sounds like you had a totally different experience then i. i flew into Chicago on friday a.m. to buy a 330i for my boss and drove it back to Nashville. Traffic was minimal and i made my best time yet on this drive. sorry 'bout your luck.
congrats, i've had my ci for several months now, i too upgraded from an e36...im sure you'll love it. lemme know if you need any help w/ the vagueries of the climate control or anything else