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I test-drove a 2000 BMW 328i 4-door sedan this week, equipped with the sport package, bigger wheels, tighter suspension, and more. The 193HP 328i was retired in 2001 when the 325 and 330 were introduced with different inline 6-cylinder engines (the 330 getting more HP and torque). On paper the 328i sits between the 325 and 330s of the early 2000s (the E46). Exterior and interior styling was essentially the same compared with a friend’s 2005 325i. The car still has the throaty 6-cylinder growl and the great steering/cornering as a result of the nearly 50/50 weight distribution and RWD. The 3-series still manages (pre-2008 EPA estimate) 21/29 MPG, better than some four cylinder cars.

A couple days later I drove a 2001 Lexus IS300, automatic with the manual shifting via buttons on the steering wheel. Apparently a manual transmission was available in the US starting with the 2002 model. I’ve always liked the looks of the IS, and “people say” that the engine will “run forever” (200-300k miles) while being less expensive to maintain (compared with cars in the segment). The IS felt a bit cramped on the inside to me though, feeling considerably smaller than a 3-series (which is a smallish car by US standards), and somewhat uncomfortable in terms of places to rest my arms while driving. Lexus cars are pretty expensive, even in the used market, with lower depreciation than competitors. This particular IS (from a private seller) was a very nicely-maintained black on black model, that even had a couple more years of extended warranty covering it. In general I wasn’t very impressed with power output from the IS300.  Performance felt more refined to me, comparable to a Acura TSX for example, but not really as a competitor to a BMW 328 or 330 (though priced similarly). I personally didn’t care for the suede interior mixed with black leather, just because I prefer a single style versus mixing upholstery types. Manual shifting seemed dated as well compared with modern alternatives, like DSG on a Volkswagen/Audi, or paddle shifting on a Saturn Aura (to be fair, it is a 2001 vehicle). While I think the IS300 is an attractive car and a reasonable performer, I prefer the 3-series for the price.

Sara invited me to a special screening of “Canvas,” an independent film being released in October that portrays the hardships of a person with a mental illness and how it impacts the family and community. The film is the first for writer and director Joe Greco, and deeply personal as the script was largely based on his youth. The University of Minnesota Medical school Psychiatry interest group was able to fly Joe in from California to be at a reception before the movie (on campus), then appear at the Oak Street Cinema for Q&A following the film.

The audience was mostly medical students by intent, but the general public was welcome, and attended, along with members that support the Oak Street Cinema. Several medical doctors spoke along with Joe, sharing their experiences in treating and researching mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. Joe shared more information on his background and the background of the movie. He said the movie cost just $1 million, compared with a related movie “A Beautiful Mind” that cost $100 million (and had many millions more available for advertising), but was all raised by himself over a period of 10 years! The film was shot in just three weeks in Joe’s hometown of Hollywood, Florida.

The film is essentially a must-see because it is produced and written well, the acting is done well, but primarily because it sheds light on a topic that is still stigmatized (mental illness), and gives viewers insight as to what coping with mental illness is like for the victim and the family.  Hopefully viewers are left with thoughts on how important it is to help people that suffer from mental disorders, and treat them the same as physical disorders.

Joe was a very personable guy, and we were even able to talk with him before the movie about unrelated stuff, such as his recently purchased iPhone, and how he is a huge Mac fan (geek points!). I’m a fan of Joe Pantoliano’s work, and in this movie he delivered another great performance, as did Marcia Gay Harden and Devon Gearhart. Go see Canvas when it is released this fall, then tell your friends about it.

Sara and I “made friends with our Fasts” (Volkswagen advertising campaign) this past Saturday, when we each took a turn driving a 2008 Volkswagen GTI. Out test car was equipped with the 2.0T (turbocharged) 4-cylinder engine (the same engine option in Audi A4s), the dual-clutch “DSG” transmission (which is praised as being the best manumatic transmission by automotive press), and configurable with luxury options like heated leather seats and a moonroof. The car is not as fast as the hot-hatch competitors Mazdaspeed 3 or Subaru WRX, but has a higher quality fit and finish and is arguably more “serious” (no spoilers or hood scoops). The R32 is another vehicle from Volkswagen with performance more on par with the Mazdaspeed 3/WRX, while offering 18″ wheels, AWD (instead of FWD), the 3.2L 6-cylinder Volkswagen/Audi engine, racing seats, limited production, and more. The sales price was close to US $34,000 when I inquired at my local VW dealership for a 2008 R32.

