BMW M3 Prototype Spied in Malibu Today (Automotive)

On my way back from Malibu today, I spotted a BMW M3 prototype parked in a local Malibu grocery store parking lot. I was driving southbound on PCH, made a u-turn, and pulled into the lot to snap a few pictures (one of the interior including the 6 speed manual transmission) and videos. After taking a few, the driver exited the store and got into the vehicle. He didn't seem too happy to see me, but didn't do anything evasive to get away. Considering the official pictures of the vehicle have already been released, as well as most of the specifications, I'm not sure why he wasn't more friendly. Regardless, I got some shots and footage for all of you to enjoy. The exhaust was very quiet. As it pulled into traffic and got on the gas, I could hear it slightly from where I was. As a bonus tidbit, two Ford GT's were on PCH just as the M3 jumped on so keep an eye out for those at the end of the second video. The third video is the official E92 M3 release promo footage. Enjoy.

BMW M3 Prototype Caught #1

BMW M3 Prototype Caught #2

BMW M3 Official Promo Video

Contributing Editors?

If you are passionate about cars, or anything automotive and would like to write about it, email me an article/column at matt.talbot@talbotautos.com with Auto Thoughts in the subject line. I will post it up if it's on a worthwhile subject, and well written. Share your highly educated opinion.

Don't Want to Help It, but...Redline (Automotive)

I don't want to encourage movies like Redline, so I am hesitant to spend any time writing about it. I assume most of you who read this blog already know about it. It has been heavily advertised on the Speed Channel, Myspace, and Spike to name a few. And then there was that boost in unconventional advertising when one of the stars, Eddie Griffin (if you can call him that), crashed a Ferrari Enzo. It was convered by nearly every automotive blog about 4 times. It has become so infamous it was displayed in front of the Mann's Chinese Theater for the premire in half destroyed form.

It really doesn't matter how bad the plot is. The fact that it has an Enzo, Carrera GT, Mclaren SLR, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster, Ferrari F430, and some sweet motorcycles is appealing. However, I do have a personal negative connection with the film. (besides the fact they destroyed a real Carrera GT for it) The producer of the film, Daniel Sadek, is a mortgage mogul who has made a fortune off of subprime loans, or basically loans from people that really shouldn't be getting them in the first place. He is the former boss of one of my close friends, and is not a "good guy." I suppose he has the right to do what he wants, and with $26 million dollars of his own money invested in the film, it seems that's exactly what he has done.

I predict 8 million at the box office this weekend, although I fear 15. There is no way in hell, right? I'll give my review when...I mean if I see it.

Magazine Subscriptions (Personal)

If I get someone at my door selling magazine subscriptions one more time, I might have to go crazy um em! In the last month at least 3 different people have come to the door with ridiculous stories and potential trips on their horizon. Their overpriced two year minimum magazine subscriptions and shady business practices are getting a bit ridiculous. I already get so many magazines. I'm sure they hear that all the time, but I literally get way too many. For example:

Car and Driver, Road and Track, Automobile, Motor Trend, CAR, EVO, Men's Fitness, Wired, Dwell, Modified Magazine, CMYK, I.D., and a few others from the New stand now and then.

Let me repeat, if you are selling magazine subscriptions, do not come to my house. You might get a taste of the Talbot Elbow, and let me say, it does not taste good.

No Recall, No Problem (Automotive)

I was recently reading a Long Term Review Conclusion of the Honda Civic Si coupe. The testing was done by edmunds.com. (You can find the article here-Civic Si Article) Something in particular in the write up caught my attention. At around the 10,000 mile mark, the edmunds staff reported the Si having difficulty changing from 2nd to 3rd gear, especially when cold. I thought this might prove as a good test.

Automotive journalist long term reviews have a tendency to be a little biased. Not because of bad testing, but more due to the nature of the beast. If it is ever known the vehicle is associated with an auto review, the dealership will go above and beyond normal protocol to get a great review. In other instances the vehicle is purchased far below what the normal consumer can purchase the vehicle at. (Magazines and online publication have gotten much better about this, purchasing the car like any consumer would) In my experience dealership are the least helpful when it comes to manual transmission maintenance. Whether it is a resistant gear change or a chattery clutch, it is the easiest problem to blame on the customer. My sister's 2003 Subaru WRX has had it's clutch replaced due to chatter. She is an excellent driver, and does not burn out the clutch doing high rpm starts, etc. Regardless, they were very resistant to fix this problem under warranty. Someone of an older age and different sex later brought the vehicle in, and they agreed to replace the part. (A different issue entirely) I research the forums shortly after and found many other early WRX owners experiencing the same clutch problem. It definitely was not an isolated incident.

