Pretty good article....
http://autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=101850
"There was no snow above Spain’s Mediterranean coast, even if it was cold enough at the Circuito Albacete. No matter. BMW had laid out a wide handling course on a huge slab of polished concrete, with a friction coefficient about the same as packed powder. There we finally touched the 2006 330i’s inner self: the perfect balance front to rear; that bit of lean that seems to press the outside rear tire onto the pavement; sweet, rock-steady torque delivery; the inherent goodness that allows rank amateurs to hold opposite-lock powerslides like Colin McRae.
We found what we were looking for on that slab—the beating heart of the archetypical sport sedan. The trouble was how long it had taken. Epiphany followed only after a couple hundred miles of road work and the better part of a day—and deactivation of the vehicle’s Dynamic Stability Control.
No automobile, at least no sedan, is better defined in the enthusiast’s mind, or means more, than the 3 Series. Burkard Göschel, a member of BMW’s governing board, calls the 3 Series “the centerpiece of our company.” This car puts BMW in an unusual situation where the halo of a coveted product shines up from the bottom of the line rather than down from the top. Given mixed reviews that accompanied the launch of BMW’s 5 and 7 Series sedans, anticipation ahead of the all-new 3 Series (codename E90) is exceeded only by the potential for disappointment......."
http://autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=101850
"There was no snow above Spain’s Mediterranean coast, even if it was cold enough at the Circuito Albacete. No matter. BMW had laid out a wide handling course on a huge slab of polished concrete, with a friction coefficient about the same as packed powder. There we finally touched the 2006 330i’s inner self: the perfect balance front to rear; that bit of lean that seems to press the outside rear tire onto the pavement; sweet, rock-steady torque delivery; the inherent goodness that allows rank amateurs to hold opposite-lock powerslides like Colin McRae.
We found what we were looking for on that slab—the beating heart of the archetypical sport sedan. The trouble was how long it had taken. Epiphany followed only after a couple hundred miles of road work and the better part of a day—and deactivation of the vehicle’s Dynamic Stability Control.
No automobile, at least no sedan, is better defined in the enthusiast’s mind, or means more, than the 3 Series. Burkard Göschel, a member of BMW’s governing board, calls the 3 Series “the centerpiece of our company.” This car puts BMW in an unusual situation where the halo of a coveted product shines up from the bottom of the line rather than down from the top. Given mixed reviews that accompanied the launch of BMW’s 5 and 7 Series sedans, anticipation ahead of the all-new 3 Series (codename E90) is exceeded only by the potential for disappointment......."