The dual-clutch DSG transmission is supposed to both improve shift speed (I’ve read .8 seconds) and fuel economy, which one driver reported was as high as 32MPG highway. Its designed to have one clutch for gears 1,3,5, and the second clutch for 2,4,6. The mixed mid-20 MPG of this 4-cylinder, while still being performance-oriented and fun to drive (lower weight, good tires), makes it an attractive alternative to a more fuel thirsty 6-cylinder sports car when fuel economy is a factor.

We drove the 4-door GTI, which I prefer. Apparently the 4-door was imported to the US for the first time in 2007, with the 2-door available since 2006. The Mk V (5th generation) GTI was available in Europe in 2003, but not imported to the US until 2005 as a 2006 model. The 6th generation is nearing release in Europe, but I haven’t seen any news for the US (likely lagging by at least 2 years).

The GTI is zippy as it is lower weight and shorter than a A4 or GLI with the same engine, and packs a good torque punch in 3rd and 4th gear. Paddle shifting with the DSG is fun, and Volkswagen included a great feature: “oh sh*t handles” in the center as well as the sides, so your passenger can hold on while you rip through corners. Door locks will glow over either the locked or unlocked icon to indicate door lock status, a nice usability touch. Options at the Package 2 level put it into luxury car class, heated leather seats, power moonroof, iPod adapter to control the iPod through the steering wheel, though there seems to be no Bluetooth telephone option on US models (despite a button on the steering wheel). The GTI base interior trim includes a plaid seat fabric, and on the outside, the “horseshoe cutout” 17″ wheels. Sara and I thought both of those were ugly. Fortunately leather and 18″ multi-spoke wheel upgrades are available. Once the options we liked were totaled up, the GTI at US $28,000 or $430/month for a 36-month lease becomes a less attractive option compared against other small luxury/sports sedans. Compared with the Mazdaspeed 3 though, they each have their benefits and each would be a fun car to own.

Sara was between trips for medical school in California, and Pittsburgh, Pensylvania, spending just one day with me in Minneapolis. The next weekend was the wedding of Stephanie and Brett, a nice service in Shoreview, followed by a great reception at the Lake Como area in Roseville. The groom’s parents were teachers at my elementary school and high school, so many of their friends were invited by the groom (who I went to school with K-12), and I was able to catch up on 5-10 years of history with most of them.

The next weekend Ruth visited to check out my new home. We started off the morning at the Midtown Farmer’s Market, about one block away, picking up some vegetables and raspberries. For lunch (and people watching) we went to the Midtown Global Market and caught the last few minutes of some free salsa dancing lessons. We had lunch at a Mexican seafood restaurant (mariscos) called La Sirena Gorda. My shrimp dish tasted great and reminded me of dishes Sara and I had in Mazatlan. Parking is free on weekends and evenings for up to three hours at the Global Market, in the convenient attached parking ramp. There was also a solo guitar performance and cooking lessons taking place on that particular Saturday. Most of the evening was spent picking out some items at Ikea.

Two “near-luxury,” rear-wheel, “all-wheel when you need it” sports sedans, driven back-to-back. Generally considered equal, given performance, agility and price, among the model years I drove (2004 330xi and 2005 G35x). Both have their advantages, both cars reward drivers with enjoyable steering feedback and engine noise.

First I drove a 2004 BMW 325xi. I think all wheel drive would is a good idea in Minnesota, so I’m looking for 3-series models with an “x” in their name, which indicates all wheel drive. I immediately noticed the heavy steering at low speeds, and the heavy gas pedal (a good thing). As speed went up, steering got lighter in the BMW, something I didn’t notice in the G35x. While steering felt the same and the car felt very agile and responsive, the 325xi did not have enough acceleration power for me. Next I drove the 330xi and this had considerable more power than the 325xi (around 235HP), but the G35x would still beat both cars in flat-out acceleration (at 280HP and 270lbs./feet torque).

