10 Best Cars

With the selection of the BMW M coupe and M roadster, our collective voters have succumbed to pure driving passion. These cars are expensive, not terribly practical, and not destined for any most-beautiful-car list. Yet it was the particularly peculiar-looking coupe that ultimately won us over.

The addition of a steel roof may do nothing for the Z3's lines, but it does provide a huge improvement in stiffness. As a result, the car feels rock solid, and the driver, seated low in the tiny cabin, feels like an integral component.

This oneness between driver and machine combines with the lively steering, precise shifter, and 240-hp M engine to produce an uncanny harmony between the driver's desires and the car's instant reflexes. After a half-hour behind the wheel of an M coupe, our doubts about the exterior styling were forgotten.

For those willing to trade some stiffness for daylight, the M roadster provides most of the coupe's benefits. Either way, to drive these cars is to love them.

Vehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe or roadster

Base price: $42,752-$43,706