If Kirath reads this, he\'ll tell you to buy an Audi of some kind. I wouldn\'t do that, but maybe you\'d like to consider it.
For a 4 door sedan in that price range, I\'d go with a Lexus, probably the IS300. A standard transmission is now offered, and the car just looks very very cool. Lots of performance and appearance mods available, though I would keep the changes subtle if I were you.
I will admit that BMWs are fantastic from a performance standpoint, but I have an irrational bias against them. Here in LA they are more common than all the stoplights, traffic signals, and mailboxes but together. It seems whenever LA people raise their income, the BMW [or Mercedes] is an automatic purchase. It always seems to me that if you buy a BMW, you run the risk of blending in with all the brand worshippers, instead of having something that\'s superior AND more unique on the road.
Then there are those people who have an irrational bias against japanese manufacturers... Perhaps might think that Germany = the best, and Japanese = cheap compromise. I obviously don\'t think that.
