BEST M3 Generations & Are New Cars Ruining Future Enthusiasts?
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
68:41
Company
Martini Works
Martini Works is a company that sells car parts. In this episode, they’re basically telling you where to get the wheels and performance upgrades they’re talking about.
Car
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is BMW’s high-performance version of the 3 Series. Each generation feels a bit different, so people argue about which one is the most fun or best overall.
Car
Chrysler PT Cruiser
The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a compact car with a retro-style design. The podcast is talking about someone buying one and comparing it to other cars. It’s mentioned because it’s a distinctive-looking vehicle.
Car
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes 300
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 (W109) is an older luxury sedan. The podcast is mentioning it as someone’s first car. It’s known for having a very large engine and a big, comfortable feel.
Term
integrated into one system
These days, a lot of car functions are connected together in one computer system. So changing one part (like the screen or audio) can be more complicated than it used to be.
Term
LS's
“LS” is a type of GM V8 engine that’s popular for swaps. People used to find them cheaply in junkyards, so they were a common choice for budget builds.
Term
four bolt
“Four bolt” is a way people describe a stronger engine bottom end on some older Chevy V8s. It matters because it can handle more power than the simpler versions.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is basically how strong the engine is. More horsepower usually helps the car feel faster, but it’s not the only factor.
Term
intake
An intake is an aftermarket air-flow system that replaces or modifies the factory intake to improve airflow and sometimes throttle response. The segment highlights how intake prices for modern cars can be surprisingly high.
Term
exhaust systems
An exhaust system is the parts that route exhaust gases out of the car. They’re saying exhaust upgrades cost a lot of money now.
Car
Nissan 350Z
The Nissan 350Z is a sports car that a lot of companies make parts for. That means you can upgrade it in different ways without needing a huge budget.
Term
bolt pattern
The bolt pattern is how the wheel’s lug holes are laid out. If it doesn’t match your car, the wheel won’t fit correctly unless you use adapters.
Concept
reliability
Reliability means the car doesn’t constantly break. If it’s always being repaired, you won’t get to drive it and enjoy it.
Term
ECU
ECU is the car’s main computer for controlling things like the engine. Changing the ECU (or replacing it) is one way people try to fix or improve how the car runs.
Company
Motegi Racing Wheels
Motegi Racing Wheels makes aftermarket wheels. They’re saying Motegi has good-looking wheels, good fitment, and they’re reasonably priced—especially when you buy wheels and tires together.
Term
fitment
Fitment just means whether the wheel fits your car properly—clears everything it needs to and sits right. Good fitment helps avoid rubbing or needing extra parts.
Concept
Chalk Zone
“Chalk Zone” is a recurring segment where the hosts make a list (like a ranking) and explain why they chose those cars. It’s meant to be fun and easy to follow.
Term
inline six
An inline-six is an engine layout with six cylinders in a straight line. People often like it because it can feel smooth and characterful compared with some newer engine designs.
Term
rust
Rust means the metal is corroding, usually from water and salt. On older cars, it can be expensive to fix and can hurt the car’s value and safety.
Car
BMW M5
The BMW M5 is BMW’s fast, luxury sedan from the M division. They’re pointing out that the newer M5 and M8 are related in design/engineering, even though they look different.
Part
lowering springs
Lowering springs make the car sit lower. That usually looks better and can help handling, but it can also make the ride harsher and may require alignment.
Company
Fortune auto
Fortune Auto makes aftermarket suspension parts, especially coilovers. People use them to improve ride quality and handling, and you can usually choose a setup that fits your exact car.
Brand
BYD
BYD is a big Chinese company that makes electric cars. The speaker thinks BYD will come to the U.S. more and compete with other electric-car brands.
Brand
Jaguar
Jaguar is a car brand from the UK. People associate it with sporty, stylish cars, so the name itself feels “cool” even if you’re not talking about a specific model.
Brand
Ferrari
Ferrari is a famous Italian supercar brand. Even if you don’t know the cars, the name alone usually makes people think “fast and exciting.”
Brand
Lamborghini
Lamborghini is an Italian brand that makes flashy, high-performance cars. The name is so well-known that it instantly signals “exotic car” to most people.
Brand
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury car brand. People often think of it as “big and premium,” and the name also lends itself to nicknames like “Caddy.”
Brand
Chevrolet
Chevrolet is a big car brand from the U.S. It’s part of General Motors. Here they’re just talking about how the name/logo feels to them.
Brand
Porsche
Porsche is a German company that makes sports cars. People in car communities sometimes give Porsche models nicknames based on how they look or feel.
Part
Fittipaldi two piece forged wheels
Two-piece forged wheels are made in two parts and then put together. They’re often chosen because they can be strong and allow more options for how the wheel looks.
Part
double D brushed and a single brushed lip
“Brushed” refers to a finish that makes the metal look textured instead of mirror-smooth. The “lip” is the outer edge of the wheel, and different brushed patterns can make the wheel look more detailed.
Company
Continental Tire
Continental Tire is a big tire brand. They’re sponsoring the podcast here, and they also offer roadside help if you buy their tires.
LIVE
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Martini Works podcast.
I will have everyone here know at this time, at this very moment that you are listening
to this podcast, there is something incredible happening in Wisconsin.
It is 62 degrees.
False 66.
The garage doors are open.
Singular doors open.
I am happy and excited and things are looking quite well out there.
It's like live fact checking.
Yeah, I feel like I'm at a goddamn, I'm going for presidency right now and I got this
fucker in my ear.
Welcome back to the Martini Works podcast.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
If you guys are looking for car parts, be sure to mod your car with your friends at martiniworks.com.
We actually got a cool set of work wheels here that we're going to be throwing some
tires on and it reminded me that y'all have impeccable taste in wheels and tires, suspension
and performance parts.
So thank you so much.
Keep taking us in your stuff.
We love to see it come through.
It's really cool.
I will give anyone that makes a good 4K quality video of their experience with Martini Works
parts like in the garage or putting them on your car.
Give you a $50 gift card to Martini Works right now, podcast exclusive.
Damn.
Send it in to help at martiniworks.com and I'll give you a $50 gift certificate.
What do you want to do with that?
I don't know.
I just want to see cool videos.
I know you guys and gals have cap cut.
I know you're on Tic Tac.
I'd love to see you guys make some stuff.
So if you had a good experience, it would mean the world plus is our little way of giving
back to you.
And if you want to save a little bit more, check out with Catapult.
You can save 2% up to $70, which is pretty cool.
And gals, if you're not watching right now, gals looks like he is looking for a ghost.
I feel like I am.
What are you doing?
Do I feel like a hare somewhere in here?
Nope.
You just got two chunks of hair.
I feel like there's a hare sticking down right in the middle.
Sign of a stroke.
Dakota, what are we talking about?
What are we starting with?
So we're going to get into the best BMW M3 generations because you caused a stir on
the internet last week.
I'll do it again too.
I figured the podcast gives us a little more room to breathe and explain yourself and what
the hell you were thinking.
But starting it off in the first segment here, it's an interesting topic is when we started
modifying cars, you generally get into cheap stuff in the beginning, right?
Like, so I picked up a PT Cruiser or Gels had a Neon or a Colbald.
Alex, was your first car at 3,000 GT or was it?
No, my very first car was an 89 Mercedes 300.
Okay.
And where I'm going with those is, you literally older cars, like they were pretty easy to
work on, change things out, modify with our cheap budgets that we had.
Something as simple as like radios, you know, we're easy to swap out.
Get that sick singled in or if you had a fancy car, maybe put in a new doubled in in
there.
Well, nowadays, that's not a thing at all anymore.
Yeah, it's all integrated into one system.
It's like quintupled in.
It's a whole dash.
Your whole dash is a screen and digital display, which is really cool.
No, I think modern interiors are really good, but I think they're going to age like piss
because as we all know, ask where girls help piss ages.
As we all know, technology advances so fast that you look at a dash that came out a couple
years ago and you're like, that thing sucks.
Yeah.
So if it's not the actual physical component, it's like the actual like electronic component
and software that it uses.
Exactly.
So what does that mean for future enthusiasts in 20 years when their cheap cars are our
current modern cars?
I feel like I feel like electrical stuff is going to be just a fricking like nightmare.
Yeah, I feel like you're not going to be able to just swap those out.
I feel like the closest thing we get is like firmware updates or something.
