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Originally Posted by phantomF80

I would call myself a car enthusiast, having owned and enjoyed MKVII GTI (manual), E46 ZHP (manual), 987.1 Cayman S (manual), and F80 (DCT). I still like those cars, but having owned a Model 3 for 8 months now, I have not found a reason to get back to those fun ICE cars. And compared to the new BMW offerings, I just don't see anything better. Not saying the Model 3 is the best thing out there, as it has many drawbacks, but it is a very good street car.

I see BMW's problem as the auto industry drifting away from enthusiast cars containing a manual transmission to strictly automatics. The industry trend is towards non-driving tech applications and allowing safer use of distraction devices while driving. Collision avoidance technology is present in practically every new car being introduced. Collision avoidance is automatic braking, lane departure warnings, and blind sport monitoring. The Tesla has these technologies well mastered and are at a level above most other automakers. None of the collision avoidance tech works well with a manual transmission. Collision avoidance tech is not driver technology, it is non-driving technology because it removes the driver from completely operating the vehicle.

The advantage of Tesla has for car enthusiasts, of which you are one, is most all EVs are direct drive and have no transmission, so the drivetrain acts like a well-driven (enthusiast-driven) manual transmission where the drivetrain is always in the correct gear for the desired driving action. As a car enthusiast who enjoys and practices the art of driving, any ICE automatic transmission drivetrain is undesirable to me. Of the electrics I've driven, the direct-drive electric drivetrain is a suitable replacement for a manual transmission. Now if someone would make a non-butt-ugly (inside and out) 4-door sedan EV, then I'd consider replacing my E90. The Model 3 didn't get there.