More Lexus Pics

IS350

So here I am, a proud, and somewhat dumbfounded, new owner of a Lexus IS350.
God has been extremely good to us as a family and put us in a place where we can actually enjoy something as luxurious as a Lexus. I never really thought about actually owning one and am still a little incredulous.

The past year has proven to be quite an adventure in faith and giving as God called us to be faithful in sacrificing our own material wealth for the sake of the church. Actually, it wasn't really even an issue of God needing our money to complete the projects that are going on at His local church, but more of a test to see who would be obedient to His call and who would simply 'think about' being obedient. Well, I have to admit that we haven't given to the full extent of what we own or what we're capable of giving (after all, we're still watching TV and buying Starbucks, right?) but to the extent that we committed to giving, we've been faithful.

So God has poured out many blessings upon Annie and me as a direct response to that obedience. He opened the floodgates, if you will. (Remember Operation Floodgates?) This is not about us and our obedience; rather, this is about about God and His neverending faithfulness and goodness.

Cool Cars I've Driven

An unofficial working list of some cars I've driven throughout the years. I've placed an asterisk by the ones that really left an impression for one reason or another.

Acura Integra
Acura Legend
Acura MDX
Acura TL
Audi 5000S*
Audi A4 1.8T
BMW M5 (2006)*
BMW 325i
BMW 330i
Cadillac CTS
Chevrolet Corvette C5*
Chrysler Crossfire
Chrysler Pacifica
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Ford Fiesta
Honda Accord
Honda S2000*
Honda Odyssey
Infiniti G35 Coupe
Lexus IS350*
Porsche Boxster S*
Mercedes Benz S430
Mitsubishi Mirage
Nissan Maxima*
Nissan Pathfinder
Subaru WRX
Toyota Camry
Toyota MR2*
Toyota Tercel

M5

My new friend, Peter, owns a BMW M5.

I met him for the first time today when our kids got together for a play date. Until now, I've only heard about him through Annie and haven't had the chance to meet him because of my work schedule. But today, after a meeting at church our family went over to their house to hang out for a few hours.

Peter was generous enough to let me take his 500HP baby out for a spin.

The M5 is a sick car.

The SMG paddle-shifter is so responsive and fun/easy to use it feels like a Playstation2 peripheral. The high-revving V10 also propels the car to velocities only video game junkies have ever 'experienced'. The M5 feels like a Lamborghini Gallardo. (oh, did I mention that Peter owns a Lamborghini Gallardo too?) No, I didn't get to drive the Gallardo but Peter did take me for a whirl.

I swear, the M5 is so ridiculous it could easily run door handle to door handle with the Lambo and you could do it while listening to Chopin on your six-disc changer and with two adults in the backseat.

I drove the M5 faster than my wife would have liked but slower than it wanted to go. I'm convinced that if the M5's V10 could pick it's own clothes it would be dressed in open-wheeled fiberglass and carry a huge wing on it's rump. The seven-speed (7 GEARS!) tranny allowed the engine to easily rev up to the 6K rpm zone (and beyond) without so much as a slight hint of hesitation. Of course I wouldn't go near the redline (I think around 8200) because … well... just because. As a matter of fact, Peter asked that I didn't take it past 6500 and I accidentally took it to 7000. Of course, I was too busy trying to avoid the cars that were zipping past me like they were parked on I680 to watch the tach very carefully. Sorry, Peter!

Forget the 350Z, forget the S2000, forget the M3, and even the 911 Turbo. The M5 is now my official one-and-only dream car.