Letters.(BMW)(Brief Article)

Bimmers

Re: The lightweight new BMW Z5/M Coupe (News, Dec. 17, 2001). A 2000-pound car with 200-plus horsepower? Marvelous! And from the Bring More Weight motor company, to boot. It should kick serious Honda S2000 and Porsche Boxster S tail. I hope the price per pound stays constant.

L.C. Bohrer, via e-mail

Jeff Sabatini's piece on the new BMW Compact (Dec. 24, 2001) was a welcome turn from your editorial staff, which has never quite ``got'' the Compact, always seeing it as a compromised sedan. There is a constituency of people who've owned more proletarian hatchbacks and now want the same utility with better build quality and a hint of luxury. The previous ``failed'' 318ti was the best hatchback I could buy in the United States and I plan to drive mine for several more years, but with nothing to replace it on the BMW lot, when the time comes I will be shopping elsewhere.

Ian Grush, Watertown, Mass.

Bad year

In the North American Car and Truck of the Year competition (News, Dec. 24, 2001), it looks like 2002 will be remembered as the year of the ugly, the obese and the mediocre. The ugly: Chevy Avalanche and Cadillac CTS. The obese: Jeep ...