a bit smaller than on my M5. Nice feel to it. Seats were firm and supportive. It was still a bit more narrow than my M5, but not obnoxiously. Kid fit in the back ok, they seemed happy with the room. I'll got back another time to drive it.
Here are a few little, I mean little, things vs. my M5.
First, what's up with the cheesy tach on the M3? The sequential red line looked like a paper disk wheel. Why couldn't they throw a few led's in there? I like the rear lights on the C-pillar vs. right in the middle of the roof. I like the homelink in the center front of the roof more than on the rear view mirror. I think the speaker grills looked a bit cheesy too. Reminds me of Momo speaker grills. iDrive takes some time to get used to, no suede headliner, no biggie. I could get used to this car. But optioned at 60K, well, that's a bit steep.

[rvacha]

Originally Posted by boostmiser

First, what's up with the cheesy tach on the M3? The sequential red line looked like a paper disk wheel. Why couldn't they throw a few led's in there?

I personally like the new variable redline disk. I have the LEDs in my M5 and while they are OK, I really like the new look a lot more. At night the disk really looks great, the LEDs look ho-hum and are not well balanced brightness-wise. Just my $0.02

[chicagobimmerboy]

the gauges are modern and simple. to be honest they only relay information, I dont think styling them is quite important compaired to their lay-out