Speaking of closed track racing with the BMW X5, I thought I would post a nice little video of a Porsche Cayenne GTS vs BMW X5. A friend of mine at the tennis club has the Porsche Cayenne GTS. I am not really all too fond of the body style. I think the X5 is a little taller and I’m pretty tall. Also, I don’t like the Porsche hood. Unfortunately, the Porsche won this race.
Just when I thought I was running out of cool magazines to read, a sweet one arrived in the mail. It’s called, “BMW Magazine.”
I have been thinking pretty good thoughts about BMW ever since I got the X5. The reason they are so favorable to me is because they kind of “absorb” you into their family once you purchase a vehicle from them. I’m not quite sure what happens if you get a used Beamer from someone on the street, but when you get a new one from the dealer, the red carpet is rolled out for your entire experience.
One thing that I really liked was receiving a nice DVD box set a few months ago. BMW likes to remind you about all the cool products and accessories they offer through email, but this little box set was pretty impressive. They give you a tour of their factories and throw in a bunch of cool videos that just make you drool over more over their brand. I mean, there really is no disputing how awesome most of their vehicles are.
It’s almost amusing how BMW hits the market as accurately as they do. I remember all about target markets from a few classes back in grad school and I know there is a lot that goes into connecting with buyers and potential buyers. Just flipping through the pages of this magazine made me want about 20 things. It can get ugly.
As Laura was walking by the door this afternoon, I yelled, “Hey, check out what I got in the mail today. You gotta check it out…it’s for people just like me. You know, people who like those titanium watches with all the dials and stuff like that.” She chuckled and kept on walking. I even chuckled when I noticed advertisements for those exact watches on pages 7, 15, 17, 62 and 67. Man.
What’s really fun is reading about guys driving BMWs around closed course tracks. Even better than that is seeing them driving around the same model that I a drive every day. It’s kind of strange…
Yesterday, I was out cruising around when a funny thing happened. The gas warning light came on.
I knew I was running low and that I needed to fill up. It’s not so strange that the gas light went on…that’s happened a million times to me. I really hate to stop for gas. The strange thing is that a warning “type” light went on in the instrument panel on the dash. For a while, I didn’t know what it was and why it turned on. Today, I made an effort to reset it and discovered a few things in the process.
Average fuel consumption indicator lamp – 2008 BMW X5 3.0si
The light that turned on was actually the “Cruising Range” indicator lamp. I am guessing that the minute the low fuel lamp comes on in these cars, the cruising range light comes on telling the driver how many more miles they are able to drive on the fuel left in the fuel tank. I think that’s pretty nifty.
When I was buying this car, the sales guy kept telling me, “Jay, there is so much engineering in this thing, you can’t even imagine.” It’s weird, because I keep discovering things that just make sense. It’s a very intuitive vehicle.
While I was sitting in the parking lot of Whole Foods in Glastonbury this afternoon, I read all about the computer displays in the instrument panel on page 73 of the owner’s manual. There are a few options you can check out by clicking the “BC” button on the turn signal lever.
If you take a look at the photos above, you will see photos of the cruising range, average speed and average fuel consumption (not necessarily in that order) indicator lamps on the instrument panel. A while back, I discovered a few of these features in the i-Drive system, but this is like a little short-cut to the simple views.
I know this post doesn’t really make sense or good reading to many of you who might be looking at this, but I did get some response from the last post I wrote about the various features that BMW offers in their newer models. I’m just writing for the interested. Tomorrow, I will probably be back to lawn care.
I recently made a little vow to myself that I would try to learn more about this BMW iDrive that I encounter every time I drive around. It is quite the computer system and it has a lot to offer. The only problem is that it has a lot to offer. I know, I just said that. I am a “get in the car and drive” kind of guy, so this whole iDrive thing goes a little against my grain.
I guess my grain is changing, because I started fiddling with some stuff the other day. I came across a really cool feature that I have been playing with ever since. It’s the “Trip Computer.” I am sure lots of cars have this, but since this is my first experience with one, I though I would share it with you.
Basically, I clicked the “Menu” button and then “Car Data.” From there, I visited the “Trip Computer.” There are three options…Start, Stop and Reset. Since there was already data stored in there, I chose reset and then start. I think they do the same thing. Then, I drove for a little while. It was really cool.
Yesterday, we went to Costco in Enfield, CT. I thought that the trip would be a great opportunity to show Laura the new feature I discovered. As it ends up, she didn’t express all that much interest in it. Actually, I suspect she is wondering why anyone would spend any amount of time making this feature in the first place. Funny how people like different things.
I left the house and set the trip computer up. When we arrived at our destination, I took a photo.
As you can see from the photos above, the trip computer tells you the departure time, the trip duration, the distance traveled, the average fuel consumption and the average miles per hour.
The area I like the best is the average fuel consumption. While I the highway, we were averaging over 21 miles per gallon, but things got worse when we turned on the back roads. The stop and go doesn’t do any favors. The sales guy said that some people report over 23 miles per gallon on the highway.
