Now, you'd think that a keen ear would have heard a significant increase in the exhaust note's volume before noticing the faint scrapping sound of rusty German metal on American pavement, but the piping was apparently so rusty that it had been significantly loud for as long as I'd known it. So, after pulling over onto the shoulder, I figured it wouldn't be very difficult to just complete the job right then and there. Though only the tailpipe was resting on the ground, the entire muffler felt pretty loose. Rather than hassle with attempting to unbolt this or that, I simply got down in the dirt and started kicking the dang thing. That loosened it up nicely, but it still wasn't off completely. So, lacking any gloves, I grabbed a pair of socks from my bag and slid 'em over my hands so I wouldn't burn myself. Twisting the muffler back and forth, it soon broke off like a tab from a Coke can. Victory. I hoisted it into the air then slammed it on the pavement. That thing ain't gonna muffle any sweet inline-six gurgle-tones no more.

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Now, I wouldn't consider myself too biased towards Bavarians of this vintage, but I have owned a few of 'em. I've had this one since autumn, and it's actually my first 6-series. Without a doubt the E24 633CSi is stylish, but it's certainly not as involving to drive as an E30 325is, as easy to powerslide as an E28 535is, as rare as an E23 732i, or as economical as an E30 325e. But you do get the feeling that you're in something slightly more special than a standard Bimmer. So a good buy then? Well I paid $2500 for this one. It's got a couple little issues, like non-functioning gauge lights, brakes that feel absolutely wooden, and wipers that always get tangled up on each other, but it's also fairly rust-free for a Michigan car, and is a somewhat rare 5-speed manual. But to be honest, I had no intention of buying it when I went to go look at it. The problem was... I looked at it, and kept looking... staring at it as the setting sun turned the ambient light around it into a spectrum of red and orange gently bouncing off that glorious grey paint. Call me a sucker, but it was just too damn pretty.