Yeah, it's going to have to be.
That's such a weird thing because Nissan just announced that they're stopping the support
of the Nissan Leaf app or integration, which is crazy and it has to do with firmware updates,
but Nissan is like, we could update it and we could put through the work so that our
Nissan Leaf audience, our legacy, not the new leaf, the old leaf, still has support
and they're like, nah.
It's so funny you say that because the Toyota Supra, Mark V, had a Toyota Supra Connect app
and it was dog shit, horrible, fucking useless app ever made.
But then they announced too, they're like, you know what, we're just going to discontinue
it.
We're not going to use it.
I'm sorry.
It puts so much pressure and it puts so much potential failure on the two things that are
holding up internal music and the interface for using your car and that is quite literally
Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
All of these manufacturers are now just like, all right, we're going to give this to you
because we don't want to do with it anymore and it's like, what happens in 10 years if
Apple is like, actually, we made our own car and we're not doing it anymore and then all
of these cars are now out of the one thing that a lot of people would say.
That was like the first thing that came to mind with obviously we know like how integrated
all the electronics and how computerized vehicles have become all that sort of stuff in every
aspect outside of just like the entertainment aspect of it.
It's like, dude, I was forced to upgrade my desktop computer because it was literally
like your processor is like five years old and you don't have Windows 11 and you're not
going to be able to update to Windows 11 because Windows 11 requires at least this size processor.
This is like a solid computer, by the way.
And so I had to go buy a new computer.
So like, yeah, otherwise you're going to be unsupported and the whole thing like shit
the bed because it didn't get updates.
That is literally cars in a few years, I feel like.
It is a weird experience because I think right now people crave like nostalgia more than ever
and I think a lot of it has to do with this, like how cars are currently being built.
There's so much and I think for like people and companies as well.
I always felt like in the past there's a little bit of like a clear understanding of the amount
of money you spent on something correlated more directly to the value of the product.
Like it was better made, generally speaking.
It had, you know, better things in it and nowadays I think a lot of what people are
willing to spend more money on is really, really derived by how good marketing is.
You know, how good can you convince people to like this brand, this thing, which is why
you have these massive corporations and mega corporations commenting like LOL on TikTok posts,
like they're trying to be one with the people, says PepsiCo.
We're one of you kids.
Yeah, we're one of you guys.
Yeah, and it's like, that's bullshit.
I think, I hope everybody knows that and it's kind of the same thing now where
I feel like people that want to get into a new car, they can if they like the technology,
like new BMWs and stuff, but I think people, people yearn for the analog.
I think people yearn for a little bit of the older stuff every once in a while.
Especially like personally, yeah, because that's like what we grew up with and it's like,
now that stuff at least feels a little bit more obtainable.
Yeah, it kind of gets further away every day because everything's just constantly going
up at price, but like, you know, the stuff that we like really wanted when we were younger
and like first getting into it, like, you know, that's, it's like, well, I never got to do that.
Now I have the opportunity to hopefully do that.
That's probably what I'm going to go after.
That's why everyone should buy a Honda Beat.
Why not a Honda Beat kick lately?
I don't know.
I don't want a Honda Beat.
It's un-explaining that to you.
I'm going to buy a Honda Beat.
I'm getting you both in it.
I'm, I'm trying to think of like, like in 15 years, right?
All the hybrid like stuff that's coming out is really cool.
When those batteries and motors and stuff start to go,
and whatever happens to hybrid or EV vehicles in the future, where are you going to go to buy
a massive battery like that?
How much are you going to be paying when that electrical system shits the bed?
Like, because it will.
You sound like an old man, but these are like valid get back in your old man home grandpa.
It was an issue with the Toyota Prius.
So it was like, those cars would just sit when their batteries went bad because it was like
15 grand to replace a very no one's going to do that.
Yeah.
So now it's like, I'm not saying I don't, I don't understand.
I don't like the EVs or I don't like the hybrid stuff.
I think the hybrid stuff is insane with what it can do.
What happens when they start failing?
Yeah.
When that car become, when, you know, is 20 years old and the battery can't hold the
fricking charge or it stops like recharging alternators, for instance,
alternators go bad all the fucking time.
That's a very basic component of a vehicle.
You know, you're, you're doing 10 times that when it comes to like a whole EV system.
Yeah.
I guess I don't, I think the concept of how people modify their cars will, will change.
Yeah.
You know, I think it's, it's different for everyone.
I think every era goes through like a different transition of things.
But one of the things that I think I feel the worst about for, for young car enthusiasts,
the people that are into like their second or third car is how much money they have to spend
to do the things that we used to be able to do at 16 or 18 for quite literally a fraction of the
price.
You know, we could go buy Skittles, SRT-4s for 2800 bucks.
We could buy Mazda Miata's for $600, $800.
We could go buy 240 SXs for $2500.
Shit, those 240s were actually like $500, $2,000 like those were the beginner car.
Like we could talk about like nostalgia going back and playing like video games and stuff.
Dude, every game started you out with like a fucking like a Honda or a 240 and they're like,
yep, here's the, here's the cheap beginner clapped car.
And it's like, dude, those things are insanely pricey.
K24s used to be a grand.
Yeah.
K24s used to be a grand.
LS's used to be even cheaper.
Like you could go and you get junkyard 350s from, from, you know, old, old Chevy trucks.
You get a four bolt and you could throw them in anything you wanted for like 400 bucks.
And now a lot of stuff has gotten really expensive.
And even more so, it's like, if you want to have something that you think is like cool,
the concept of cool is getting exponentially more expensive.
Yeah.
Yep.
By the ship box.
It's, it's funny.
I remember we specific when we went down to Japan, auto legends.
We ran into that guy with that civic.
It was an older civic and he was, you know, super clean.
We walked up to her talking to the owner and it's like, man,
build like this would be so fun to do.
And then like we were talking to him like, oh yeah, that valve cover, that Moog and valve cover.
What did he say?
It was like thousands of dollars for the valve cover.
And he's like, oh yeah, these wheels were thousands of that.
Like it wasn't a Honda like budget build anymore.
The Honda build was costing tens of thousands.
It's not a hundred thousand dollars all said and done.
And it's like, dude, what?
That thing did win best of show.
Yeah.
It was an incredible car, by the way.
But it was like, it was so eye opening of like, holy shit, dude, these parts are getting older.
They're getting rarer by the day.
They're costing more and more every single day.
And it's like, holy shit.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I think at the same time, there are some things that the newer car enthusiasts gets that we don't get.
What's that?
Power?
That's true.
That's true.
You can go buy, you don't get a decent loan for a new vehicle that makes 500 horsepower like that.
Even like the basic ass like Corollas and Camry's come with like TRD models.
Here's 310 horsepower.
I remember when the Honda Accord V6 came out and that had a V6 in it.
And it was like upper 200, like 270-ish horsepower.
And I remember thinking to myself, I was 16 or 17 at the time.
I said, I want that car.
It's 270 horsepower.
That's insane.
And you could get them for like 6, everybody was like 6,500.
But they were expensive back then.
And I'm like, man, that's cool.
Nowadays, you can get 400 horsepower for like nothing.
I'm not complaining.
No, no, no.
I think it's sick.
And also, there's a lot of tech in cars now that I think make people,
whether anybody wants to min or not, it makes them better drivers.
Oh yeah.
It's a well-contained 3,400 horsepower.
Much more stable.
And there's a lot of things too, like the adaptive suspension that's coming in.
And you'd think like, oh, that's just like the super high-end models there.
It's like, no, they're coming in Civic SIs and stuff now too.
So it'll be interesting too.
A lot of proximity sensors and stuff too.
Those can like brick cars really quick if they go out and make them an offerable.
Dude, I was just thinking like a Maggie's parents got, they like the Murano.
So they've got, they've had a few like newer Muranos now.
And the first one that they had, dude, I felt like they were taking it back to the
dealership to get like the LiDAR and radar systems real line.
Dude, I feel like they had to do it like four or five times.
It was like, oh yeah.
It like completely like locked up the car because it didn't know where anything was.
Yeah.
It's actually so when I was part of the, the Marcom or sorry, the wheel tire suspension brake
council for SEMA, we went to go to SEMA garage because they have an actual ADOS training facility
there and a calibration system because people that will go and lift their vehicles or lower
their cars, if you ever want to get any of your suspension stuff compliant checked,
you can actually take it to a SEMA garage.
