Phil-540i

Lols - that could be the biggest statement you've made where I've agreed with all of it Ron.......... Yes, 'spike in steering wheel' concept is a bit rough, but hey, teaches 'self preservation' through own actions as a driver, & teaches 'defensive' as well, in terms of keeping a bit of a focus on what the other stuff around ya is doing......... Yes, our road toll is down, which is a good thing, no argument from me there. BUT, as you've pointed out, & its seldom noted or referred to, whats our crash rate / serious injury statistics like?? ACC stats consistently show the 'cost' of crashes has risen over the years, because the bonus of airbags, crush zones etc, sees more people surviving crashes than wouldn't have been the case say a decade ago.............

I'm just putting another perspective on it - you're right in that generally in NZ, people think a year 2000 car is 'modern'. It would probably amaze you though in the amount of drivers we have, that can't even identify if the vehicle they are driving is equipped with ABS, & what the purpose of ABS actually is........... So the newer technology from that as a 'basic', they really have no understanding of IMO........ Its like with - how often do we see vehicles go into a corner too hot, because some distracted muppet 'forgot' they were on cruise control..............?? IMO, for too long in NZ it has been promoted that if you don't 'speed', don't drink & drive, & have a modern vehicle that crash tests well, & that is equipped with all the 'safety features', then all will be ok for you as a driver...... Part of the problem now is we have sober non-speeding drivers (say at 99kph for arguments sake), driving to the 'speedo', rather than the conditions they are seeing out the windscreen, thinking that if they hit something (or are hit), all will be fine because their 'safe car' will protect them, where reality is seldom that..... The younger generation coming through, getting licences now - we have tried to protect them from being hurt, from learning things the 'hard way' like we did. They have grown up on Playstations etc, where if something goes wrong on 'Need for Speed', you just hit the restart button. Reality is we have thus created an artificial synthetic environment as such, because in 'real life', its not like that - when their XXXXXX (rice rocket) goes sideways in the wet, theres no 'reset' button, & all too often, it just becomes 'Game Over' for them..........much like on the games its ok to 'out-run' Police, & achievable - not in 'real world' though. Know your vehicle. Have great driving skills. Consistantly make great decisions while driving, & focus 100% on the driving of the vehicle - not in-cab distractions. Drive assertively, & defensively. Drive to the conditions. Drive to survive..... IMO, that's the stuff that counts a bit more than whether the vehicle has ETC / TC etc or not............

"It looks funny" - gotta be the understatement of the year.................................!!!!!!!!!!!! Suppose if nothing else they certainly don't look 'beige / bland'........

Ahhh no, cos once any of those queer little lights on the dash glow continuously, warning you as a driver that theres a 'fault within a electronic system', the vehicle is then only to be driven at low speed (or flat-bedded') back to the dealership............ Imagine a world then, with no electronic 'safety' devices in any vehicle. Imagine no seatbelts. We've now got no airbags. Imagine if you had to spend the first 2 years getting a drivers licence, riding a motor-bike. Imagine a 6 inch spike in the middle of your steering wheel. Imagine that instead of being told 'how safe' your car is, Government & NZTA actually spent a bit of time telling ya they're actually fairly dangerous things to operate...........Imagine the cyclist that you've just cut up / cut off etc, having a gun.......... Thinking about all that, how much 'better' a driver would you instantly become?? How much more defensive would your actions be with your own driving?? How much better would the chances be of your 'getting home' after driving........???

'Free pass for bad drivers' - exactly!! Poor drivers, with a lack of skills that then make poor judgements..........and no amount of electronic bullshit installed in any vehicle is ever going to compensate for that IMO............ That's part of the reason that people then can't make the distinction that maybe some P.O.S Hyundai, aint gonna handle conditions the same as what their 'normal' vehicle probably would............

Sounds expensive exercise already - cheaper to just buy the Camero or whatever, use it as a weekend car, & keep 3 vehicles, the Mazda & 540 as daily drivers, haha!! It'd be a shame to see your 540 sold / broken up for bits to transform a wagon I reckon, after all the work you've put into it........

Gee Westy - imagine it though if Labour & Uncle Clarke were still running the show........... I think its a great move - brings us into line with Aussie, & its not really gonna affect people that don't make a habit out of it anyway........it'll potentially bite those that get a few speeding tickets too though, or demerits for other offences.......... Remember that it takes 2 years from offence date, before demerit points fall off your licence.......& once you reach 100 points within 2 years, you're then a walker for either 3, or 6 months.......