One of the main things I preferred over the G35x were the seats of the 325/330xi. The side bolsters wrapped the driver more snugly, and the seating position felt more natural. The G35x still has comfortable seats, they just don’t support the driver on the sides as much. The 330xi has a pleasing growl from the inline six cylinder engine, but the G35x roars louder above 3000 RPMs, which is satisfying during rolling acceleration on the highway. Neither of the vehicles I drove had a folding rear seat, but both had a pass-through. The doors of the BMW are heavier, and this helps with road noise. The BMW was quieter inside than the Infiniti, but that is not to say the G35x was noisy, because it wasn’t. Both vehicles have heated front seats. I prefer the aluminum trim to the wood trim in both BMW and Infiniti, and starting in 2005, the G35 has real aluminum trim and not aluminum-colored plastic.

Both models were automatic transmissions with a manual mode, but both BMW and Infiniti “help” the driver by down-shifting automatically. My problem with this is that it takes the responsibility and interaction of manual shifting away from the driver, partially invalidating the fun of it. BMW redesigned the exterior of the 3-series (and the engine) in 2006, so sharp-eyed enthusiasts will notice that this BMW has the older body style and chassis. Infiniti redesigned the G35 in 2007, so the 2005 I drove has the original body style of the G35 model that lasted from 2003 to 2006.

Sara and I preferred the G35x, with more power, less miles, and a close second place to the BMW, in handling feel. The G35x is priced lower and there are generally more of them to choose from in the used car market. A couple of auto mechanics have told me BMW parts are more expensive than Infiniti/Nissan parts as well.

I decided against the high-powered, compact Impreza WRX several months ago, since I was unaware that it was available with features like heated leather seats and a power moonroof (from the factory), features I’m looking for in my next car. I found out today that Subaru added a “Limited” trim model to the WRX that offers these options, plus an automatic transmission (Limited only), another requirement of mine. I stopped by a Subaru dealership on my way home from work and test drove a manual transmission WRX Limited (they had no automatics available). The stock 2.5L turbocharged WRX engine produces around 230HP and lbs./feet of torque, and is full-time all-wheel drive. This allows the car to get to 60MPH in under 6 seconds, which sounds like fun to me.

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This year my coworkers decorated my cube with balloons and streamers for my birthday. Some friends took me out for a nice lunch at Big Bowl. After work Sara treated me to dinner and a show at Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, where we saw Christine Rosholt and her ensemble.

I completed my 2006 income tax returns using TaxAct (web version), and recommend the software. There is nothing to download, your information is shared between federal and state forms, available from year-to-year, and  your return is paperless if you E-File. Some will qualify for free (E-File, paperless) federal returns. The Minnesota income tax return fee was $12.95.

Tax notes for my personal reference: deducting my education expenses (up to 4000) was more advantageous than taking the Lifetime Learning education credit (2000 per return). I was no longer eligible for the Hope credit (1650 per student) since it is available for 2 years of post-secondary education only. The Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, a 400-3400 tax credit (depending on car model) is available for those with a hybrid vehicle.

While my requirements for “sports/luxury sedan” are getting more specific, my budget seems to be ballooning, as I see and experience luxury features that then become commonplace. I started the day at the Volvo dealership, and had a very positive experience overall due to the knowledgeable dealer. So far dealers at Audi, Volkswagen, and Volvo have been the most knowledgeable about competitor products (and cars in general), while dealers at Toyota and Saturn seem to be unaware of competing products (who would buy anything other than a Toyota or Saturn?) and generally helping 2-3 customers at a time (avoid Saturday shopping if possible).

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Flickr unveiled a new organization feature that seems neat. Flickr Sets let you group photos arbitrarily, based on some central idea that makes sense to owner of the photos. Sometimes Flickr users will want to create hierarchy among their Sets, and prior to the launch of today’s feature, there was really no way to create hierarchy. To address the need for nested Sets, Flickr has introduced Collections. To complement the introduction of Collections, Flickr now also allows Pro users to change their default layout.

To test out this new feature, I used my trip to Asia in 2006. On the trip I visited three countries: Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. I had attempted to create a Set for each city, then add those Sets to a Set that grouped an entire country, then add the Sets that grouped countries into one large set titled “Asia Trip 2006.” One advantage to that approach was the Guest Pass feature, which lets me invite non-Flickr users to view private photos contained in a Set. With Collections I can still do that, I just now have the additional option of nesting Sets into Collections.