It goes through all the testing.
It makes it all viable.
Then you can sell it 50 states.
So like carb exempt stuff or California, for instance, like what K&N does, they almost
exclude, they, they actually say exclusive, they do a lot of their stuff through SEMA garage
because they have all the equipment there to do it, which is really, really convenient.
But people don't know like when your ADOS gets like damaged, like Lars is $100,000 M5, right?
This crazy impressive vehicle, super saloon got bent when you guys went ice racing, right?
And bricked every sort of cruise control function, every sort of safety feature,
everything that that car had because the, the front sensor was bent in like this.
And even now he has to, we tried to straighten it up using a forklift.
It didn't work surprisingly.
Can't imagine why it's a long story.
Okay.
And it's like you, you can straighten it, but you still have to go get it recalibrated.
And the only place that you can do that is at a, you know, a facility that hasn't full ADOS system.
That's super cheap.
It's really affordable.
That's really affordable actually.
And that's another thing too.
It's like, I feel like, you know, we kind of talked about before, like parts for the Supra,
parts for this new Civic Type R, parts for like an infant, like all these like cars that are
like newer cars that people are modifying and stuff.
Shit, even like WRX parts have gotten so fucking pricey.
How much was the intake for your Supra?
I did get a carbon HKS one, but yeah, it was damn near 800 bucks.
And the exhaust was like 1000 over a thousand a dollar.
Sam, dude, that is just gnarly.
And it's like, okay, well, that's the Super Friends.
It's like, okay, well, let's look at like the, the Type R, you know, it's a Honda,
it's a turbocharged four-cylinder.
Dude, it's the same thing.
You have intakes cresting $5, $600 exhaust systems going for two grand.
It's like, bro, what are we doing?
Tubes, it's just tubes.
Holy shit.
I'm trying to think of like, what is some of the best, what are some of the best cars
to get into to, you know, be able to have fun, to be able to save some money.
And like a part of me still goes back to, and this is where I can kind of see why people
say that I'm like a Nissan guy, but it's like, man, it's tough to beat the product offering
in like the 350Z because there's so many different brands that support that chassis
that you can either get, you know, a $200, you know, like engine intake, or you can go get
a $900 AMS performance intake.
You can get a $300 exhaust, or you can get a $1,700 exhaust.
I think what, what people, and especially like today's day and age, there's so many people
like arguing on the internet, like talking shit about expensive brands and then talking
shit about cheap brands and trying to convince people that only old shit is worth it and other
people saying the only new shit is worth it.
It's like, the goal should be variety.
Yeah.
Like the solution is an option for all types of people, not one solution for everyone,
because that just like doesn't work.
A person that like somebody that's just jumping into a 350Z cannot afford going in there and
buying LMGT4s.
They're not, they're not going to.
And frankly, they shouldn't.
Like that's not where they, if everyone did that, it would kind of suck.
Yeah.
And then also on the same package, like if you're going to go take that 350Z out and drift it,
that's a really stupid thing to risk because if it's your first time drifting and then you
go curb and brake one or you go buy some discontinued wheel because you want to be cool,
then you shatter that one and then you can't find a replacement.
It's like what the world needs, what the car community needs is like a variety of things.
And the more of a variety you give a car platform, I think the more enjoyable it is to be a car enthusiast.
That's what I really enjoyed.
Like when I was first looking around for, when I got the FRS and it's like I was looking around
and at the time it was like, okay, you're looking at 370s, you're looking at Genesis Coupes.
The FRS and BRZ was in there.
You're looking at maybe like a Civic Si.
Like those, those cars, I was looking at and it's like the reason I went with the FRS is because,
especially compared to like the Gen Coupe at the time, like the Genesis had like a handful of
brands that was making like aftermarket parts for that.
And that was really about it where the FRS and the BRZ was like exploding in popularity.
And that was the thing.
It's like, yeah, you could go buy, you know, like the really expensive header and exhaust or
here's like, what was one of like a TurboXS exhaust.
Here is, you know, even the Gretti exhaust at the time was only like 600 bucks.
And it's like that was a quality exhaust system.
And I really appreciated that because yeah, I would go to the meats, would go to like a,
I think there was one down in Madison I went to and like there was literally like 50 or 60
BRZs and FRSs that showed up.
And it's like, yeah, a couple were like really similar and people like did similar stuff.
But it was like the variety of different parts was really cool to see.
And it obviously opened my eyes up and was like, oh, I've never seen that wing before.
I've never seen that front lip before.
I've never seen, you know, those wheels on this car before I didn't know you can do that.
Like that was, I thought really cool.
Hell yeah.
Dakota, what do you think?
What is the, what's the best way to get into the car scene 2026, the affordable way, the most fun way?
The affordable way is to scrounge marketplace every day when you wake up and get an idea of
what you want.
I think it's super underrated to think of the platform and what mods are like,
what Gelsuddy did.
I think I missed out on that a lot and I didn't think of it as much until you get into it.
But going out and researching the car and seeing what modifications are there for it.
I remember I was livid that I couldn't put a external blow off valve on my cobalt SS when I got
the whole reason I want like turbocharged cars.
I wanted that blow off valve, man.
But they run a diverter valve system and they just run like shit.
Like there's no reason to put a blow off valve on it.
You can, you can't, but you shouldn't.
And that just ticked me off.
And sometimes also the bolt pattern too.
It was absolutely horrendous.
Five by 110.
I got this car and I'm like, man, it's kind of a pain in the butt to mod this thing.
Here's Varstowen.
Yeah.
What was the other one that was making?
STR.
No, not STR.
I'm no name.
I think both brands are freaking out.
For some reason the no name brands like walk to that.
Well, because they didn't have any competition.
Fair enough.
Fair enough.
Yeah.
So I think going out looking at the mods available, if you can find something that
has a wide range of parts and you can get for cheap bingo, bingo.
I think you got a great platform to hop into.
Also, I think reliability is underrated.
Looking at the problems vehicles have.
Get something that you can drive because no matter what car you have,
I don't care if it's the best car on earth.
If it's on jack stands all year, they ain't fun to drive.
So look at reliability.
Pick up one that's well taken care of.
You know, it's worth spending some time to find the right owner that has the
maintenance records that you know, took care of it and didn't destroy this thing.
And then scooping up that one.
But yeah, what do you got, Jules?
I just have another question to kind of go with that.
And so we started this talking about like kind of like the newer cars and how they're
going to age.
If there was like a newer platform that you would get into that you think is going to
hold the test of time the best, what would that be?
That's a great question.
Think right now for a newer platform that's going to hold the test of time.
I want to say like the the GR86.
But even then, we took the steering wheel off and that whole car had a meltdown.
Even that's plagued a little bit.
Just get a standalone.
You'll be fine.
Oh, right.
Just completely swap out the ECU or something.
Yeah.
Just get rid of it.
Super cheap and doable.
Just think S chassis in 20 years, dude.
GR86 is.
I would say I think I do think what we have in the FL5 type R is
pretty solid.
Whatever Honda does with that for the next generation, I don't think is going to be something
like what we have now, plug in hybrid or something like that.
I think there'll be an element of that.
I think there's a lot of cool cars out there that I think are still great picks that are
more expensive.
I think the higher trim C7 Corvettes are a fantastic purchase because of the fact that
it's not a mid-engine car.
It's a front-engine car.
It's still big old push rod that's in the C7, which is super cool.
I think on the European side, I don't know.
That gets really tricky.
Yeah.
It's like the Mezger engine 997 will always be top tier P car.
Otherwise, you could go into a lot of people.
I think even Tic Tac, I kind of agree with them.
That E90 M3, that V8, is it S65?
Is that what it was?
I can't remember, but.
A little reliability.
Yeah, but like peak.
That was definitely the most unique BMW ever really got with an M car.
That are like the 1M is a super cool car.
But yeah, I think those are good.
Yeah, I'm trying to think too.
And it's like, I love the GR86 option.
I think that will age well.
I also think that even though they've been replaced and succeeded by the new Nissan Z,
I think the 370s are going to find a really special place in the next couple years.
Because again, they're still analog enough, I feel like, and they're still new enough.
They still have the creature comforts of being a newer platform,
but they're not plagued with a bunch of like weird shit.
And they're coming down in a pretty decent place.
Yeah, you make fun of Nissan for making the same car for years,
but a lot of benefits come with a platform that has been made for years and years and years.
