Every so often I find myself lusting after a new set of wheels. This is such a time. The first step of fighting this expensive lust is to stop the subscription of the car magazine that shows off the latest and greatest sports cars. Check.

But as they say, “talking about it” also helps with the problem, so here it goes:

What I’m going to describe are cars that make me smile when I see them on the road. Not all of them are exactly feasible as a daily driver, but many of them would be up to the task. Since I’m not going to buy new, all these cars that are at least 2 years old and available on the used market. Some of them are nevertheless quite expensive – especially in maintenance.

Let’s start with a list:

• Mercedes S500 AMG V8 Kompressor
• BMW 335d
• BMW 135i
• Mini Cooper S convertible (oh, I already got one of those)
• Audi Q5 3.2
• Audi S5
• Porsche Cayman S
• Porsche 911 S4 – 997 model (2007+)
• Volvo C70 hardtop convertible with the T5 enginge
• BMW GT 550 – Twin Turbo V8
• Subaru WRX stationwagon
• Audi R8
• Audi Allroad 2.7T (for snow) 2008
• Caddillac CTS-V wagon (supercharged 6.2l V8 – 556hp)
• Toyota Prius (yes, I’m serious)
• Mercedes CLS (2008)
• VW Corrado G60 (1993)
• BMW 635 CSI
• Porsche 928 GTS
• Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
• Volvo C30 T5
• Lotus Elise
• Audi A8L 4.2 (until 2001)

Oh, the list is so long! Well, there is a theme here: I like cars either for their powerful and hopefully super/turbo-charged engines, their large size, their looks or their technology. Sometimes it’s a combination of it. There would be more Diesel powered vehicles on the list if they were only sold in the US. We only got the wimpy small displacement TDIs from VW and Audi in the past. If we had the 2.5 and 3.0l TDIs in the US, they would all be on my list. But they’re made of “unobtainium” in the US. And the general public doesn’t know what they’re missing. Last year I drove a BMW GT 530d in Germany and couldn’t believe the power of the vehicle! What a blast to drive!