Now, let me assure you that this type of fuel consumption doesn’t really excite me. What does excite me is that BMW introduced its new diesel engines into the American market this year. The X5 is getting 26 MPG on the highway with the diesel engine and the 5 series gets up to 36 MPG. Now, that’s something that excites me. I just wonder how they handle the whole “diesel fuel gelling up on really cold mornings” issue.
Have you ever had one of those nights where everything was just way too fun? That’s what happened to me last night.
Around 8:30, I finished up dinner and walked back up to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher. I did a little tidying up and poured myself a nice glass of Brandy. Then, I took a small sip and walked up to my office for a little work. That is basically where the problems started.
I had a few more small sips of my drink and started getting into my usual 8:30 – 11:00 routine. A little work here and a little work there. I wasn’t doing anything all too serious, so I decided to turn some music on. Of course, I started listening to my new favorite band, “Days Of The New.” Seriously good music. Well, the next thing I knew, I had the music playing way too loudly and my drink was gone. The worst part about the whole thing is that I was halfway through a blog post. Let me just tell you this – it was magical.
I always worry about those types of posts. Good thing I never actually publish them because I mostly tell you what I really feel. Well, this time was a bit different. I finally started working on my story. Remember the one I told you about? It’s the one that’s going to knock your socks off. Yeah, I am trying to make this one worthy…worthy enough to be a chapter in my most unique book that my sister Lauren is going to put together for you.
I saved the post as a draft last night and just took a quick look at it. It’s not long; probably a few hundred words. I was quite surprised to see that it was better than I had hoped for. I would really like to post it, but I’m a little nervous about what people will think. It’s pretty odd at times. I’ll think about it. It isn’t that big of a deal because it’s just a prelude anyway. Maybe I’ll have my mother edit it before I do anything with it.
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So Rob came over to the house tonight. I told him to remind me to get a picture of the two us us together so I could write about the visit, but he forgot. So, unfortunately all you ladies out there won’t get to see a picture of the two most handsome guys on the east coast. Maybe next time I’ll put the camera on the desk or something to remind me.
I think we had a really good visit. I gave Rob the house tour and then we talked business for a while. That was fun because I like seeing the fire in Rob’s eyes. He is a born entrepreneur…maybe even more than me. Let me remind you that it was Rob who was doing this stuff before me. He’s one of the people who came up with crazy ideas that actually made money long before I ever did anything. All I need to do this time is keep him on the straight and narrow and things should be fine.
After we talked business, we headed out to pick up some pizza and salads. That was cool, because I got to show him the new car and how it drove around these winter roads. I asked him if he saw the “driving in the snow” videos and he told me he hadn’t. So, I am linking to it right here. Michele, please pull him to the computer and have him click this link. Thank you.
The pizza was pretty good. The salads were pretty good. Typical stuff, but Rob liked the thin crust.
After we were done eating, I thought it would be a good idea to load up a big bag with about 42 empty beer bottles. I am giving them to Rob, so he can use them for his beer making. I am also letting him borrow the capper and some caps. I gave him 6 of my prize-winning beers too. We cracked one of the chocolate ones open and I have to tell you that they are tasting much better these days. Very full of body.
As Laura and I were saying good-bye to our dear friend, we made a vow that we wouldn’t let another year go by without seeing each other again. We have way too good of a time together to let these years pass by so fast like this. After all, we are only an hour and a half away.
When I got in the car this afternoon after playing tennis, I was surprised to read this coming from the car computer:
“Low tire pressure. Stop carefully. For Run Flat tires with “RSC” symbol, you can continue driving with max. 50mph (80km/h).”
Also, there were a few warnings near the gauges…
2008 BMW X5 3.0 gauges with low tire pressure warning
This caught me a little off guard, because I didn’t think anything was wrong with the tires. They looked fine. I drove a little bit and started to get concerned. After a mile or two, I pulled over and got out to check the tire again. Apparently, the computer was telling me the front, driver’s side was low. I looked at it and gave it a kick. It was fine. I chalked the reading up to the cold weather causing the lower pressure. I guess the computer is quite sensitive.
I drove for a few more miles and made a right into the first gas station I came across. I saw the big “Air” sign, so I pulled over close to the air machine. I hopped out and did my thing…unwound the air hose, pulled off all the air caps and put my 75 cents into the machine (did that go up?). I started to put air into the first tire, when I realized the gauge on the air filler upper thing was broken. Okay, I guess I wasn’t going to be able to check the pressure in the tires. I wound the hose back up, got back in the car and drove way, cursing the gas station. What’s the sense of filling the tires without checking the pressure in them?
For the remainder of the ride, I kept thinking that I should go to the store to get myself one of those small air compressors. I would also need to get an air gauge, because after looking everywhere in the car, I couldn’t find mine.
When I got back to the house, I found my air gauge and checked the tires. The air that I was able to put in the low tire had filled it up just enough and the others were fine. I decided against buying an air compressor because I am trying to be cheap again and I really don’t think I need more stuff. As long as I have my tire gauge, the gas station (working) air machine will be fine.
