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I am a very mature, responsible person, and will be receiving a 92 Mazda Protege with less than 70000 miles for free, everything (possibly even gas for a while) paid for, and it's a good car for where I'm at (a very rural area in mid-CA) but when I go to college with all the freeways, it becomes less than ideal. Now, I want to get a newer car, and when I do, I'm going to want to pay 100% cash (That I will get from my job). Now, if there's the perfect car that comes along for a steal, in perfect shape, then I will go ahead and pay whatever money I have as long as its at least 60% of the car's price, and finance the rest. Now, there are 3 main cars that I'm looking at, and they are as follows, in order of most preferred first:

1. BMW 3-Series
2006 330i with sport, comfort access, premium, and cold weather packages
OR
2007 328i coupe with all the above packages
OR
2003-06 coupe with ZHP, premium, and cold weather packages
all are available in either automatic or manual, still haven't decided on which one is best for me...

2. 2008 Pontiac G8 GT
Only available in automatic

3. 2006 Acura RSX Type-S
only available in Manual

I don't like the idea of the acura nearly as much as the others, because of how cheap it seems, quality-wise, but there is a lot of potential for upgrades, some performance without turning it into a rice rocket, and sound system.

I know that the Acura is probably the most ideal for a college student, but I would rather have the nicer car. Initial cost and insurance aside, which one would be the best choice for me?

Also, it's not about the image it portrays, but I just love cars and I'm very much a car person.

Also, not getting a newer car is out of the question, as, depending on what college I choose, I will need to commute at least 5 hours to get home to visit and stuff. Gas mileage isn't a factor in this comparison, as its more than possible to get 30+ in all of them, with the G8 GT's potential 35 MPG because of displacement on demand, and the other two with good EPA estimates anyways


Also, for my way of searching for a car, I will be using eBay motors, where there are many of each car (But tons of BMWs, mainly off-lease). So finding them isn't a problem.  

Reliability wise i'd stay away from the BMW.  They're fine when they work but when they don't they can get really expensive to fix.  I don't know much about the Pontiac.  If it were me I'd go for the Acura since it has that Honda reliability behind it.  However insurance might set you back a bit with it.  But you did say that wasn't a problem.