So this happened:
My new ride
Frankly, I’ve been tempted by BMW ever since I spent a few days driving a 325 while visiting with my folks a couple of years back. But it took this long to execute on the temptation. The Prius was such a sane, safe choice: great gas mileage, some fun bits of technology built in, and … great gas mileage. But while it is only three years old, it was starting to get rattly and junky – primarily plastic things on the interior failing. The driver’s seat starting to come apart. Stuff like that. And frankly, it’s not a fun car to drive.
The ’12 BMW 328i seems to be pretty good on the mileage front (nowhere near the Prius, but I’m gunning for high 20’s/low 30’s), it’s a solidly Munich-built F30 sedan with the Premium package. Marcia thinks it’s boring because it’s white, but I like white because it’s understated, it doesn’t look dirty 10 minutes after washing the way a dark color does, and better visibility – other drivers can see me better.
I got the model with the premium package for but one reason: The way the seat cushions sat in the shell of the manual seats was immediately uncomfortable and painful for me to sit in, digging into my left thigh. Probably just an interaction between me, my height and weight, and that particular seat design. The same model year car with the power seats was comfortable. And to the eye, they looked identical in the areas that bothered me. Weird. Still, didn’t pay for navigation. There’s bluetooth integration for the phone (but to use the iPod features of the phone, I have to plug in).
The car is seriously fun to drive, even sedately. Marcia drove it home from the restaurant the other night, and she enjoys the car, too. She thinks it’s a very grown-up car for us to have. Oh, yeah … and I have a sunroof again. What will I miss from the Prius? The gas consumption, surely, and the backup camera.
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In other news, I get to keep my job. Yeah, also understated. I just had my annual review, and the company seems pleased with my continued dedication to and quality of work. It’s nice that I got a little bump in the paycheck, but as I told Russ, it’s really all about the facts that I enjoy my work and the people that I work with immensely. And that’s what it’s really all about, folks.
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In other, other news, class starts tomorrow. All things being equal, unless I screw something up or the school’s computer systems go insane and decide I need more classes: I’ll be finished on 16 December, and graduating with a 4.0 (at least as far as all the classes I’ve taken since I started at UMUC in 2008 are concerned). Hooraw! Wish me luck.