At this point, in front of me was the task of resetting the tire pressure warning system. I knew it was in the owner’s manual, but I looked online anyway. When I couldn’t find it there, I looked in the owner’s manual. I reset the system and it now works fine.
Since I couldn’t find out how to reset the tire pressure warning system online, I decided to place a snippet of the owner’s manual here for you, just in case you were looking.
When I went and bought this car, I knew I wanted the “xDrive, intelligent all-wheel-drive,” but never really thought I would use it. At this point in the season, I am beginning to see how it can be handy to have around.
I got a great idea around 7PM this evening. I was getting hungry and it was snowing outside. I would say about an inch already fell. What better way to celebrate our current snowstorm than to go out and get some pizza?
The pizza place is a few miles away. There are no serious mountains to climb or drive down, so I didn’t really see anything wrong with hopping in the car to go for a ride. Actually, I was looking forward to it, because from what I have already experienced, driving in this car is like riding a train. BMW is awesome.
As I was cruising up the driveway, I gave it a little something extra, like I usually do. I didn’t get that normal 4-wheel spin, but I did get some pull. I credit the snow with not being all that slippery for that. As I drove down the road, I did a little zig-zag to see what the roads felt like. Nothin’. It didn’t budge. As I went around the first tight corner, I did feel a little slip, but the car corrected by itself. I think I was getting a little too comfortable.
I was about half-way to the pizza place when I realized that I could be taking pictures of this whole experience. I mean, how often do you get to see pics and vids of someone driving in the snow? Not often. Oh, you are going to love this…
2008 BMW X5 driving in snow storm
2008 BMW X5 driving in snow storm
I couldn’t decide which of those two photos was better, so I posted both of them.
The photo above is for my father. He is always asking about the gas prices here. It’s what fathers do.
2008 BMW X5 tire and rim
That’s just a random shot of the car tire. I was standing there pumping gas with a camera in my hand. What did you want me to do?
2008 BMW X5 dashboard at night
Oh yeah, I got some video for you too. Check ‘em out. And to think, I wrote all this, the same day I wrote about blogger’s block. By the way, that’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Thistle & Shamrock” on the radio in the background.
Now, I know this isn’t nearly as exciting as politics, but it’s important nonetheless.
I got a trailer hitch.
I went over to Home Depot the other day with another $100 gift card that I earned from my debit/credit card points. I wanted to pick up some stakes for the new baby pine trees that are due to arrive soon as well as some programmable thermostats.
On the way over, I said to myself, “Hey man, why don’t I pick up that trailer hitch I have been thinking about too?” Then, after I agreed to myself in the affirmative, I though, “Jay, you are wicked fine.” See folks, this is why I use this as my personal blog.
I did my thing and picked up the other products that I might write about later on. I then walked over to the hardware isle, where they keep the trailer hitches. I saw some pretty cool stuff over there. I found the hitch that I wanted and then took one look at the pin that goes through the assembly. The pin wasn’t bad, it was just that cheap little clip that held the pin in that made me pause from concern.
Reese Towpower Trailer Hitch
I decided that the cheap little clip wasn’t doing it for me, so I picked up one of the locking ones instead. At least this way I know it’s not going to fall out while pulling my cargo. You can see what I am talking about in the photo above. The keys are hanging out of the pin.
Reese Towpower Trailer Hitch on BMW X5
I am putting this photo up for my brother to see. He warned me that I didn’t get enough of a drop. I told him that the drop was sufficient because the hitch itself wasn’t that high. There is a two inch drop on this hitch. Basically, I just wanted to point out the height of the hitch from the ground.
As you may have noticed, the last post I wrote about the 2008 BMW X5 was kind of vague. Also, I included photos of a car that was in the showroom. What I would like to introduce tonight is the car I actually bought.
It took a few days for the dealer to get their hands on what I wanted. They had to ship it down from Massachusetts. The biggest issue was that I didn’t want leather. BMW offers an interior in leatherette, so that’s what I asked for. As you might guess, they make fewer cars with leatherette than with leather.
It only took the sales guy a few hours to find a vehicle for me. The problem was getting it to Hartford. There was a weekend in between, so it took a few days.
The car they found was a 2008 BMW X5, V6, space gray metallic with black leatherette interior. The car came with the cold weather package (retractable headlight washers, ski bag, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, heated front seats), rear climate package (privacy glass, rear manual side window shades, 4-zone automatic climate control), running boards and dark bamboo trim. I also requested that the car have floor mats, a towing package and the roof rack base support system. There was a whole bunch of other stuff to choose from, but none of it really interested me. This car is one huge computer that is going to take a while to learn as it is.
Ok, who cares about all that stuff. Here are the pictures.
Hey, remember that time I told you about how I got frustrated because I couldn’t fit anything (like furniture) into my car? Well, if you don’t, you can read about it right here. It was just a few days ago.
Well, after that night, I started thinking. Then, I started driving. After that, I started driving towards New Country BMW in Hartford. From there, I found myself signing paperwork for a new 2008 BMW X5.
