I just found this in the parts catalog for my car:

I want one! I’m sure my dog won’t appreciate being strapped into the car, but it’s for his own good. I also wouldn’t want him to turn into a 70-pound projectile in case the worst happens.

It’s a BMW part, but from the schematic, it seems like it would fit any car. The BMW part numbers are 82200308651, 82200308652, and 82200308653, (depending on what color you want) and they cost $140 on realoem.com.

We all know that when a large heavy object hits a smaller and lighter object, the larger one usually wins. The same is true with automobiles. Smaller cars generally do not fare well when they get hit by larger cars, trucks or SUV’s. With more and more SUV’s hitting our roads today, the incidence of these types of crashes have been on an upward trend. This mismatch in car crashes are what crash experts call the compatibility problem.

Here is a short segment from the show “Fifth Gear” that shows exactly what happens in such a crash, and what could be done to minimize the loss of lives.

There is a reason why when a new “M” car is born, it creates a ruckus among car enthusiasts. The BMW Motorsport department or “M” has been known to release some of the best performing, and fastest cars on the race track and the road. Now, the new M3 is just around the corner, and I have high hopes for this car.

From the photos I have seen, the car seems to be a step forward in terms of appearance over the current 3 Series (E90). Although M3 will be based on the E92 (which is basically a coupe version of the E90), it appears that the only body panels they will have in common are the doors, and possibly the headlamps and tail lamps!

I am a bit disappointed to see that the driver oriented cockpit of older BMW’s have not returned on this M car. The dashboard is still the same flat unit seen on the newer “Bangle” cars. Older BMW’s have a curved dashboard with the ventilation, radio and other switches and controls angled towards the driver. This used to be a welcome design feature that gave drivers an added sense of control. The reason why BMW might remove such a nice feature is beyond me.

Judging from the interior photos, I am happy to see that a normal manual tranny will be available for the new M3. Some drivers (like me) still prefer a normal stick shift with 3 pedals compared to a paddle shifter. I enjoy having to heel and toe or rev match my shifts. Having a computer do that for me in my opinion, takes away some of the fun factor in driving. For those who want that Formula 1 feel in the car, or for those who want to shave off every single tenth of a second they can in a race track, I am sure the M3 will also be released with SMG paddle shifters.

The “power bulge” on the bonnet will house a high revving, high performance V8. I would guess that such a power plant would most likely require a huge amount of air to operate, hence the necessity of large vents on the front apron of the car. I am curious to see if they will install an entirely new engine for the production version, or if they will use the same engine found in the E39 M5’s.

Personally, I would want a smaller and lighter engine than the V8. Some people might argue that BMW needed more power in order to stay competitive, so a V8 would be a logical move. For me, if they had kept the car light by removing all of those driver aids and luxury items, they wouldn’t need such a powerful engine to be fast. Lotus have been doing that with a fair amount of success on the Elise and Exige.

Overall, the new M3 looks good so far. I am sure it will become a fine weapon of choice for the track, and still work well as a daily city commuter. I hope it lives up to what an M car should be, “The ultimate driving machine”.

My office mate was kind enough to send me this link.  Some of you might want to check it out.  Here’s the link:

http://pingomatic.com/

Here’s a fun little quiz for all of you! It’s short and shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes to complete.
http://anos80again.host.sk/test/teste-e.html

And here are my results:

So sweet! You’re Tuxedo Sam! You’re outspoken, intelligent and very elegant.
Unfortunately, people seem to not be well aware of your existence anymore.
It’s up to you to make them remember you’re such a lovely person!

Which Sanrio Character Are You?