Editors' Favorites Number Two: 2009 BMW M3

Tomorrows car is an Audi

I'm calling it... #1 - FORD EDGE!

I don't care anymore.

brn - what the heck?

For that damned lemon of a Nissan to be in the top 5 over the G8 is awful. I blame Donna for loading the ballot box.

The #1 favorite has got to be either the Audi R8 or Audi S5.

I can't fathom which car they'll R8 number 1...

i bet number one will be a gr8 choice.

I wonder if they're done delibR8ting the number one pick. :)

4 for 4, and I think I'll be 4 for 5 after tomorrow. .800 ain't bad, though. :)

I missed this one, I thought the 135i would be here. The R8 should be #1. I don't doubt this car is a nice driver, but I think a M3 should have 6 cylinders.

Ford GT. I called it.

The R8 is a generic car with as much personality as the 135i. The Ford GT is a legend.

Also, this M3 is a pathetic vehicle. Should be number two on the losers list.

#1 will be the GT40

The greatest flop will either be the Smart ForTwo for... well being a Smart car or it could be the Focus for that cardinal Inside line sin... doing was it was designed to be and not gloating about it.

"#1 will be the GT40"

GT40 is the original car from the '60's... the Edmunds LT car (i.e. Karl Brauer's personal car) was a GT.

@felonious... lol

I was really hoping this was gonna be more than a "fast BMWs and exotics and one family car thrown in for fun" list. Common guys, you've had way more interesting cars that have stirred up more emotions than this.

I bet on the Audi R8 for the # 1 spot.

I'll bet the M3 might have been editor's favorite #1 if it wasn't alpine white...

to MikeOlean:

The M3 is so awful because we know that the overweight, sloppy steering, crappy braking, and playskool plastic interior Dodge Challenger is a MUCH better overall car.

@thedream21479

Don't forget the M3's sloppy assembly, boring engine, and the fact like most M3's it'll be a 'parts car' within a decade. BMW's are sad excuses for automobiles, and although the Challenger is in a different class it accomplishes its mission far better than the M3 accomplishes its.

3 for 4.
Mikeolan, please pass the dutchie by the left-hand side. Because if the M3's motor is "boring," you are obviously smoking something. "Sloppy assembly," "sad excuses for automobiles" and "parts car"? Wow. As much as I'm a fan, you're simply a hater with no basis in reality. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but when that opinion is baseless, it has no meaning.

"Wow. As much as I'm a fan, you're simply a hater with no basis in reality. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but when that opinion is baseless, it has no meaning."

Exactly. Although a true Chrysler fan almost certainly would know a lot about "parts cars"...

yawn - the M3 is whatever. I agree with brn - I just don't care anymore - that and I'm starting to distrust the editors due to the BMW excess.

@Sgude : It's not baseless- I've driven the current gen M3 and was a fan of the E46. It is a boring V8 engine with absolutely no redeeming quality to it- just about every engine you can buy in that price range (or in some cases, half... e.g. the Challenger) has much more character, not to mention precision, technology, and actual engineering prowess. BMW V8's are like Honda V6's- not horrible engines, but all you can wonder is why they even bothered given their excellence in other departments.

Chrysler's just an easy litmus test, because despite having a horrible reputation lately they built a $40,000.00 car with a better engine, shifter, interior, and seats. For the real competition (CTS-V) , it's not even close. I'm willing to guess anyone who says that's baseless has likely driven one, looked at pictures of the other, or likely doesn't have their license yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Number one will be the Ferrari 308... if it were up to me anyhow.

"the winner (?) of our Biggest Long-Term Loser vote"

For this I would guess the Focus. Many would say the Smart but no one expected the Smart to be a great American car. The 1st gen Focus was an excellent car in it's price class and the the Euro version is the top of it's class. IL's long term Focus is such a disappointment it has to be the biggest loser. Ford made it mediocre on purpose when it should have been great.

"Number one will be the Ferrari 308... if it were up to me anyhow."

I could see that, the 308 had undeniable character lacking from most of the LT fleet.