Yeah, 100%.
Keeps them affordable, keeps parts affordable, and then they know how to make them because they keep doing it.
But yeah, we're looking at 370sies the other day, and I always thought of the 370sies as an expensive car.
If you're not looking at like a higher trim or like a Nismo especially,
it's like you can get them for a pretty decent price, especially if you keep your eye out for one.
Like really decent, I don't know.
I just always remember being very expensive and now they're not.
So now's a good time to go pick up 370s if you're interested.
Honestly, yeah.
Well, with that being said, we're going to take a small break, but not before letting you know
what one of the partners of the Martiniworks podcast, Motegi Racing Wheels.
If you guys are looking to get a good set of good old wheels,
Motegi's actually been killing it, love the new finishes and wheels that they have.
We're actually going to be throwing the Cossians on the S15 as our drift set up,
because we're actually getting into springtime, which means we've got to throw on a set and kind of
see how the, what are the Ironmans, see how those things hold up.
But we're really, really excited to have them as a partner of the Martiniworks podcast.
Incredible inventory.
They've got really cool stuff, great fitment, great finishes.
And if you're looking for something different, they come in really cool colors.
I can't recommend Motegi Racing Wheels enough.
Really well priced.
And when you package them with tires on martiniworks.com,
you get an even greater discount because they're in stock, they'll ship even faster for you.
So if you're looking to check something out, looks a little different,
feels a little different, is a little different, Motegi Racing Wheels,
definitely a brand that I think you guys should check out.
So thank you, Motegi Racing Wheels, for sponsoring the Martiniworks podcast,
and we will see you in a second.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, this was a big one.
If you guys and gals don't know, we do a little fun series called Chalk Zone.
Yeah.
It's on TikTok, it's on Instagram.
Alex has a chalk.
I have the chalk.
I got the cardigan, and I quickly and aggressively speak about lists of things,
one of which we did last week where we talked about the best M3 generations.
Because I was feeling a little saucy, a little frothy, a little excited.
All right.
And I think I put the E90 M3, the E46, and then for the number one.
You put an M2.
I put the F80 M2, F87 M2.
Explain that.
What the hell would you do that?
I know why, but why would you do that?
So the video got like half a million views.
And there are people that are both pro and con with my choice, with my choices of cars.
But I figured we could talk about it on the podcast.
We got a little bit more space to explain it,
because we have attention spans greater than ants.
The reason I chose the M2 as the number one.
Number one, it's a fantastic car.
It's a great car.
It's a great car.
And I've also driven an M3 and we own an M4.
I've always believed that M3s started to get a size issue after the E46.
The E90, the F-Series, the G-Series, they all got like
bloated, bigger, whiter, heavier, faster, more power.
But like everything just scaled to be like big.
And there's something, and that's why I always like,
I hate giving Lars so much credit with his car, because he just has egos so big.
Like the E46 hit it perfectly.
It was such a good car.
Inline six, analog enough to be really fun and enjoyable, digital enough to still be comfortable.
You could still connect your phone with a little bit of some Bluetooth help.
You had the CD, you had stereo, you had good seats, comfortable seats.
And I enjoyed that car.
And then when you got into the next era, it got bigger.
So then I kind of fell out of love with the M3.
We ended up getting an M4 because it was bigger.
I wanted Becca to have, we were originally looking for an M2.
Which is weird because it goes, M3 was in that generation, went to four door,
and then the M4 is now going in two door.
Which is weird, right?
But when we were looking for the first time, we were looking for an M2.
We were actually looking for a version of Lars's car.
But the M4 came around in the Austin Yellow, Comp, manual transmission,
like just perfectly specced.
And I'm like, we can't pass this up.
It's a cool car.
Plus it has more space.
And Becca loves to cruise with this car.
Like she's taken it to Tennessee and back multiple times.
So we got the M4.
But Lars's M2 and that F87 generation M2 feels like what an M3 should feel like.
Because it's still like more affordable than the M3, like line item for line item.
And it feels smaller and it feels a little bit more nimble.
And it feels just a little bit tighter.
And I think because of that, that is why I put it as the number one answer.
Even though it's not an M3, it feels like what an M3 should feel like.
I feel like the new M3s are huge.
They're big cars.
Well, I'm glad you got to clear your name here.
But we're going to have to do it all over again because we picked
all of our favorite generations of M3s.
And we're about to go through them right now.
Yes.
Yes.
So we're about to stir the pot again.
All right.
What do you got?
Me?
Yeah.
So I don't know how you guys did it.
But I went my top three picks.
Starting with third place, which is the E36 M3.
Now, you might be asking, spoiler alert, I didn't put the E30 M3 in my list.
And that's OK.
I promise it's going to be OK.
So in my opinion, I think the E36 M3 was the first great M3.
If you look back to comparison between what the E30 did with the M3 versus the 325i,
for instance, the M3 for the E36 edition, I think had a much greater leap of, hey,
this is a bigger step away from a base model 3 series.
It's unfortunate that we didn't get the Euro version because that had more horsepower than
the US version because they always keep all the good stuff themselves.
But we got that as 52, 240 horsepower.
And of course, we got the lightweight version, which is a super kind of cool version,
which was like 200 pounds less.
It was like the white one with that sick checkered colorway on it.
I think Paul Walker had a bunch of them in his collection at some point.
But that was my third pick.
My second pick was the E92 M3.
V8s are sick.
I thought it was pretty dope, naturally aspirated.
That's a plus.
However, it is a bit finicky with the maintenance stuff.
Otherwise, that probably would have been my number one if it wasn't for all of that,
because my number one was the E46 M3.
For a lot of reasons that Alex already pointed out,
I think it's like the sweet spot of the analog-ness paired with some creature comforts of the time.
I think that era for BMW was just really, really good.
Like I had an E36, just base model, and I loved it.
And then I've sat in Lars's E46.
I'm like, this feels so much like my E36, but better in every way.
And I think it's a really great generation.
Plus, that generation in general, like the 330CIs, you had a bunch of other stuff.
Even those are fantastic cars.
And I think it's just, in general, my favorite body style.
I think just that early 2000s style aged really, really well.
And not to mention, need for speed most wanted.
Like, come on.
Yeah, 100%.
That's fair.
Yeah, I think that's a very standard.
I think a lot of people would agree with you on that list.
Mine has a lot of personal opinion in it.
So we're going to start off with number three, the E30 M3.
So you picked the E30.
The reason I did, though, is straight nostalgic factor.
I think you see that car, and it's one of the most iconic cars ever made.
The E30 with those big old round headlights, and in the M3 variant, it just looks so damn good.
In our past life, we had an E30, just a regular one.
And there's something about those cars, like getting into them,
you get in, and it feels like you transformed.
Like, it just is nostalgic.
I made kind of pros and cons for each one, too.
So pros for this, it's iconic.
The lightest M3 ever made.
It's more similar to driving a go-kart.
This is the opposite of the new ones, right?
It's small.
It's tiny.
Had a four-cylinder.
Yes, and it's nimble.
In cars like that, I've always enjoyed driving.
I think they're a hoot, a good time.
But some cons on the E30 rust, obviously, at this point.
Getting a clean example is hard to find.
And the cost for what you're getting.
Are they like six figures, though?
It's ridiculous.
And they're generally considered overrated, by most, for that reason.
I think the price had a lot to do with that increase in price.
They're a tough car to, like, they're on a pedestal.
But once you get past the pedestal,
they are kind of a hard car to justify the price for.
Yeah.
That's the thing.
I think it's become more of a collector's.
Exactly.
But I still really like them.
Number two, E46.
I know what he's going to put for number one.
This goddamn, this heathen.
Pros, iconic, obviously, the most wanted.
And it's just one of those cars.
I feel like it was in every fucking magazine poster.
Like, you've seen this car growing up, the E46 M3.
I think it is one of the best-looking generations as well.
It's, like, modest.
But, like, if you know, you know.
Like, I think non-car people wouldn't look at it and think anything of it.
But car people see it.
I instantly know that it's an M3.
And then just a phenomenal platform, how it handles,
how it drives the interior.
Like, you guys were talking about the cons.
Surprised you didn't bring this up at all.
E46 have huge cons.
The big three, as it's known.
Rod bearings, variable timing fails.
And the rear subframe literally cracks.
And that needs to be done if you purchase one.
