Test drove a new 330i at Crevier BMW today! They had two 330s, a Silver 6-speed w/ Sport Package on the showroom floor and a Sparkling Graphite Automatic, non-sport one used for demo drives. Here are my thoughts:

- Sparkling Graphite - This is the first time that I've seen it in the daylight and was not wowed. To me, it has a slight brown tint to it. It might look a lot better w/ the Terra interior. It still looks good, but it looked a lot better in the showroom in Amsterdam under the lights. I think that this color photographs better than others. I can learn to love it!

- Titanium Silver - WOW - THIS LOOKS AMAZING on the E90. This is the color that really shows off the new body - I wish that I had ordered this color...

- Natural Poplar wood - Looks awesome! I'm glad that I got this now. It's much darker than any other Poplar in any other BMW that I've ever seen. Compared to the Burl Walnut, it has a definite brown hue and should look great w/ the Terra leather. I'd recommend that anyone getting the beige leather definitely get the Poplar wood.

- Minor details: Compared to the cars that I saw in Amsterdam last month, the US Spec cars were missing a lot of little interior upgrades. Missing were the rear outlet plugs, the outlet plug in the trunk, the split/sliding armrest (like in the E60), and the trunk organizer drawer. Out of all those the upgrades, the sliding armrest would've been nice.

The car is phenomenal driver - much better than the last E46 330i ZHP that I drove. The sport package seats are awesome. Much better support than the E46 SP seats. The SP steering wheel is nice and fat and feels great in your hands - reminds me of the M3 wheel. Brakes were incredible. Can't wait to get behind the wheel of my very own E90!

3 days until wheels up and 7 days until pick up in Munich!

Full payment was made to BMW of Arlington today, 30 days prior to Munich pick-up, as required by BMWNA.

My buddy Tony attended the 3 Across America event tonight in the DC area. He got to see the car up close and took some good photos.


Check out the new "puddle lights" on the bottom of the door handles. Very Kewl!

I got confirmation that my car finished assembly today and passed its final inspection at the factory...The next four weeks will be the longest!

Our tentative itinerary is coming together:

4/30: Fly to Munich
5/1-/5/2: Tour around Munich
5/3: Drive to Stuttgart, Porsche Factory Tour AM
5/3: Drive back to Munich, BMW Plant Tour PM
5/4: Pickup Cars and drive to Southern Bavaria
5/5: Tour Bavaria
5/6: Head to Nürburgring
5/7: 24 Hours of Nürburgring Race
5/9: Drop off in Frankfurt and take train to Amsterdam
5/12: Fly home

I saw my first ever E90 Today! While in Amsterdam, I stopped by the BMW dealership and got to see 3 different new 3-Series. Wow! The car looks even better in person than in any of the official photos or magazines.

I posted a write-up and many pics of what I saw here: http://members.cox.net/e90


Here's Sparkling Graphite!

Within the past week, two friends have decided not only to join me on this trip but to also get new 330i's for themselves! Both Tony and Amit were confirmed for picking up their cars on the same day as me. They both ordered their cars from Valencia BMW. Here are their specs:

Tony: Monaco Blue, Terra, Steptronic, Sport, Premium, Heated Seats
Amit: Sparkling Graphite, Grey, Steptronic, Sport, Premium, Cold Weather

Received confirmation from both BMW and Porsche that Factory Tour requests were confirmed. BMW stopped tours of the Munich plant in mid-December until April, 2005 due to the new E90 model changeover. They have also revised the Munich Plant tour schedule and the tours are now at 6:00 pm on Tuesdays or Thursdays.