RUNNINGS

BY HARRY KIRSBAUM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN

COLD DAY. TOP DOWN.

II don't really care that it's a
brisk 40-something degrees
on a sunny October morning.
I'm test-driving an
$80,000 convertible. The
key word is sunny and the top will
be down all day long.
This is not the boxy BMW you
remember during the Reagan
administration.
This Beemer has it all: 4.4-liter
32-valve V8 engine with 325 hors-
es, variable ratio rack and pinion
power steering, aluminum double-
pivot strut-type front suspension,
4-link integral rear suspension and
a wicked-looking cup holder.
It has all the power you need to
get around the city, and it's a

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DECEMBER 2004 • JNPLATINUM