That's not like, oh, I'll get, like, those are major things
that are extremely expensive and need to be done.
Good news is a lot of people know that.
And they do get it done.
You make sure that they have the paperwork for it.
And they don't just say, oh, yeah, yeah, I got that done a few years ago.
But that's a major, major issues with the E46.
I think needs to be weighed and widened.
Make number one.
But number one, love it or hate it.
I don't give a fuck.
The G80.
Oh, I knew it.
Is the best M3 generation.
It is.
Lars has just been hovering in this area.
Pros, everything.
Cons, the cost.
It's really expensive.
But I got the opportunity to drive these.
And I think that car changed how I looked at other cars moving forward.
It literally changed my perception.
I think it is one of the best cars ever made.
Not just a generation.
I think that's one of the best cars ever made.
Oh my God.
I love that platform so much.
It does everything right.
I think it encapsulates what BMW wants to be in a driver's car,
but something that you can still take to lunch that you can take to the track.
And it can do all of those extremely fucking well.
The only con is it's just absurdly price and I'll probably never afford one.
Unless it's like total or something.
Yeah, maybe.
I don't know.
I think you have got a good list.
Yeah, I agree.
But I don't like it.
Yeah, are you going to revamp yours?
We already know yours.
Which I have said a GTI is my number one or something.
No, I don't I don't know if I could if I could change my list.
I think each there's like certain areas within the M3 lineup that were just like super iconic.
And I think the E46 is obviously in its own field.
I think the E30 was this this pinnacle moment of BMW engineering.
The E46 was another pinnacle in engineering.
And then obviously I think that the E90 was a pinnacle in its own right.
You know, in their own ways, they're like these big waves of uniqueness to them.
And I think I do think the new BMW M3 is properly good.
Like it is a properly good car.
I think where I get like almost weirded out though by it is like when you've seen a car exist for so long,
you have this understanding on what are the core fundamentals that that car should be.
Like a Mazda Miata should always be light.
It should always be something where the roof can come off.
It should always be under a $30,000 price tag when new.
Like these are just the core principles of what Mazda has always told their audience.
The Miata is going to be, right?
And then you kind of go and then you look at the 911.
The 911 is always going to be a engine all the way in the wrong side of the car.
You know, very wide, very funky, very interesting driving experience that's a ton of fun,
but requires the right driver to get like the most out of it.
When they wanted to move that engine from behind the rear wheels to in front of the rear wheels,
they introduced a whole new model for it because they're like we don't want to
we don't want to change what makes a 911 a 911.
So I think sometimes that's where you see this like certain cars, they get better,
but they're not like what they once once were.
And I think that's where you get some of that purest in certain markets that are like,
well, the new one's not like, it's not an M3.
It's like, and I'm that person with this.
You're not arguing the fact that it's a good car.
You're arguing the fact that it's like, it's not an M3.
Yeah, that's something else.
The thing is, it's just so good that I don't care.
It's like when Silverado came out with the Avalanche
and you're like, what the fuck is that?
Well, it's a truck.
Kind of my buddy at an avalanche.
You're comparing the interior, the new M3 to an avalanche.
A little, yeah.
Brother, come on.
It's got a bed in it.
I was with you until you started doing that.
I think you just got to have one for a week or something.
What, an avalanche?
No, maybe.
I got to drive the M3, the M3, the M4, the M5, the M2.
They drove all the new ones, and they were all really good.
I drove even the M6 at Audubon.
Which one?
What is the, we were at Riverside and we saw an M6 there.
Is that the one that's riddled with reliability?
There was one of them that it's like, you do not.
Some real weird things.
You don't touch those.
Yeah, usually the further up you go, the riskier.
But no, the new M5 and the new M8 share a lot of similarities,
but it's a different body design.
I drove the M8 at the Audubon Country Club, and it was a very interesting car.
Because you're like, this is a big car.
This is a heavy car.
And then you get on and you're like, this is fast as fuck.
This don't make no sense.
I think that's kind of where it's cool.
I do think that anybody who really enjoys the concept of driving the new BMWs
with all the power, with all the connectivity, that person who enjoys that
would absolutely love a properly gripped up like MR2.
Because I think those cars do such a good job at like, you feel so in control.
It's a wild comparison.
You're in so much control.
You're having so much fun with the car.
The car's doing exactly what you want to.
But when you're in a car that's properly dialed in, like suspension, tires, wheels,
and you get to go all out in a car that doesn't have any of the tech,
but it still connects with you, like it's still sticky.
It's a really, really fun feeling.
It gives that feeling, but more like it's going from the digital connectivity
to the analog connectivity.
Do you feel confident when you drive the M3?
Like when you drove it?
Yes, like overly confident.
Overly confident.
Yeah, it gives me that.
Like that's why you fall in love with the cars.
Because it gives you this confidence that you're like, I can drive this.
Like I can do this.
Like you get in cars where it's like it wants to throw you into a wall and you
lose confidence.
Then you start to like look for things that make you feel disconnected.
I think what people crave is like, how confident do you feel behind the wheel of a car?
And depending on how much experience you have and what kind of cars you like to drive
and how you drive, that's what makes you align with loving certain cars.
Yeah, I agree.
I agree.
Which is why I want a Dodge Viper.
Which is why all my picks were naturally aspirated.
Oh, of course they were.
Of course they were.
For the record too, I didn't put E36 on my list because I have literally zero
experience with the E36s in general.
I've never rode in one.
I've never been in one.
I barely ever fucking see one.
It doesn't seem like that much anymore.
It does kind of seem like it's either all the way back or all the way forward.
The middle one kind of got the ugly stick.
I just don't know anything about them really.
So that one could have potential.
It's just because I had one that it was like.
What do you think is the worst?
What's the worst one?
What's the worst M3?
Which is hard to decide.
That's really hard.
Yeah.
The thing is.
You're not saying that it's a bad car.
I was just saying it's the phrasing of it.
What's the least best?
What's the least best?
What would you say, Alex?
Are you getting.
I think I think you're going to say G80.
No, no, no.
Then we have the fight.
I think the least expecting would probably be the E36.
I do think that.
Yeah.
I think because the E36 is on this pillar of.
It's perfect.
It's first.
It's the.
Yeah.
And then the E46 was just a really properly good car.
Plus you had like the M3 GTR era and you had all of this like movement happening.
The E36 kind of just gets like shrouded.
And I guess I don't have a lot of experience with the E36.
So I'm talking out of my ass a little bit too.
But I would say probably that one out of all of them.
I would say the one that's talking about getting like overshadowed and maybe
a little forgotten about it might be a good scoop.
Depending on the price.
I haven't looked at the price.
We like the F80 M3.
Those are so good.
They're good.
But it's like I don't know what the price is at.
But it's like maybe a little bit.
Because if it's like even remotely comparable to.
Right.
Like the G80.
It's like why wouldn't you just go get the G80 then.
It can't be.
It's got it's got it's got it's had to have come down.
F80 2018 42 5 2015 37 9.
I think you're getting a lot of car for that.
40,000.
I wasn't sure that's what.
I think that's a good deal.
Jake Spence.
His is great.
Will always go down as having like the cleanest fitment M3.
Just the lowering springs and the wheels.
And I know it was golden.
He also had like the perfect shoulder sidewall on those tires too.
He always had some like thick tires.
Thick tires on it lined perfectly.
There was no camber on his car either.
That thing ran like zero.
Like to a T.
I think I think per my list.
Honestly like I would have to go with the E30 then.
Just because it's like.
I get it.
Yeah.
I get it.
All right.
If it wasn't for nostalgia it wouldn't be so high.
Right.
Yeah.
What's yours Dakota.
I don't know.
At least.
You have to.
The least best.
The least best.
The least best.
It's a hard toss up because I feel like.
Honestly after the top two.
I feel like you're just they're all on such similar territory.
I agree.
Yeah.
So it should be really easy for you to.
Decide.
Pick one.
No one will care.
Pick one.
The whole internet.
M2.
No.
Okay.
I save play for me because again I know nothing about.
I'll go E36 because I don't know anything about them.
Lars had to give me a ride in one for what like a week.
He did.
He had it for like a week.
Well it didn't really like run and drive I thought.
Does it count.
Oh I kind of remember that.
It showed up at the rally though.
I kind of remember that.
It did didn't it.
Yeah.
He sold it to the guy.