""the winner (?) of our Biggest Long-Term Loser vote"

For this I would guess the Focus. Many would say the Smart but no one expected the Smart to be a great American car. The 1st gen Focus was an excellent car in it's price class and the the Euro version is the top of it's class. IL's long term Focus is such a disappointment it has to be the biggest loser. Ford made it mediocre on purpose when it should have been great."

The worst part is the original Focus was a great car. Wonderful to drive. I would have ranked it at the very top of the class when it came out. Then in its subsequent warming-overs Ford watered it down and made it lame. A shame, really. I hope the redesign fixes the wrongs and puts the Focus on top again.

So someone who doesn't like the M3 is a troll? I'm sorry, but while I don't hate this car, it doesn't do much for me either, at least not nearly as much as their 2002 model did.

mikeolan says: Also, this M3 is a pathetic vehicle. Should be number two on the losers list.

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Consider this.

Why do nearly all the reviews major automobile magazines (at least in English print - US, UK, AU, Canada) like or love the M3?

A conspiracy perhaps?

They're all taking stupid pills?

Actually, the problem is not with the car.

It's with you.

Idiosyncratic ideas that fly in the face of commonly held one's are sometimes revolutionary. But usually they're just delusions, and sometimes a sign of schizophrenia.

@Pathos:

A lot of car magazines tend to rank around a certain car. A good example is the Honda Accord- Car and Driver has lavished much praise on a car with a less-than-great transmission, noisy ride, numb handling, numb steering, barge-like handling, messy interior, etc. But because it FEELS like a Honda Accord (which 7 years ago I'd argue was the best car in its class) , cars that operate differently (even if better) are considered worse. Maybe good enough for a 2nd place finish. But is the Honda Accord the best car in its class? Absolutely not.

Car Magazines operate the same way much of the time. How should a good car act? Like a BMW 3 Series of course! So we've got the Audi (an AWD 3 series), the Infiniti (Japanese 3 series) Cadillac (The larger American 3 series) , etc. The 3 series may now be saddled with a budget-grade interior, questionable styling, and may be a pretty mediocre car nowadays but nobody can build a BMW that's more BMW than BMW.

Excellent car without a doubt. However I believe the E46 M3 and all previous 3 Series cars had a lot of character and I think that is distinctly missing from the current generation in a way. Not to say they aren't great cars and great drivers...but they're missing something in a way that I can't place.

Either way...really looking forward to seeing what BMW does with the next generation 3 Series and especially with that Twin-Turbo M3 they're bringing out.

MikeOlean- I do agree that the E46 is the more pure M3. I own a 2004 M3 and love it. I wouldn't replace it with the new one. In fact I didn't. I bought a CLK63 Black Series for not much more than the price of the new M3.

My issue with the car wasn't the motor. I loved the high-strung V8. Remember, the V8 is basically the M5 V-10 with 2 cylinders lopped off. Not only that, but the V8 is around 30 pounds lighter than the straight-six in the E46 M3. So the V8 is more powerful, lighter, and more fuel efficient than the S54- where's the downside? I just thought the E92 M3 lost some of the frenetic character that I love in my E46, plus I just don't think the E92 M3 looks as aggressive as the E46.

Ford Gt - Numero Uno.....and deservedly so.

" I'm willing to guess anyone who says that's baseless has likely driven one, looked at pictures of the other, or likely doesn't have their license yet."

Mikeolan, in my case, this does not apply. The Challenger is a great car and I loved my drive/ride in it. However, it is not comparable to the M3. The M3 will leave the Challenger for dead on a track and gives its driver far more feedback on public roads than the Challenger. I like the Challenger; I love the M3.

The Challenger works for you and that's great. Just stop with the ridiculousness about the M3, though. As for however you came up with "better engine, shifter, interior, and seats," well, that's your opinion. Despite the fact no one, from car magazines to other car enthusiasts who prowl this site, agrees with you, it's your opinion and I for one am proud that you choose to fly in the face of conventional wisdom.

I can totally understand this choice, editors piss and moan, but in the end, they like a car that goes fast. This car had the bad leather, but that was about it. Editors like everything else about it.