As the rest have...I enjoyed your shared story.Thanks !
About a year and a half ago...I too moved (from Missouri)-and drove my S.I. coupe to California.
Ended up down in Newport Coast and now Laguna Beach.
I still have my coupe....about 45k on the odometer......but I can't see getting an M' for how hard and far I daily drive my car.
And I need
EVERY square inch of trunk space for equipment and training manuals etc.
I drive very aggressively to make the best time between towns so getting lesser gas mileage with the M' in same scenario won't work at all........and then there is the added maintenance and Insurance costs .
When I test drove the M' and the S.I., I really noted the more front-end heavier feel in the M'.
....but the torque increase WAS nice !
Hopefully....a nice turbo system will be on my car in the near future so I will forget the added ponies that the M' came with.
In the meantime......lets hear more about your new experiences in that uber rare colored M' coupe !!
-Cheers,Vinny