He's like yeah it doesn't.
He didn't have it.
The guy showed up to the rally.
Good man.
There's a purple one too.
It's kind of sick.
Yeah the purple is cool.
Maybe we should buy one.
They look cool.
I like how E36 M3's look.
But I mean if you're getting any M3 I think you're you're pretty well suited.
You're good.
You're good.
You're in good hands.
Fair enough.
You guys have to let us know what you think.
We may have just pissed off the entire BMW.
Yeah I'm curious to see how this goes in the comments.
The good news is I will say I think Dakota said it best.
If you are snagging an M3 I think regardless of model I think you are.
You've got good taste.
You're picking a good car as long as the maintenance has been done.
It's not going to bite you in the butt.
It is one of those like I would say real safe sports car picks out there.
Low risk high reward for sure.
But we're going to take a small break but not before talking about our next
part of the Martini Works podcast.
Dakota take it away.
Fortune auto the best auto on the planet.
You know what I'm saying.
I'm listening.
Typically we want manuals.
This time I want auto and it's fortune auto baby.
They make coilovers.
They do.
Fortune auto 500s.
Fortune auto 510s.
They're over at Martini Works.
You can filter by your year making model see what fits.
If you need something custom guess what they can do that too.
And you can even shoot us a message.
Carissa and Hamby are there to help.
And they'll help you pick out what you need exactly for your car.
Or if you want to get some you know custom stuff put on like swift springs.
Maybe a higher spring rate.
Or you just like hey this is what I'm doing with the car.
You have recommendations.
We can do that because fortune auto is completely customizable and rebuildable.
I've ran them on my cars for years.
As you guys know I absolutely love them.
Any car I get I'm putting them on fortune owls and I have.
You know my focus as team my Evo 10 and the Supra all ran fortune auto 500s.
I never felt the need to go to 510s even when I got the surprise.
I reached out to the guys at fortune owls told them what I was going to do with the car.
I was like I think like this is the car I'll be using 510s.
And they're like honestly you're going to be perfectly fine with 500s.
I was like all right and I was I absolutely was I didn't need the 510s.
So pretty much if you're a tracker I'd recommend the 510s.
But thank you so much to fortune auto for sponsoring the podcast
and check them out at Martiniwers.
Breaking news.
Welcome back ladies and gentlemen.
There's a lot of things happening in the world.
I have probably the biggest breaking news of all.
I'm just going to summarize the entire
page one of Reddit right now.
All right.
Can I just can I just tell you what it's like?
Yeah.
Uh every manufacturer currently is saying how the fuck are we going to compete with China?
Every single article.
Every single article right now is China China China China BYD China BYD China.
Okay.
Is that like internationally they're worried what could be because we don't have them over here.
Global.
There's a reason.
Okay.
There's a reason.
Because we would lose.
It's it's the reason ain't because they can't come here.
Or they don't want to come here.
The reason is that they can't currently.
So if you guys don't know BYD is a Chinese auto manufacturer and they have been they have been
gunning for the past easily probably I'd say five years.
And so if you're wondering what stemmed a lot of the Nissan and Honda deal BYD.
What stemmed a lot of Tesla's restructuring of their model lineup globally BYD.
What stopped Honda and Toyota from hyper focusing on electric vehicles for an alternative fuels.
BYD a lot of changes in terms of car manufacturing competition right now.
A lot of people think it's because of the good old maybe I shouldn't have said good.
The old people in the government that are saying what can and cannot be sold here.
That's where a lot of people are thinking it's coming from which is there's an influence.
But BYD is like it's getting serious.
Shit's getting real.
Have you seen their cars before.
No I'm not from China.
Yeah I honestly have no idea about these things.
I'm being propaganda.
But I can't wait to do top five Chinese cars in ten years.
Top five.
Chinese domestic models.
CDM.
So it's it's kind of an interesting interesting situation right now.
There's a lot of people that love the concept of China coming to America and making you know
having their cars and there's some people that think it's you know it's really silly stupid dumb.
I love Chinese food.
Where do I stand.
Does does China have tuner cars.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is there cool Chinese cars that we don't know about.
I don't know.
SUV like BYD I've seen only electric vehicles.
Yeah I don't want that.
I want I want China to come out swinging with like a crazy like pop up modified platform.
One of the cool one of the pop ups in it.
One of the cool things that America has which is a natural deterrent towards progressive
transportation solutions like electric vehicles and plug in is the fact that our country is so
goddamn big and our infrastructure is so goddamn big.
It's hard for adoption to take place throughout the entire country.
Right.
That's why when you saw like Tesla really take charge it really got popular in the west coast
because of all the like kind of tax benefits and cuts that you could get but also because
it was a heavily adopted and focused area when Tesla was like coming up.
Whereas in the Midwest we saw Tesla in 2020 and we treated it like it was a Pagani.
They're like oh my god.
Those are really cold here and they don't do well.
And they don't do well.
Right.
So I'd be interested to see where BYD comes out and how it compares or how it how it how
battles against some of the guys because some of these companies do a really good job.
You think we're going to see them sometime in the near future.
I think we will see a sub brand of the BYD name in America probably not under BYD.
I can almost guarantee it because when you get so big it really is only a matter of time.
And then there's like some sort of you know they do a workaround by getting bought by an American
company that is a subsidiary of another company like what is it what is it called WhatsApp.
Like WhatsApp super like WhatsApp we don't use as a primary here.
It is a primary like everywhere else in the globe.
Sure.
You know I think things like that.
I just hope they pick a better name than BYD.
That is kind of a lame.
I want a cool name.
What's a cool car name.
A cool car name.
Give me the coolest car brand name.
What's what is the most like bad ass car brand.
You don't have to like the cars.
What is the most like bad ass car brand name.
Honestly Jaguar is kind of sick.
It's a bit on the nose.
I like Ferrari.
Yeah that's a cool Lamborghini.
Yeah that's cool too.
Like you just say those are they don't mean anything but they sound like something
without even knowing about them.
Ferrari just has like a Ferrari.
I do agree with that.
Those are some good names.
I do think I think Cadillac is a good name.
Okay yeah.
I think Cadillac is like a good like just strong.
It like starts with a C ends with a C.
It's got a nice start nice finish.
It's got the oomph in the middle.
Cadillac.
And then when you shorten it you sound like a bad ass.
I got a Caddy.
You know like back in the day.
Yeah that's what people would say like Caddy.
Those are good names but you can't do any of that with BYD.
Yeah I got what I mean.
That's like BMW.
That's true it's BMW.
Just change a couple letters around.
What's the big deal.
Maybe it's because we're used to the BYD M3.
That's a password for somebody somewhere.
What's the worst car brand name.
The worst one.
It's like a generated password.
It does sound like a generated password.
I don't.
Let's see.
Ford probe.
I mean it's a terrible name all together.
Ford was always kind of a tough name to love.
I don't have.
I feel like Chevrolet.
I don't think that's a good name.
No.
Chevy's better.
Chevy's better.
But Chevrolet is weird for.
It doesn't scream.
They're trying to be umerican maids.
It's italicized Chevy.
Chevrolet.
And then it's spelt Chevrolet.
Like it looks ugly.
Sounds foreign and it's not.
Yeah that's not a good name.
I don't really like Kia.
Damn.
Not as like
Brent's dating a Kia.
Not like that.
Car brand name.
That's honestly the one that kind of came to my mind too.
It's like their logo always sucks.
I think it's their logo.
I don't think it's really cheap.
It's better now.
But their logo originally was just the word.
Their original one.
It comic sans like.
Yeah it was just circled.
Some guys some agency made millions.
And they're like how do we gonna design this brand name.
And they're like what if we just fucking write it.
What if we just put it in a box.
Yeah Mercedes is another good name.
That's a good one.
They drive a Merc.
That's the key.
You gotta be able to shorten it.
Yeah.
And then it's cool.
That's what made like Mercedes also had some of the best nicknames for their cars.
Like.
You're right with the short name thing Ferrari.
Ferrari Lamborghini Lambo.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But like Chevrolet Chevy.
It saves it.
Otherwise the brand would have went on.
But like Mercedes Benz had the hammer.
Like that was one of the names of their cars.
That is fucking sick.
The hammer.
Yeah.
That's so cool.
Yeah.
That's badass.
Did it back up the name.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It also kind of looked like a fucking hammer.
