The Most Highlighted Feature of BMW M3

BMW has always been known for its style and look that constantly pulls the attention of car lovers from every corner of the world. This auto manufacturer has always introduced so many best designed car models that at times making a decision to choose a model among different modelled BMW series has been very tricky and daunting as well. If you are new to BMWs then definitely it is going to be very complex as you may find it very hard to choose between all different models. However, at the moment, one model that has pulled the customers' attention is its brand-spanking-new BMW M3 model.

Introducing a new model in its 3 series, BMW M3 is the latest and most dynamic model to take advantage of BMW's original efficient dynamics technology. This car is based on BMW's popular 3 Series sedan and comes with a modified engine, aerodynamics and exterior styling. In fact, when it comes to performance you may be totally speechless as there is no comparison. It is one of the best designed car model that will actually thrill you with its high-performance.

Technically speaking, this BMW car model derives power from a 4.0-litre V8 engine that has a maximum output of 420 bhp @ 8400 rpm and a peak torque of 400 Nm @ 3900 rpm. Moreover, there is no match to its high performance braking system that can react quickly and effectively. In fact, its lightweight braking system is generally featured with the high-performance compound disc brakes that in turn help in excellent braking even under wet weather conditions. Its dynamic control lets driver adjust the throttle response and steering assistance effectively. Adding to this, outfitted with a lightweight, ventilated clutch, this is definitely a model that is built for speed and high performance.

Its interior highlights a lifestyle, where every functional detail has been crafted to the highest standards. Moreover, it provides its drivers and passengers with functional dashes and consoles that is a class of its own. Nevertheless, featured with its refined lines along with sporty exterior, and commanding innovations, this new car sets a new benchmark in the luxury car segment. It has got a remarkably frivolous yet muscular carbon roof and an unmatched 'M' chassis. Featuring the body coloured bumpers with large air dams on the front gives it the most dynamic appearance that even ensures in the fast cooling of the powerful engine.

Finally, if we talk in terms of its safety, then this new model has got the bright xenon headlamps that come with an automatic range control, along with a headlight washing system. This BMW M3 also has got adaptive headlights, which is very effective and useful while you make sharp turns in the road. Apart from all these, this new model also comes with airbags system that mainly includes driver and front passenger airbags, head airbags at the front and rear, and side airbags.

Tested and driven on some of the toughest proving grounds in the world, this is definitely a car model that you must own. This is yet another well made and designed vehicle from BMW that you would appreciate owning and will always love to drive.

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What Should You Look For in an Auto Insurance Company?

What is a car insurance? What will an auto insurance cover?

Auto insurance companies cover you and your passengers in the event of an accident. But it is up to you to decide the level of cover you will get.

Will the damages to your property be covered by the company? Will all the passengers be covered or only your family? What if your daughter was driving your car?

What questions should you ask your auto insurance company when it comes to auto insurance? This article help you choose between the various insurance policies.

Types of auto insurance

Liability insurance, or third party insurance.

This is general the lowest form of insurance offered by an auto insurance company. This is the basic insurance, if you are involved in an accident, and it is proven to be your fault, the auto insurance company will pay damages to the other party.

The cover offered by the auto insurance company is usually set beforehand. These are the maximum amount the auto insurance company will pay in case of accident

For example the agent will agree on a $10000 coverage per person, (bodily injury) and/or $40000 coverage in bodily injury and/or $10000 in property damage per accident

You need to confirm with your auto insurance company what they will cover and what are the limits.

You might be offered a very low premium by some auto insurance company only to realize that your cover is minimal and unrealistic.

Collision and comprehensive coverage, comprehensive insurance and full comprehensive insurance

An auto insurance company will also offer you a comprehensive insurance, as the name indicates, you will be comprehensively covered.

In simple terms it means that if you are responsible for a collision the insurance company will pay for the repair of the vehicle.

But it is not so simple, an auto insurance company will almost always have the final say on what amount will be paid out, so if it is cheaper to give you market value for the car, then they will.

You might think that your car is worth $1000.00 but the real market value might be $500.00. This is not an uncommon scenario. So if the repair of your car are more than $500.00 then the auto insurance company will simply pay the book value of the car.

You must make sure that the insurance company is not in control of the market value of the car, normally organisations like the AA will give an impartial market value.

As with the third party insurance, the auto insurance company will almost certainly limit the amount that will be paid out, but in general terms, a comprehensive insurance will have higher limits.

