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the main point is, if you had to flip heads/tails... and one of you got to drive the '04 545i from Wellington to Auckland, and the other drove the '04 SS Commode, you'd both arrive at pretty much the same time, and feeling about as relaxed as each other. The SS is still a great trip car.

I s'pose it must be 10 years ago now, but one of the motoring TV magazines did a comparison between the BMW M5, Holden Monaro and... Something else. This sort of comparison was popular at the time, featuring one or another of the GM group cars, often badged as a Vauxhall, eg VXR8. (Other cars that featured in these test were the Jaguar S-Type, whatever the contemporary hipo Cadillac was, and so on. The summary, when compared to the GM car? The M5 was typically the better car. But so it should have been given the substantial difference in price. More than one review reported that spending the difference in purchase price on the Vauxhall/Holden would probably see a very different outcome, certainly in performance terms. For an everyday car - the M5. It is 'the package'. If you want to tune it to do silly things... Is there a limit to the power that has been made from a GM small block? These days, a s/h M5 is a bargain. The perceived complexity marks it down, while the national pride and greater simplicity of the Holden means prices are holding up well. A Monaro in NZ costs quite a lot more than a Monaro in the UK at present.

Have my wife's E46 for sale. $2800 for bimmersporters. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1265817281 Auto sedan, well looked after. I've had it for over 2 years, and replaced: -Radiator, -Thermostat -New shocks all round -Front lower control arms -Oil filter housing gasket -AC leak fixed and regassed -Transmission fluid and filter replaced. Basically everything that needs replacing in a 200,000km+ E46 Has a small dent on the rear guard

Damn Just not good. Another classic bites the dust.

No it seems now we get some POS ute with wrecking balls tied to the bumpers on a merry go round!! Health and safety is ruining everything!

Or one of those "I know what I've got" sellers?

Hi Olaf, replaced with Munroe ones. Bump

Took the alternators off the race car S14B20 and the convertible M20B25 to compare the weights... S14B20 - 6.7kgs, M20B20 spare engine - 6.7kgs, M20B25 - 5.9kgs So will be swapping the B25 alternator into the race car, weighs .8kgs less and is solid mounted, no rubber bushes which the S14B20 one has, so that is also a bonus. You know you are getting serious about weight reduction when you are weighing alternators to find the lightest one...LOL.

People at Mexico City airport used to look at me funny when I'd be picking up tyres off of the luggage carousel along with my luggage. "but you can buy tyres here in Mexico, sir". "Indeed yes, but not Pirelli P600 in 205/55 R14 you can't" Thanks to VW and their odd sizes (1988 Golf GTi 16v - it was the P600 or a Yokohama and that was it!).