I would even argue that the e39 was the death rattle of 'Ultimate Driving Machine'. In the mid 90s, I managed to get an e28 for cheap. It was pretty no frills, but you could absolutely thrash that car and it would come back begging for more. I took that car to the edge of sanity as often as possible. They had me 100% sold on BMW. I had to have another.

That was until I actually drove an e39. It was definitely luxury. I mean, yeah, it drove pretty well. I know I would have been happy with it as a commuter, but it wasn't thrashable. I've test driven every 5-series since then, and they lost me.

I had been considering an e34 as that was the height for me, but in the late 90s I ended up with a deal on an Audi 5000CS Quattro that I couldn't turn down. I always compared the e28 and the 5000 as similar but the BMW was masculine and the Audi feminine. That has since switched. Audi keeps coming out with driver's cars and BMW keeps coming out with soft cars with a BMW badge on them. I've had a few Audis since then, but couldn't bring myself to buy a BMW.