It was like it was this huge not huge but it was this bulky car.
That was very squared off.
It was just very angry.
And like if you said to somebody that did not know cars and like.
Yeah.
It's called the hammer.
They'd be like I could see it.
Sure.
You know.
What did they call the the ZR one zero six was called like the.
The blue rocket.
Blue devil.
Blue devil.
Careful.
You be careful.
He giggled.
What the hell cat.
Is that cool.
No.
I just don't like.
No.
Dodge went like to like.
Bro.
Dodge got like to middle school with their names.
Like make the demon.
Like the car is fucking insane.
You're talking 900,000 horsepower.
It's like the demon.
Dodge demon kind of rolls off the time.
It's kind of cool.
But hell cat.
I agree.
That's a bit middle school.
They do have some like.
I think they have like an ambassador program too.
Like Dodge does for like.
Okay.
They're like demon hell cat activations.
And they have a fucking stupid name for it.
I can't remember what it is.
But I'm really appreciative of them being involved in the
enthusiast community.
I'm just.
Scion did some really fucking weird activations too back in
the day.
They're trying to.
Connect with the youth and they were.
They were like giving free haircuts and stuff.
Oh yes.
Just make the cars.
Just make the cars are fine.
I take I'm not trying to be mean.
So dodge if you're watching this I'm sorry.
And I you know whatever dodge demon ambassadors are a select
group of influencers enthusiasts and VIP sometimes dubbed bad
aciders.
It's so middle school.
That's horrible.
That's like.
That's just straight stupid.
Choosing.
Choosing to represent the brand's high performance
rebellious image.
Rebellious like.
I need takeovers or.
Is anyone listening to this podcast a part of the bad
aciders.
You know let me know.
I know it was.
And then your band kind of cool though.
And it was just a rumor.
I don't think it ever happened.
Maybe it did.
I don't know.
The the.
Hellafin.
Yeah.
That's kind of cool.
Hellafins cool.
Because it's like.
It's not meant to be like like an elephant isn't.
That like.
Bad ass.
It's a neat animal but it's not bad as but calling it.
Hellafin makes it bad ass.
True.
And it also is a fun word to say.
Yeah.
It's fun to say.
I feel like the people who are in marketing at car
companies need to get paid less so that the people that make
the names for everything need to get paid more.
Because I'm serious.
Dude.
There was an era where you could tell there was somebody just
like on an incredible amount of Adderall at Mercedes Benz
making like the coolest fucking nicknames for like their
cars and their engines and all that.
Because the names themselves fucking suck.
The C three hundred and thirty eight.
A five.
BMW is horrible at naming vehicles too.
Other than like the M I think that's cool M three and four.
But then it got all crazy weird.
Now you can't tell the difference between any of the
lines so it's not as cool.
But give me some of the cool Mercedes names for nicknames.
I like it's random letters and numbers.
It's like they're putting in a spreadsheet and nothing else.
I don't like that.
It's hard to like name the vehicles and stuff when you got
some cool Mercedes names for me.
I'm googling some right now.
One was called the red pig.
The red.
I don't like that.
It was a three hundred SEL six point eight AMG.
They named it that.
Yeah.
They named it that.
I don't like that.
I don't like the red pig.
The hammer.
The hammer.
That was cool.
AMG tuned W one twenty four E class featuring a five point
six liter V eight.
It was the fastest production sedan in the world at that time.
That is the hammer.
Silver arrow.
That was a historic name for the color of some sleek car.
It's like a silver server.
And then the monster which was a which was the CLK GTR six
point nine liter six hundred and twelve horse.
Okay.
That backs it up.
That backs it up.
All right.
Car.
I was going to say it's got to be if you're just coining the
term the monster.
It's got to be crazy.
It was crazy.
All right.
Fair enough.
I will say that's right on the lines of demon the demon.
It you got to be you got to be careful with it.
I suppose there was one.
God I wish I the what is it the the red pig was a cool looking
car though.
That's a terrible name.
I don't like the red pig unique.
I'd have to see the car.
Yeah.
Let me I get it.
It makes sense.
I still don't like it.
Porsche also had some good nicknames like this was the
hammer.
Dude the hammer looks the hammers though the hammers
though.
Hold on.
I'm going to keep the hammer the red pig does.
He don't work.
You guys have any breaking news while I try to find more.
Oh yeah.
I mean it kind of talking about auto manufacturers.
In case you're wondering pink pig is this one.
That's the Porsche.
I thought.
Why are you pig Pegasus.
Oh yeah.
That yeah.
That's that one.
Pig when again did with the Porsche.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Pink Pegasus whatever it is.
Uh Moby Dick was a Porsche 935.
No it's not.
It's a single cab Ford F 150 long box.
That's what Moby Dick is.
That is nothing else.
That is officially coined.
Yeah.
The Whale Tail 911 Turbo had a Moby Dick.
The Widowmaker Widowmaker one.
Widowmaker is a crazy name for a car.
Probably the best one to have but it is.
It carries a just a vibe to it.
The Turbo Panzer the 935.
That's fucking crazy.
And then the baby which was the smaller version of the 935.
It was called the baby.
Don't call your car the baby.
The baby is a PT cruiser.
I'm telling you like the Europeans had the best nick
names for their cars back in the day.
Yeah they were on one.
I seen uh.
They were on one.
This isn't so much breaking news but it's more of a trending topic.
Is gray going away?
I fucking hope so.
People now want new cars with more brightly colored paint options.
Do you think that's true?
Otherwise I know black and white is like the most popular colors.
People keep buying the color they want man.
I don't know what to tell you.
I feel like it comes in it goes in waves.
Like we go to this wave of like I think of like Honda.
Like a few years ago it was at the 8th or 9th gen.
They were doing like the crazy like orange and like lime green.
Everyone's like fuck yeah.
Then like one person made fun of the lime green civic.
And then everyone's like we're not doing colors anymore.
It just keeps like coming and going.
I think it I think you're right.
And I think it's because color is cool when it stands out amongst the rest.
But then when you just have a ton of it it's too much or something like that.
But I don't know because I like color vehicles.
Somehow I always end up fucking buying a white or black car constantly.
And I don't even like fully try it just happens.
I think like especially when it comes to us.
It's like when I had the orange FRS for instance it was like wheel choice.
What are you doing?
Hot lava orange.
White and black is the safe.
But because you can do whatever you want.
You choose your colors after the fact.
Red cars you're kind of you know like all that stuff.
Like when you start to like introduce another color that gets really tricky.
And that's yeah like black and white and gray like obviously super easy.
Because it's like you could throw any color and do whatever you want.
And change it up down the road you know.
You do one and then do a completely different one.
I think that's the appeal of it.
There just needs to be more brown cars.
More shades of brown.
Why?
Because I just like the color.
That's he's trying to redeem himself.
I think brown is an understated color and more people need to use it.
I will tell you this.
I will say this.
I think we need more color in our lives.
Here's the problem though.
When you make a mistake with your color scheme on a gray car.
It's harder to spot.
Because the gray just kind of hides it.
It kind of is like the salt of the car scheme world.
You just add a little bit more salt and you just kind of let it let it bounce up.
That's what I mean.
It's like it more works.
Yeah.
It's more understandable.
You mess up your wheel color choice on a on a lava green.
Or a frickin lava green.
Like lizard green.
I don't know.
Fucking lava orange.
What else are they calling it.
The purple things like that.
It gets it gets weird.
Yeah.
You can fuck it up in a real hurry.
Accent colors even not just your wheels but like just a small accent.
You could the whole Feng Shui goes out the window.
Dale Dale Schlitz has a M3 new M3 M3.
Yeah M4 M4 and his is that green and it's a super cool color.
But like the car is like what it's impossible to buy wheels for.
The car is really like awkward to like shape with more stuff.
Like it's so aggressive OEM that when you start adding more arrow on to it it almost
like is hard to balance at all.
It just seems like a tricky car.
But then you put like these bronze wheels on it for one season.
I think it was last year.
I think there are some fraudus and like fraud is cool brand.
Wheels are cool.
Color is a cool color is cool by itself.
But when you put it next to the green.
Just didn't work.
It just from my brain it couldn't work right.
Yeah that color is almost like that.
Motegi like it's a really like interesting.
It's its own thing.
I've never seen that color on anything else in my life.
Like how Becca's M4 is with like the yellow.
It's like how that color is with green.
