Like any example of excellence in a landscape of bland mediocrity, the 2006 BMW M6 serves as a mental colonic, clearing the cobwebs, heightening the senses, and forcing the use of a thesaurus to illustrate its thrilling allure. Get into the M6, and you’re faced with BMW’s oft-criticized iDrive control system, a Sequential Manual Gearshift selector that defies convention, and a multitude of controls that sometimes refute logic. The beautiful leather-wrapped dashboard, the plush Alcantara headliner, the sheer learning curve to operate the M6 – it all reeks of overkill. Now add the controversial Adrian von Hooydonk styling, with its drooping eyes and bustled butt, along with the politically incorrect V-10 engine and its $3,000 gas guzzler tax. Understandably, the critic’s cynicism builds. “Who on God’s green earth needs, or wants, this car?” you ask no one in particular as the push-button starter fires those ten cylinders. Then you drive. And you discover that you do.