Bloated

So you Counters out there remember my oleragtops.

Actually, this olelongrooffan has had a total of four BMW E30's in the last fifteen years. I have owned a version of one continuously since 1999.

Here is a shot of *ss end of my wrecked ragtop. The second E30 ragtop this olelongrooffan owned.

A little known fact here on By The Numbers is that this wreckedsedan was owned by this olelongrooffan. It was purchased for $200 by this olelongrooffan.

Why? I am sure you are asking.

Well Counters, much like the Bus and his 8N tractors, the tires were practically brand new and I ebayed a bunch of parts off of it.

Below is an image of the first ragtop this olelongrooffan owned.

This picture was shot while visiting my Uncle Frank on his annual pilgrimage from St. Louis to Fort Myers, Florida to watch his local amateur men's softball team play in the national tournaments they were always in.

Love that expression on the face of this olelongrooffan, don't ya?

It was a great visit and the last time this olelongrooffan, thejeepjunkie, my daughter Jessica and Uncle Frank were together in this world. It was a wonderful time, in an Uncle Frank sort of way.

Love you, you 60's Pontiac Convertibles owning son of a gun.

Anyway, here is my current oleragtop.

Now, as to the purpose of taking you Counters along with me in this recollections of my E30's?

As a follower of the automotive industry, some stuff just jumps out to me, as I would suppose it does to others with similar interests.

Well, a couple Saturdays ago, this olelongrooffan and a great friend attended an art show down in MickeyMouseLand and I had my first live look at the new BMW 1 series.

This olelongrooffan was appalled. I mean, I know, I have been following the plight of BMW ever since Chris Bangle arrived on the scene and injected his thoughts into the design of BMWs. And it was decided during his tenure there that BMW decided to become all things to all beings.

Yes, as the esteemed Mr. DeLorenzo points out, BMW's board wants a BMW, no matter what type or style, in every driveway everywhere.

As a result, this olelongrooffan thinks they may have lost their soul, as Mr. DeLorenzo points out, to their rival, Audi.

Now, that aside, automobiles in general, due mostly to the United States of America's government safety requirements, stimulated by the Great State of California, has some of the most restrictive safety requirements In The World.

Now it can be said this is a great thing.

But this olelongrooffan doesn't hoon his cars in an unresponsible fashion as some do these days.

And this olelongrooffan is certainly in favor of the theory of providing safe automobiles to your average soccer mom driver, or a Prius fan, or to folks who just want a "safe" airbag equipped automobile to drive.

And there should be an option for that vehicle to be available.

But I have this to say about that.

BMW's entry level 128... sorry, in my last post I described it as a 135, my bad, but it is the same body style...anyway, this entry level coupe, priced is at $32,000

and it is larger than any of my E30s.

The reason for the bloating of all cars in general is the requirement of additional "safety" equipment.

Now this olelongrooffan is not just talking about BMW.

Remember the mid 70's Honda Civic? How about the late 70's Accord? The new Civic is larger than the flagship Accord of the late 70's.

And there are many more examples, just think of any automobile produced now that was around in the late 70's and the early 80's.

I just want fun in my daily drivers and having had only two accidents (and in neither of which was I at fault) since this olelongrooffan was 16 years old, yeah, 34 years, I don't really need a ton of airbags and crumple zones to protect me.

H*ll, the crumple zone on my olestationbus is my knees and this olelongrooffan is willing to pay a little extra on my Geico account to get this.

But no. Because of some folks out there, we all have to drive these semi sterile automobiles that just take the Joy out of the motoring experience.

But know, this olelongrooffan has the eyes and ears to protect this olelongrooffan and my passengers.

So, can I get one?

Nope.

My government has determined that this olelongrooffan's new ride needs to be, as the new BMW 128 coupe is, equipped with

Six Airbags...yeah six...hey I got seat belts, a brake pedal and a steering wheel to help me out here...

A climate control system that dedects the amount of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere and automatically changes the air flow to correct this.....hey this olelongrooffan has a pretty large nose and can just open a window on the super rare occasion when things don't seem so well....

and this 128 also possesses an Enhanced Braking System that will

*dry off your brake rotors if you are driving in the rain....won't just a tap or two on the brakes do the same thing?

*if you are stopped on a hill, it will keep you from rolling backward...hey isn't this what an applied brake is supposed to do? And if it is a standard transmission, that effort is something you should have learned a long time ago.

*if you are braking repeatedly, it knows you need more brake pressure.

Oh Wait...someone sell that technology to Toyota!!

And Counters, that is it for this blog.

It was fun to put together and remember to

Celebrate Life.