Automotive Business Talk

Jeff Strickland · Guest

I pulled up next to an M5 today at a light. Normally I like M cars of any
flavor, but this one was butt ugly. And noisy.

The owner had put a set of micky rims on it, and he replaced the exhaust
system so it sounded like a hopped up rice burner. And, the car was a new
one. I don't know which E it was, but if it were an M3, it would be the E90.
I suppose the M5 is an E60, but I'm not sure. I guess the micky rims might
have been okay if the exhaust was not so ... Japanese, and amateur street
racer.

In any case, my wife was not impressed either. We could hear the exhaust
note as the guy pulled into a parking lot a full half-block ahead of us. He
drove the car pretty much at red line -- or it sounded that way -- and
downshifted as soon as the motor started to sound normal. The guy that got
out of the car was my age, God, I hope he was driving his kid's car. On the
other hand, if my kid did that to a car, I'd have to take it away.

On the Cool Scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is the most cool), the car was
definitely a 2, but I can't remember ever seeing a 1. Oh well, some people
have far more money than sense.