Recreation Vehicle

A recreation vehicle needs its own insurance, a Recreation vehicle insurance is not the same as auto insurance.
You should not assume that because your car is comprehensively insured, so is your recreation vehicle.

Other Types of auto insurance

Medical (MedPay), Persona Injury protection (PIP) and no fault cover

This insurance will cover you and your passengers medical expenses in the event of a collision.

The no fault cover means that the auto insurance company will pay regardless of who is at fault. This give you the piece of mind that, at the very least, your family and friends are covered.

PIP is often a minimum requirement in some countries or states, ask your auto insurance company what the requirements are.

Uninsured/Underinsured motorists' coverage

This cover, (also sometimes a minimum requirement in some states), will cover you if the person at fault is not insured or is underinsured.

You must ask your auto insurance company what you will be charged in case of such a situation. Normally the auto insurance company should not charge you some extra premiums.

Rental reimbursement, towing and labour

Those 'extras' often given with a comprehensive insurance is often use by auto insurance companies as specials.

So in case your car is damaged the auto insurance company will pay for rental costs, (sometimes only for a few days).

The auto insurance company might also offer to pay for the towing of your vehicle, (not always included).

As always you should ask your auto insurance company what is included in the cover.

The legal requirements.

Most states, and most countries will require a certain level of cover, from full comprehensive car insurance to third party auto insurance.

In most cases it is up to you, the driver, to ensure that your auto insurance company offers you the minimum required. In most cases the insurance company, (the auto insurance company), is under no obligation to instruct you of the requirements.

But of course, a good auto insurance company will, (should?), try its outmost to advise you on the best deal for you.

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The 1963 Four Seater Corvette That Almost Was

Saying four seater and Corvette in the same sentence is like saying super model and ugly in the same sentence; it just doesn't fit. Yet in 1963 the Corvette was extremely close to becoming a four seater. How close? So close that they developed a working prototype and began to work on the advertisements for it.

Now Corvette enthusiasts can deny this claim all they like and even though GM wisely destroyed the prototype a couple of years later, there are still photos that exist and photos don't often lie. So what lead to this decision to even entertain the idea of the Corvette becoming a grocery getter and how was it stopped?

The idea was actually born in the mind of Corvette legend Ed Cole who is the man who had the foresight to know what the Corvette could represent to Chevy when he first glanced at the prototype. Now before the urge to boo and hiss sets in listen to the reason why. Cole wondered if a four seater Corvette would be able to compete with and eventually beat the four seater Ford Thunderbird that was enjoying so much success at the time.

The project was handed over to Larry Shinoda who had to just gag at the prospect, but he nevertheless did his job. Shinoda took a midyear coupe and stretched it out an extra 104 inches to accommodate the two rear seats and the leg room that would be needed in order to pull off the project. This made the C2's wheelbase increase by six inches.

So why did this four seater never make it to production? Why it obviously was scrapped somewhere along the line, how it was scrapped remains a mystery. Some say that Bill Mitchell himself fought tooth and nail to allow this travesty to happen and stood firm without backing down. Others claim it was at the ordering of then design director Chuck Jordon.

The best story though is the one that says a big wig from GM came to the production line to check out the prototype and initially liked what he saw. He promptly sat in the back seat and when he went to get out the front seat would not unlock to allow him passage. The story ends with GM workers having to completely take out the front seat to allow the trapped GM executive out and once he was out, the four seater Corvette was dead.

However it came not to be, lucky it didn't. Imagine the difference a four seater Corvette would have made in the car's legacy. The perfect example is the Ford Thunderbird for which they were trying to copy. It became less of an obsession among speed enthusiasts and more of a family oriented sedan.

Happily the powers that be at GM saw the error of their way with this thinking. The Corvette has always been and should forever remain a two seater sports car. If you want to get the groceries then hop in your other "family vehicle" and have at it. Just leave the Corvette alone though so its integrity will always remain in place.

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Finding the Right Type of Wrangler

The Jeep Wrangler is one of the most popular vehicles on the road today. There are a number of different versions, all well-equipped with standard features and all able to be upgraded with some optional features. Following is a comparison of the Wrangler Rubicon 2 Door 4x4, Wrangler Islander 2 Door 4x4 and the Wrangler Mountain 2 Door 4X4.

The Rubicon, Islander and Mountain all come standard with a manual 6 speed transmission and a 3.8 liter v6 engine. All three models have an available option for a 4 speed automatic engine. The Rubicon features a 4:1 part time 4WD system while the Islander and Mountain versions come with a shift-on-the-fly four wheel drive system.