True that Glenn..........sometimes we tend to get hooked up on whats really 'small stuff' in perspective - I agree re the smoking (& I'm still a smoker at the mo...........). IMO, prostrate cancer & youth suicide in NZ are other areas that seriously need looked at as well..............too many people are being taken outa the game too early on both counts...........

Good move. Nice to see they've finally had the balls to do it.

Quite nice really, specially given its had the problem of being a 318 'fixed'.........

Generally he's fairly much hated by any-one that's had anything to do with any vehicle that isn't a Corolla, or those that haven't got 'hair-dresser' as a profession..........(bit like what Gareth Morgan is to the finance / banking industry at times IMO - both seem to love publicity anyway). Like, we're talking about some-one here that, as a 'bright idea, in the realms of safety' apparently retrofitted airbags to his Morris Oxford years ago....... Whereas me, in order to make the world a better, safer place, woulda stuck a rag in the fuel filler, lit it, & then roasted marshmellows on the P.O.S.......... Kiwibiker forum, had a guy there referring to CMW as '2 fathers', which cracked me up.......

Pics?? Location??

^^^^^ True that............and nicely put really. CMW & his boyfriend probably have a detuned Prius as their family car..........

Sounds good - don't forget to let us know how ya get on too ae. And I dunno, ya could always start a shrowroom thread, chuck up some pics of the beast & tell us a bit more bout it, & yourself......

IMO, this guy is consistently a muppet given the crap he comes out with. The bit I find amazing is how the media runs to him like he's the 'guru of car knowledge'........... I can't stand him - he's an oxygen thief with no credibility as far as I'm concerned........ ESC is a curse in lots of situations, particularly with commercial / 4WD vehicles. You can chuck all the electronic crap ya like in any vehicle, but theres never any substitute IMO for a competent skilled alert driver that consistently makes great decisions while driving..... ESC etc kicking in, is when the vehicle itself is telling you 'You've exceeding your skill limits as a driver, you're too stupid to be doing this, & I'm now taking over to try to save your a$$'. Part of the trouble with the new electronic advancements / enhancements is that people are now 'relying' on it, forgetting that the normal laws of physics involving momentum, inertia, & gravity still apply......

Matt - you really should give up your life, get your $hit together, & put this gorgeous car back on the road again ASAP......................

Dunno - your local garage reckons its fine & no-one here knows anything (as its obviously nothing like a diff-mount or anything that it would normally be), so I'd just be putting it down as a special sorta 318 thing really & just drive it...... It'll fix itself & get better, just like the oil-leak that we've already been down the same sorta road with ya a while back....... All 318's do what yours does....they're 'special'........

Primo find, especially given 'friends have had since new', & early build, without the rear doors......... Nice!!

Hmmm - I don't think so. You're probably being a bit rough there though IMO......... And your speel checka is brokered.......

Within that link, it seems to not be so much about the difference in the 'driving' of them, more the difference in the 'owning' between the E39 & its later reincarnations.....(hope that makes some sort of sense...???) Certainly some great reading there IMO......

As above, wanting a 4 door E36 drivers door 'door card' - anyone wrecking one in Christchurch..........??? Also looking for SRS reset tool for it too.............. Cheers.

Any members got a scanner, or know of some-one reasonably priced in Christchurch area??? My son has brought a 'treasure' that needs SRS light reset in order to get WOF.......he thinks fault was seat belt wiring unplugged when he brought it..... He's happy to pay.............. (hopefully NOT via my pocket....) Also been WOF rejected for no driver's door 'door-card', so after one of those too for a 4 door...........(E36 318..........) Cheers............

Certainly some of the ones within that M5 link have done big mileages (4-500,000km), without anything more than 'normal' maintance that would be required of anything else doing those huge kms, IMO. Theres the odd one that's done rod bearings in there, but on a whole, they seem to come across as being fairly bullet-proof really for something that's really a high end, high performance car. Imagine trying to run up those mileages in a Ferrari or a Porsche.............and what the $$$$ costs would be to keep that going..... I'd have no problem with the thought of owning one anyway. A lot of it has to do with doing the routine periodic maintance when its required (before not doing so creates problems), & do all the normal 'good stuff' like not thrashing the snot outa them when they're cold, use good quality lubricants, etc etc. A common theme seems to be those that have brought later model M5's, don't seem to think they're as good a car as what the E39 M5 was, which I found interesting.

Awesome. You'll be looking forward to actually getting to drive it for a bit now............

5 x E30's yesterday at various stages, during a transport stage of Targa, between MT Stewart & Bulls - some primo looking cars!! Was also some other BMW's in amongst it......I was heading in the other direction & the 30's certainly stood out.