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Wow. While I agree somewhat with the OP, here's my take FWIW. I just got back from my BMW dealership where I dropped off my 135. It's going to a new owner while I await my 2011 (March) M3 which I've dreamt about owning for 20 years. It's finally going to happen. The 135 was a "fair weather" car because of the crap weather here and it just would have sat in the garage until the end of March anyways. It was a smart $$ move to switch the lease to someone else who'd use it. I had the 135 for the past 19 months and I LOVED it. The best BMW I've ever owned and always brought a smile to my face. The power and everything about it was intoxicating - and this from their most "affordable" car. So I'll miss it. If all turbo or supercharged engines worked like this one, the auto world would be a better place.
But, and this is a big but, as I've been test driving various iterations of the the M3 this year, deciding on such things as M/T or DCT, 18 or 19" rims, it occurred to the seat of my pants that this generation of M3 was exactly what I needed to replace the 1er. While I smiled in the 1, I laughed in the M3. So no regrets (well sort of, wish I could have afforded to keep the 1er and the upcoming M but I can't). To each their own.
Could I have waited for the '12/'13 M3 with probably 575-600 hp and loads of torque? Yes, I've got alternate transportation and for that matter, could have kept the 1er. Is the N/A V8 one of the best motors in the world (for the price) and is it attached to one of, if not THE, best cars in the world? I think so. So the current M3 it is. And it'll be a VERY LONG 4 months before I get it but worth the wait because, as the OP implies, it'll be the last of a dying breed...and a damn great one at that.
Mark
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