Collections can contain either Sets or other Collections. So to create hierarchy using the example of my trip to Asia, I removed the Sets for each Country and the Set for the entire trip, and replaced that Set with a Collection titled Asia Trip 2006 that contains other Collections (which are Collections of Sets by country). Within the country Collections, the original Sets are there (where I can control privacy at the Set level). Now users can drill down into the Set they care about. This also obsoletes Smugmug galleries in my opinion, since Flickr now does hierarchy too, but has the advantage of allowing users to place one photo in multiple sets (without uploading them twice).

The new Layout feature lets Pro users show different default photos pages, where previously the only option a layout with the standard small size photos, a vertical bar on the right side showing Sets. Now users can remove Sets from their default page, show Collections, or various combinations of those options.

There are some negative aspects I see right away: there is no slideshow at the Collection level. There is no Group Pass at the Collection level. I’m not sure why Flickr implemented Collections to support Collections or Sets, to me it would be more useful to mix and match Sets and Collections within a Collection. As of this writing the Flickr API documentation does not include Collection information. Specifying collection_id instead of set_id to create an embedded slideshow did not work. Minor issue: the algorithm that selects random images for the mosaic is not very good, since I noticed the same image in the mosaic several times after “randomizing” it, it does not seem to pull from all the Sets in a Collection equally. Regarding comments: comments are allowed on individual photos and Sets, but initially have not been implemented for Collections.

The 2007 Twin Cities Auto Show didn’t have most of the cars I was looking for, and was short on concepts and enthusiast vehicles. They did have the new Lancer from Misubishi, but it was on a pedestal so we couldn’t see the interior well. The interior is the primary thing I don’t like about its competitor, the WRX STi, so I wanted to see it for comparison purposes (side note: since when is the STi 35k?). But unfortunately, no Lancer Evolution (or Prototype) X.

Audi had an RS4, a great looking vehicle, one of my favorites, but didn’t have an S6 or S8 to display. They had an A3 and S4 as wagons, but didn’t have the S3 on display, a model I don’t think is available in the USA. The big hunk of eye candy from Audi was the R8, their new supercar. The small hunk of eye candy was the (locked doors) 2008 TT. The TT gets subtle redesigns in 2008, and we really like the results. Another new car from Audi not at the Twin Cities auto show is the all-new V-8 A5.

No updates from Mazda, no concept cars. The Speed3 was there but we’d already seen and driven it. Subaru’s Legacy spec.B was there, but at 35k why not go for an Audi or BMW? The Auto Show did have an Acura TL Type-S (which returns in 2007 after a 3 year Type-S hiatus), and we played with the stereo and nav system. A great vehicle, but very expensive (I’d go with the 335i at this price).

No BMW 1-series on display, but they did have the new coupe 335i with a twin-turbo inline 6-cyliner engine, in BMW red. This is a very attractive yet understated car, one of my favorites. Volkswagen had the boring Rabbit, and a Jetta GLI which caught my eye, except that it has a hideous plaid interior (who buys that? Europe maybe?). I find the GTI boring. Unfortunately there was no R36 Passat either.

No Tesla, no GM Volt, no (Infiniti or Nissan) GT-R, nothing really on the bleeding edge. There were some flex fuel sedans, but I don’t think there were any all-electric vehicles.

Saturn had the (Ion replacement) 2008 Astra, not terribly exciting. Chrysler was showing a concept named “Imperial”, an oversized 300C basically. Jeep had their token unrealistic 4-wheel drive concept, with enormous wheels and a strange roof. Other than that there really were no concept cars. I did like the G8 from Pontiac, but details were slim and we couldn’t see the interior. There was no Camaro, even though this is a big deal for Chevrolet in 2009. Ford had a concept called the Fairlane, but it was rather boring. There was a Focus redesign, though details were slim. Ford did not have their Reflex concept vehicle. There weren’t many supercars, like the Carrera GT from Porsche or the ME Four Twelve from Chrysler. I’ve seen both at past Twin Cities Auto Shows. We noticed there were no Saleen vehicles upstairs either, normally there are some Saleen or SVT Fords, like Focus and Mustang models for example.

In closing, the 2007 Twin Cities Auto Show was mostly a collection of 2007 models that are already available for viewing and driving at your local metro dealership. I’d skip it this year.