BMW M5 in Chicago, Illinois

Dear BMW. See note about the X6. Sticking a V10 in a sedan does not a world class sports sedan make. You should really do some market surveys about who's buying your M5's. Hint: not true performance oriented enthusiasts.

Porsche 911 Cabriolet in Evanston, Illinois

Another rant. The 911 is an amazing car. The everyday supercar. Affordable (relatively), fast, clean, and efficient.

So why would you chop off the roof and add more weight to make up for the decreased rigidity? There was a great chassis, and then you crippled it. I know there's a market for this kind of car - 50 year old retired bankers who want to drive automatic transmissions and have the roof open - but do you really have to offer this? Porsche, you have a great motoring heritage. This is a horrible example of how business decisions drive engineering.

This isn't to say that I'm against all convertibles. Small, lightweight cars like the Boxster and MX5 were designed from the onset to be great handling open top roadsters. There's a tradition there, and it's great fun. I'm just saying, don't mess with perfection for the sake of making money.

BMW X6

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. BMW, I know you can build a great engine. I know you can build a great chassis. I know you (pre- and post- Bangle) can sculpt a clean, elegant design. But do you really have to make this abomination?

I'm in love with the lines and the stance. It looks good. It's got presence. It sounds great. But it's so damn heavy. xDrive or not, it's really hard to make up for extra mass. When you need to throw millions into R&D to fix a problem that you created by making something too heavy, you're abusing the skills of your engineers. Let's keep it simple and continue to build some good cars like the 135i.

Subaru WRX STi in Evanston, Illinois

We already saw one of these trying to have some fun, but I thought it'd be better to get a picture where you could actually see the car. Form following function as it should be. But I do have to say, it is possible to get form and function to meld together quite nicely (see Audi R8).

I think it's pretty obvious at this point, but I do have a thing for homologation specials. Nothing like seeing a manufacturer build a car to perform in competitions... and then offering it to the public for use on public roads.

Ferrari F355 Spider in Birmingham, Michigan

Ferrari F355 Spider (1996)
RWD
0-60: 4.7 sec
3.5 L N/A DOHC V8
380 HP @ 8250 RPM
268 lb-ft @ 6000 RPM

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would ever buy a convertible. Add some extra weight (and additional cost as well), sacrifice chassis rigidity and therefore handling, and look like a rich prick at the same time. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

But I'm not surprised to see one in Birmingham, anyway.