Greetings to the M Community!!!
This past Monday and Tuesday, I went down to the Performance Center for the first time. I have been working for BMW for 9 years and I can certainly say it was worth the wait.
As of Tuesday, I am officially a BMW M Certified Sales Consultant!
I know Ryan and Jimmy (Golffer) had their trip in January. I was suppose to attend the same time they did but I came down with the flu the night before.
The day consisted of class room training but the most important thing was...track time!
The morning started off by the drivers giving us some hot laps in the X6 M and..... (I will let you wait until the end for the other vehicle)
We then proceed to the wet track where we took E92/E90 M3's and took the DSC off and raced around to see who could not spin the tires and win. I think I want to wet down the street and practice! HAHA
The most fun was the 1M Rat Race. Cones were set up around the track and it was timed to see how fast this could get done. My best time was 24.90. The 1M is the most enjoyable car I have ever driven.
The day wrapped up with the drivers having us "drive the cars as hard and fast as we can" around the track. The cars were X5M/X6M, M3 Coupe/Sedan, CTS V, and MB C63 Coupe. Now where are my thoughts on the cars:
M3 Sedan/Coupe - I have a new appreciation for the cars I own and sell. This was by FAR the best car out of the bunch to drive. The car felt normal and controllable around the track. No matter how hard I pushed it; the car knew where it wanted to go.
X5M - Amazingly impressed with this. The X5 took turns extremely well and was well balanced. I prefer this over the X6.
X6M - I liked the cockpit of the this because it felt like a space ship however I liked the X5M better.
CTS-V - This car is something I would like to call a SLV - Straight Line Vehicle!!!! As soon as you take the car into a corner; she's all over the place. Also the brakes did not seem strong enough for the car. I felt as if I had to put my foot to the floor to get the most "bite" out of the brakes.
C63 AMG - Sounds AWESOME for a car with a stock exhaust and the reason is one word...Eisenmann. Some of you may not know but Eisenmann makes the exhaust for AMG cars. Andrew@IND can help make your M3 sound like that! LOL The car has a very nice interior and the CF was a nice touch. The MSRP of the car was around $76,500!!!! Here are my qualms with the car. First the seats! These seats are designed for someone that weighs 150 pounds, not 200 +. They are tight and on a long drive are uncomfortable. I thought the ride was firmer then my ZCP M3. I didn't like the look of the AMG simply because it looked much like a C Coupe. A rear diff was a $2,250 option and the same price for CF Interior trim, ouch!
I am very partial to BMW but I do respect and admire the competition. I like to say, what they do well BMW does brilliantly. I recommend the BMW M Driving School to everyone. This is something that I will be looking into. I will post up a video of a "hot lap" in an E60 M5 I went up for a ride in.
Now for the suprise. My class was the first class to get driven in the new 2012 F10 M5!!!!!!!!
We did a few laps around the test track and of course; I have some video!!!!!!!!!! I will let you watch to see the speed/gear we were in. This car is something that is not to mess with. The power, sound, balance, shifting, all show what massive improvements have been made!
I know can honestly say the Performance Center is the best way to take delivery of your BMW. The show that BMW puts on is subpar to none! I recommend everyone to go and see what the "show" is all about!
Here's photos of the F10 M5 showing up at the Performance Center,
taken by Palbay, most likely headed for
One Lap of America as previously announced.