All feature 17-inch wheels with slight design differences. The Rubicon and Islander have painted satin carbon wheels. The Islander has aluminum painted wheels. Each come with a set of standard off-road tires and a matching spare wheel.

The sound systems for all three models begin with a standard media center 130 CD/MP3 radio. The Rubicon has as standard equipment a 368 watt, 7 speaker top-notch sound system which also includes a subwoofer. The Islander and Mountain models come with a six speaker system that can be upgraded as an option with the 368 watt system. Satellite radio comes standard on the Rubicon and is an option for the other models.

Cloth seats with adjustable head restraints come with the basic Rubicon package. An optional two toned leather trimmed seat is available. The Islander has a cloth seat and features the Islander logo. The Wrangler Mountain's seats are also cloth with an embedded Mountain logo.

Heavy duty front and rear next generation axles provide a sturdy ride for off-road driving and are standard fare on the Rubicon. The Islander and Mountain have a heavy duty rear axle and a solid front axle.

A power convenience group consisting of power door and window locks, an alarm system and a keyless entry system is available on the different models.

Air conditioning and fog lamps are standard on all models. All come with a soft top roof. A three-piece, rigid, modular top is available as an option on all three models.

Choices for exterior color are the most extensive on the Rubicon. There are two shades of red, two shades of blue, green, black, charcoal, white and silver exterior paint on this model. The Islander has black, white, silver and blue color options. The Mountain has a choice of black, mango, blue and green.

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Car Leasing Terms You Must Know!

When it comes to leasing a car, every potential car leaser is obviously looking for the best deal possible. However, the problem is that most of these potential customers do not really understand the lingo and terminology associated with leasing a car. This makes it sound like they don't really know what they are talking about when they are trying to negotiate a good deal at the car dealership. There are many terms that dealers often use among their co-workers when discussing lease deals and understanding most of these terms can be work to your advantage. What follows are five leasing terms along with not only what they mean, but their significance as well.

1. Capitalized Cost

The capitalized cost is basically the reduced selling price that the dealer is using to calculate your monthly payment. If it's a good lease deal, the capitalized cost is significantly lower than the MSRP. A lower capitalized cost or cap cost gives you a lower monthly lease payment.

2. MSRP

The MSRP stands for Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. It is basically a marked up version of the invoice price which is what the dealer pays the manufacturer to put the car on the lot. It is important to always compare the MSRP of a vehicle to its invoice price to see just how low of a selling price is possible. The selling price of the car is the negotiated price that the dealer is using to compute your monthly lease payment. You should aim for a selling price that is as close to or even below the invoice price.

3. Cap Reduction

The cap reduction is the sum of money you pay at the time of signing a new lease deal in order to reduce your selling price. For instance, if the dealer agrees to a lease deal where the capitalized cost (selling price) is $25,000 with a cap reduction of $1,000, this $1,000 would reduce your selling price to give you a net capitalized cost of $24,000. While it is true that you are putting this money "down", you shouldn't confuse the cap reduction with the down payment because the down payment is generally the sum of the cap reduction AND other fees such as tax, licensing, and registration fees. The cap reduction is the specific amount of your down payment that is being used to reduce your capitalized cost and therefore reduce your monthly payment.

4. Residual Value

The residual value is a dollar amount or percentage that represents the projected value of a car after a specific number of months or years. It is generally set by the finance company that provides your lease agreement and cannot be changed. When looking for a car to lease, you should always seek cars with high residual values. Cars with higher residual values have lower monthly payments. Compared to American cars, Japanese cars have much higher residual values which make them great cars to lease. You can use a car lease calculator to see how variations in residual values increase or decrease your monthly lease payments.

5. Money Factor

The money factor is basically the interest rate in leasing terms. The money factor should be a small numeric figure that should be comparable to the interest rates available for auto loans. You should know how to convert money factors into interest rates to give you an idea of how much the dealer is charging you in finance charges for your lease. To get the equivalent interest rate, take the money factor and multiply it by 2400. Compare this value to the interest rates available for customers interested in financing a car. Are the rates close to each other? They should be!

If you understand the 5 car leasing terms mentioned above, you can use this car lease calculator to calculate a hypothetical car lease payment. Doing so will give you a better understanding of what kind of payment you can expect for the car you are interested in leasing.

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