Yeah.
It's interesting.
Well like Becca wanted to put because we have Fittipaldi two piece forged wheels on it.
Sure.
And their brush double D brushed and then a single brushed lip.
And she wanted to get another set of wheels that she wanted to put on there and she wanted
to go bronze.
I'm like no.
No no no no no.
Like no.
That's like moldy banana.
Yeah but she's like I like that color.
I'm like yeah but once you put that color on it's going to just fucking change the
whole thing.
I don't think the bronze would look good on there.
Yeah.
To be fair all of my cars are gray with gold of some kind so I can't really talk that much
like smack.
But we have a red S15 now so we've redeemed ourselves.
And we stuck with like a matte matte gray and polished.
I like a custom color.
I can't even find this fucking color.
Which one.
Dales.
Oh.
Like I'm trying to have you tried typing in lava green.
No don't and I refuse to.
Man.
It's a colors.
Colors get so tricky.
I like I tell them that question.
Yes.
I'd love to see more.
It's Isle of Man.
Oh that's a sick name.
Isle of Man green.
Isle of Man green.
I'd love to see more colors out there.
I'd love I think.
I think the world needs more color.
Yeah I agree.
You know we all just need a bit more bit more splash.
At least as an option.
Man I feel like these photos though it like.
It doesn't do it just.
It looks different in person like when the sun hits it it.
It's such an interesting color.
Favorite car.
Favorite car.
Favorite color combo on that car.
You got to have one.
There's got to be a car that's in your brain where you're like.
This this color scheme with this car.
Oh I got one.
Go.
1996.
Volkswagen.
Golf.
Harlequin.
Color scheme self-explanatory.
All of them.
Checkmate.
Next question.
Gels what would you say.
No one is going to do that.
Man best car.
Oh by the way if you do have a friend that has a Harlequin for sale.
Yeah hit a brother up.
Then then you have as a byproduct of listening to this podcast you now have a responsibility
and that responsibility is to DM us on Instagram if you know if there is one for sale.
It has to be clean.
It can't be a complete thrown to cut.
No no no no.
It has to be clean right.
You're you're looking.
I want one that's decent.
Yeah Dakota's on the prowl and we need to help him.
Through my research and what kind of sex is there's like about a hundred left
and of that hundred there's only so many autos and manuals too and I definitely want a manual.
So it's a hunt.
It's been a journey I've been looking.
I remember when I can't remember his name.
He has one here in Wisconsin.
He's had one for like 20 years now it seems like.
When I what who is it.
I think his name is Louis.
Yeah when he was in the Wisconsin Car Enthusiast Club he was like one of the first thousand members
and I remember he put his Harlequin up on the Levi.
Levi Levi Krohn.
KROHS yeah he's fine.
He put it up on Facebook and I was like why would somebody change all the panels on the car.
It was so I didn't know what I had no idea that that was a thing I was 19 years old when I learned
the Harlequin was.
Tell us what he got.
I think the Toyota 86 Hakone edition.
It's that like really deep green.
That's such a good call.
I love that car.
I remember seeing I think it was like the Chicago Auto Show that we went to and it was there and I fell in love with that color scheme.
The interior is also super nice.
It's got like it's a black and it's got like the dark like brown like accents to it.
That that car Fox I love that color combo.
Hell yeah.
I would give it to two cars.
Second place would be that like Arctic White on the S15.
The spec R.
Oh OK.
Yeah that is like that looks so good on that car.
And then I have to go with Ferrari yellow on 458.
Damn.
No British Racing Green mentioned.
I guess Gels is close.
It's close.
Yeah.
I also do really like I'm stuck on the Volkswagen thing but the Amoli yellow on the 20th anniversary.
And on some of the Audis too I think that is such a good yellow.
I think a lot of people are good on vehicles.
There are some cars where it's like they're so associated with a certain color that you forget that they
made the car in other colors.
Like everybody thinks a Ferrari is red.
Right.
But anytime I played the video game where I could select the Ferrari I think it was in like under hot pursuit too.
You could select the car and change the color.
I always went one over to get the yellow one.
I always thought the yellow was cool.
I think like the R34 like GTR it's like oh it's either purple or blue.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's like the other colors.
Midnight purple is a super iconic color too.
I'm trying to remember.
Ford had like a almost like a midnight purple style.
It was on the new edge mystic.
Yeah.
Mystic chrome.
I can't remember the name of the new Ford GT has a has a white pearl paint too.
That is just like gorgeous.
It's got like a blue touch on it.
It's it's insane.
Anyway we're kind of ogling and drooling over car paints and colors which while we're all thinking about that
if you have one then you're gonna have to drop in a comment whether you're listening on Spotify,
YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp.
Mystic chrome.
You're right.
Mystic chrome.
That's it.
One word.
Gotcha.
But we hope you enjoyed this episode of the Martini Works podcast.
We thank you so much for tuning in.
If you haven't had a chance yet just so you know by the time this podcast is live.
Koenig forged is also on sale.
10% off.
Oh yeah.
Apex forged wheels on sale up to 40% off.
We also got air lift performance kits on sale right now.
You can save like 300 to 500.
Better hurry on that one.
Yeah.
It's only first two weeks of April.
Lots of good stuff that we have only available at martiniworks.com.
Definitely go check it out.
We appreciate the support so much.
We do want to say thank you to Continental Tire for being a sponsor.
Conti Conti.
Of the Martini Works podcast.
Absolutely fantastic tire.
You jump into the summertime.
Better to get something that you know is going to hold and going to last a long time.
Nothing better than a DWSO6 plus or an ECSO2.
Depending on the sizes, your price and all that sort of good stuff.
But what I personally love about it more than anything is I have a terrible luck with issues on the road.
Nails and shit like that and just stuff that happens.
Where are you driving?
Appleton.
Yeah.
And so when a city decides to tear down every single bridge to go from the inside of the city to the outside of the city.
True.
That's literally happening.
There's nails everywhere.
And I've actually used the roadside assistance that Continental has on a time that we were kind of stuck outside of the city.
It was super, super helpful.
And that comes with when you purchase Continental tires.
So it's called a total confidence plan.
Sounds a little cheesy.
Don't get me wrong.
Totally itcha.
But it actually works really, really well.
So insane warranty.
It is.
It's properly good.
They lost a super long time.
And if you guys are looking to get a set of Continental tires, you can head on over to martiniworks.com.
Add them to the wheels that you're already getting on sale.
Whether those are Koenigs or Moteggies or Apexforged.
And you get even more savings.
So thank you so much for listening to Martiniworks podcast.
And we will see you next week.
Bye.
Bye.
About this episode
The MartiniWorks crew debates why modern cars may ruin future enthusiast DIY: integrated screens, constant software/firmware support, and the risk of features being discontinued (CarPlay/Android Auto included). They connect that to rising mod costs, expensive sensors/ADAS recalibration, and the shrinking pool of “cheap” platforms. The conversation then turns into a spirited ranking of BMW M3 generations—E30 nostalgia, E46 “sweet spot” with known issues, and the G80 as the top pick—plus practical advice on buying reliable, well-maintained cars. They also discuss BYD/Chinese competition, car brand naming, and paint-color trends.
Original notes
Best way to support the podcast is by getting your car mods at https://martiniworks.com/Alex raised some eyebrows with his previous list of the BEST BMW M3 Generations, so we wanted to discuss it a bit further on the podcast. We also dive into new cars with all their fancy tech, and how that might be ruining opportunity for future enthusiasts. #cars #automotive #carmods #podcast
Pick up our Coffee here! https://martiniworks.com/products/other/show-merchA
HUGE thank you to Continental, Motegi, and Fortune Auto for being the official tire, wheel, and suspension of the MartiniWorks Podcast!
Let us know if you need a set of tires or coilovers.
Shop Continental tires here https://martiniworks.com/products/wheels-tires/tires?brands=continental
Shop Motegi wheels here https://martiniworks.com/aftermarket-car-parts-brands/wheels/motegi
Shop Fortune Auto suspension here https://martiniworks.com/products/suspension/coilovers?brands=fortune-auto
Check out the main channel! @MartiniWorksOfficial We also have an unboxing channel @MartiniWorksUnboxed
Follow Alex @alexmartini__
Follow Dakota @dakotastonee
Follow Gels @akagels
MartiniWorks Podcast
MartiniWorks
0:00
68:41