This and other instances with dealers and transmission problems led me to believe the Honda dealership would do nothing for the Si's gear change problem. If anything, this would be the most justified case to do nothing. The vehicle had been run on a track to capture initial performance numbers, and driven by numerous different drivers spread across the spectrum of manual driving ability. I'm not saying the dealer should be a full disclosure experience, but it would not be unjustified for the dealer to deny any transmission warranty work. Typically a new pronounced difficulty to shift from one gear to another is caused by missed shifts. Honda manual gear boxes (RSX type s, NSX, s2000) tend to be some of the best, most crisp transmissions around decreasing the likelihood of missed shifts. Either way, the problem was a reality on the edmunds.com's 06 Civic Si.

The Santa Monica Honda dealership reported back with the dreaded "Could not replicate" response which basically means we say it's not a problem, thus it is not. I was glad to see edmunds did not receive special treatment, but disappointed to see that these manual transmission issues were ignored once again. In a similar fashion to my own actions, edmunds' staff checked the Si forums for similar reports of a 2-3 gear shift problem. Sure enough, it seemed to be a somewhat regular occurrence confirming they were not alone. Some minor fixes would listed, but none did the trick. This forced them to just live with the problem as many of us do. Unfortunately, if you drive a performance manual transmission vehicle, you change gears a lot, especially the 2-3 shift on a short geared vehicle like the Si. Transmission problems have a huge effect on the driving experience.

This may be a bit of stretch, but: Could this problem be one cause of the major decline in popularity of vehicles with manual transmissions. I think number one has to be laziness, but this could be second. From an enthusiasts stand point, I know a manual transmission is easier to fix and less complicated than an automatic one, but I also know that automatic transmission failure cannot be pinned on a driver as easily as that of a burn clutch or recalcitrant trans. The problem is a catch 22. Manual transmission are commonly sold on higher performance vehicles. Higher performance vehicles are more typically driven hard. Vehicles driven hard are less likely to get dealer sympathy even if the problem occurs to the same make and model repeatably.

I wish I had some grand scheme fix in mind, but I don't. I'm not sure how to fix this problem. A more unified dealer maintenance database (available to the public) might serve as the first step. If a reported shifting problem from 2nd to 3rd was recorded by dealers, even if they couldn't replicate it, it may serve to show Honda there is a problem with the Si transmission. Eventually the complaints of the same problem from different owners in different locations would stack up in the database illustrating some real problem. That sounds right to me.

Formula Drift: Round 1 Long Beach

I attended the first Forumla Drift event of 2007 in Long Beach this weekend. There was a little too much down time between races for my taste, and the ending was very anti-climatic, but the drifting action was awesome as usual. Not only did I get to see Rhys "Mad Skillz" Millen tear it up in his new Solstice GXP (with 560hp from an Ecotec race motor), but Samuel Hubinette's Charger (featured in the previous posts ad) and a couple of Mustangs too. At least one of the Mustangs had Fords aluminum Eliminator motor sporting 700hp. It sounded appropriately mean. I was able to take some mpegs of the event, so I will share those with you here. One in particular shows a specifically well known embassador of drifting lighting up the tires on his Viper. Enjoy. If you are viewing this posting somewhere other than http://autothoughts.com, visit this site to see the embedded items.

Tarzan in the Viper


Rhys "Mad Skillz" Millen


Samuel Hubinette in the Charger


Charger vs. Mustang


Drifting like many things, is best experienced in person. It's hard to imagine how amazing these moves are. Most of the the drift vehicles were hitting speeds somewhere between 55 and 62mphs on the main turn, which was still very narrow. The tandem runs are even more amazing.

BFGoodrich on the Big Screen (Advertising Automotive)

I attended the Formula Drift Event in Long Beach this weekend. (I took a few mpegs and will embed them in a future article) It was great to see some of the new 07 Drift Cars out there including a couple mustangs, a dodge charger, and a Pontiac Solstice driven by none other than Rhys "Mad Skillz" Millen. Unforunately there was a lot of down time between runs. During these breaks some advertisements would loop on the big screen. One in particular caught my eye. It was an ad for BF Goodrich tires featuring the Mopar Dodge Charger Drift Car (650hp on 104 octane) driven by Sam Hubinette. I won't ruin it by blabbing on what exactly happens. I will say it's an effective tire advertisement, better than 90% of other tire advertising. Not to mention eye catching to the automotive enthusiasts, exactly who they should be catching.

If you are viewing this somewhere other than autothoughts.blog.com or autothoughts.com then visit either one of those addresses to see the embedded material.