By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Cooped up in a waiting room for what seemed like hours with dozens of people milling in and out, and listening to the constant buzz of mindless conversation mixed with an occasional baby’s wail was claustrophobic.

We arrived for this mismanaged appointment under cool, drizzly skies in our 2010 BMW Z4 roadster, comfortably cocooned with steel top overhead — no claustrophobia present.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We wrote in the spring of 2002 that the all-new iDrive system in the 2002 BMW 7-Series was a “Sherlock Holmes mystery” decipherable by only the most computer-savvy people.

And we opined that the typical over-50 customer was probably too technology-challenged and would be forced into hours of reading the manual to access the many available features on the new car.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We have known a few people over the years who probably desired and could certainly afford luxury in their new-car purchases, but abhorred the thought of being seen as ostentatious; something they felt was inherent in owning a BMW 7-Series or a Mercedes S-Class or even a full-sized Cadillac (going way back).

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Prior to the Acura TL’s complete redesign for the 2009 model year, we were unabashed fans of the mid-sized sports sedan.

We loved the overall driving dynamics of the 2004-2008 TL, and we loved the styling. It was a home run in our eyes. Then along came the new TL, more refined and more powerful and a better car in many ways than the previous generation. But to this day we still can’t get our arms around the new styling, specifically the big-shield grille.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We predict that soon you will see more and more manufacturers downsizing engines — including the makers of luxury vehicles — to help meet the upcoming fuel economy requirements. For instance, Mercedes has announced that the C-Class will again get a 4-cylinder engine.