Grassroots Motorsports
Issue link: http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/i/397024
Grassroots Motorsports 69 PROJECT CAR: BMW M235i We started pawing at the shuttle's glass like dogs begging for a treat. But instead of allowing us to pounce on our new car, our guides whisked us away to a shiny classroom with giant pictures of BMWs hung everywhere. It didn't take us long to realize that we were being prepared for some time on track. After about 20 minutes of instruction, which honestly amounted to "Look at the road and let the computers do the work," we were led outside to a line of waiting BMWs. They weren't M3s like we expected. Instead, it was an weird assortment of vehicles: a 5 Series here, an X3 there, and–ooh, look–an M235i! BMW provides Performance Delivery students with nearly identical copies of the cars they actually purchased. If you bought an M3, you get one of the Center's M3s to thrash on track. And yes, they do put students on track in X5 SAVs —that's Sports Activity Vehicle. SAV buyers get some time on the off-road course, too. We asked, but they wouldn't let us take the 2 Series through the water hazard. Our time on track was spent learning the limits of our car, with the instructors only stepping in when necessary. We'll be honest: Some of the les- sons were pretty boring for us car people. But for the average buyer, it was obvious that this half-day on track could be a lifesaver. We started off with an ABS braking exercise, and it terrifed us. Jamming on the brakes wasn't scary in itself–after all, we do it on track all the time. No, the truly chilling part was how terribly our fellow students handled it. Most of them had no idea you could hit the brake pedal that hard without break- ing it, and had never experienced ABS before. One lady even said she took her foot off the pedal when the ABS started working. A delivery experience like this should be man- datory for every car buyer, not just those who opt for BMW's program. It's not that diffcult to show buyers how their cars' safety systems work, and from what we saw, it's defnitely necessary. After the braking exercise came the highlight of the on-track action: a tight course, similar to an autocross, that we were allowed to attack as fast as we wanted for about half an hour. Then, we did what most of the students–well, everyone but us– were dreading: the spin. BMW thinks it's valuable to put students through the experience of spinning a car. Their goal is to show them how the stability control steps in to prevent it. 8. We also visited the BMW Zentrum, the on-site BMW museum. 9. There are no words for how slow this combi- nation must be. 10. The wet skidpad terri- fed most of the students, but through and came out smiling afterward. david s. wallens photo 8 9 10