Don't get too mad..It was for a good cause.

Apparently, someone at BMW is a marketing genius. Q: How do you get tons of people who wouldn't normally even think about test-driving a BMW to come drive your cars, have TV, radio, and newspaper cover it, and do it all relatively inexpensively? A: Tell people to come drive BMWs and donate $1 to cancer research for every mile that their driven.

The BMW Ultimate Drive for Charity or something like that stopped by South Bend today, so I took the opportunity to head down and drive a BMW for my first time. I chose a Z3 Roadster since I've never driven a convertible of any kind, and well, I could definitely see myself owning a convertible someday. I had to follow a pre-planned route that lasted about 7 miles before I brought the car back. There weren't really any places to open it up since the route went through mostly residential areas with a speed limit of 40, but it was still pretty fun. The best part of it all: No salespeople! They just stick you in the car and tell you to go have fun.

If this stops by in your area, definitely check it out...It's all for a good cause, even if you don't want to drive a "clown shoe." They had everything from 3-series coupes to the V12 driven 750 sedan to the X5. No M cars though. Next stop appears to be in the Chicago area for the next week. I wish I had a web link for more information, but I haven't seen anything yet.

 

What a blast! When they came to Seattle I arrived at 8am and stayed till 6:30. I drove every car at least twice except for the 540 Sport Wagon which was the most popular. That car is incredible, turn the traction control off and the tail is literally hooked to the accelerator. You can hang it out whenever you want.
I auto-crossed the X5 in the pouring rain which was an awesome test of what it can do.
The marketing folks are brilliant because going away nobody was wondering if their next car was going to be a BMW, but WHICH BMW were we going to buy.
Very highly recommend this.

 

I did the same thing but with Mercedes. They set up a large enclosed tent, did a dog and pony show, fed us and then turned us loose to test drive not only Benz's but A4, IS300 and 3series. They had the new C-class coupe to compare against the competitors. The coolest thing was taking a test drive with a professional driver in AMG moditfied E and CL classes on a closed track at high speeds - incredible rush. I wish Audi would do this. After it was all over and I had my Mercedes Power Event cap in hand I still yearned for an Audi.

 

Had that here a week or so back... Everyone got off course a bit & drove for a couple hours n some!

 

bmwcca site has info