Written By Cindy Zipf of the North Star Chapter
Ever since a very generous friend gave me my first Volkswagen Beetle, I've been a fan of German engineering. The easy-to-drive manual transmission of the Beetle, and its simple design, kept me coming back for more—three more to be exact. Today I own Beetle number four, a stock 1975 Special Edition La Grande Bug, which I take to car shows. So far, this little classic has turned countless heads on the road and brought home five trophies!
However, everything in my car world changed a couple years ago when my husband found a nice 5-speed manual 2001 BMW 325Xi for our son. It was a beautiful red color that was truly eye-catching. Before handing it over to our son, we drove it for a couple weeks—kind of a finder's fee, if you will. I took it to work one morning which turned out to be a much bigger deal than I expected. The way that vehicle handled, the amazing way it shifted from one gear to the next, and the smooth ride amazed me. Wow! From that day on, I knew my next German car would be a BMW.
One day, while sitting in traffic, a little black two-seater convertible pulled up next to me. When I saw the BMW logo on the back, I instantly knew that’s the car I wanted. The very next day, I went to a local car dealership and test drove a 2013 Z4. Even though it was March in Minnesota, the weather was sunny and a beautiful 70 degrees. The salesman put the top down and off we went. What a fantastic way to spend a spring afternoon!
The downside: the car had no room in the trunk when you put the top down, and the price wasn't in my budget. I began to shop in earnest for the car that was right for me. Within weeks, my husband and I were flying to California to pick up my first BMW, a Toledo Blue 2003 (E85) Z4 Roadster with the intriguing SMG transmission.
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It was a little scary to buy a car sight unseen, but the seller turned out to be a great guy who had used the Z4 as his daily driver for nine years. When he started up the car to back it out of the garage, I heard the rumble of the engine and it caught my breath. I could hardly believe this handsome little sports car was going to be mine.
My husband and I had one of our best vacations ever driving the roadster from California to Minnesota—visiting friends and family along the way. The Z4 was indeed a high-performance machine on the switch back mountain roads. The only problem was that nine days and 2,000 miles weren't enough.
Five months later, I'm still thrilled with the car. What's not to like? Well, okay, the maintenance can be a little painful. But the 2003 Z4 looks fabulous, full of angles and lines that please the eye. Put the top down and it looks sleek and racy. It has the BMW famous s-m-o-o-o-t-h ride, and glides from one lane to the next effortlessly. It’s a very sensitive and expressive car that tells you when you’re messing up. The car taught me how to drive it! It gets great gas mileage (25/35) and the 225 hp on that light frame can leave all the other cars behind when the light turns green. The SMG lets me drive in automatic when the traffic’s heavy, shift to manual when I want more control of the transmission, or put it in sport mode to pull out on busy roads and go 0–60 really FAST. The soft-top Z4 has a trunk big enough for five full grocery bags or an English saddle and a pair of riding boots—with lots of room to spare!
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I predict this will definitely be a collector car. It’s a first year, first generation Z4 with the premium interior, sports package, and the love-it-or-hate-it experimental SMG transmission. The end of Z4 production in 2016, though sad, is just a bonus for collectors.
I must confess there is one problem with owning a German engineered BMW Z4. When I arrive home after going to work or running errands and pull up to the garage, I feel a significant let down. As all BMW owners know, once you drive one, you just want to keep on driving, and driving, and driving…—Cindy Zipf
If you have some interesting content you'd like to submit for consideration, such as a story, pictures, or video, please e-mail Nate Risch, Roundel Weekly editor, at nrisch@bmwcca.org.
