BMW will be offering discounts for US armed forces members, both active and retired, on its line of motorcycles. Discounts for the K-Series run $500, the R-Series $400, and both G- and F-Series at $250. We'd give our eye-teeth for a G-Series fully outfitted for all-road duty, but alas, even $250 off won't put it into a non-stratospheric price range. Oh by the way, if you were interested, that HP2 Megamoto — $25,000+. [Source: BMW]

Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: Yes
Fashion Victims: No
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: Yes
Tuner Crowd: Yes
Hairdressers: No
Penny Pinchers: No
Euro Snobs: Yes
Working Stiffs: No
Technogeeks: Yes
Poseurs: Yes
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: No
Golfing Grandparents: No

Also Consider:
*Audi RS4
*Merceds C63 AMG
*E39 M5
*Porsche 911

Vitals:
• Manufacturer: BMW
• Model tested: M3 Sedan
• Model year: 2008
• Base Price: $53,800
• Price as Tested: $64,050
• Engine type: 4.0-liter DOHC Double-VANOS V8
• Horsepower: 414 @ 8,300 RPM
• Torque: 295lb-ft @ 3,900 RPM
• Red line: 8,300rpm
• Transmission: 6-speed manual
• Curb Weight: 3725lbs
• LxWxH: 180.4" x 71.5" x 57"
• Wheelbase: 108.7"
• Tires: 245/40 ZR18 front, 265/40 ZR18 rear
• Drive type: RWD
• 0 - 60 mph: 4.7 seconds
• 1/4-mile: 12.9 secs
• Top speed: 155 MPH Electronically Limited
• EPA Fuel economy city/highway: 14/20mpg
• NHTSA crash test rating: n/a

Also see:

• 2008 BMW M3, Part One

• 2008 BMW M3, Part Two

Acceleration: *****
Say what you want about relatively low torque figures, the all-new V8 revs so quickly and evokes so much power that its acceleration is all-consuming. And since when was 295lb/ft of torque relatively low anyways? The engine shares a perfect relationship with the chassis and leaves us wanting for nothing. Quite simply one of the best road-going engines ever.

Braking: ***
Never lacking in power or feel, but still has that ever so slightly not over-braked BMW feeling.

Ride: ***
Firm, but never harsh, the M3 always feels in control but would prefer you took advantage of the fast steering to avoid potholes.

Handling: *****
Simply one of the best handling cars we've ever driven, this is the M3's forté. Where other cars lie about their ultimate capabilities with over-heavy steering or artificial inputs, the M3 doesn't come alive until you're really pushing, its ultimate limits far beyond other fast sedan rivals and even its own grip levels. Want a car that'll drive sideways? This is it.

Gearbox: ****
Unlike other BMWs before it, the gear lever's throw isn't perfection, being both notchy and imprecise unless you're redlining it. An extra star added for the three pedals combined with six-gears. Thank you BMW for offering us the option.

Audio: *****
The radio works, we guess, but it's the engine you'll want to listen to. Neither woofly like a big American V8 nor screamy like a V10, the exhaust note conveys nothing but power and speed in its own unique way. For the M3, hearing is believing.

Toys: *****
There's more acronyms than we could ever list controlling every function and performance variable you could think of, and many you couldn't. When you're driving the M3, you notice none of them, except through the car's sheer competence. All the electronics serve the sole purpose of making it better to drive and giving more control to the driver, which is exactly how all cars should be. iDrive isn't nearly as infuriating as it used to be, you'll be clicking and spinning like a pro after your first day in a car so-equipped.

Value: *****
At $54,575 the M3 isn't a cheap car. But look at it this way: You get a 420bhp V8, one of the best chassis going and five seats for the price of a base Escalade. Or, if you'd prefer, nearly half the price and over twice the seats of a Porsche 911 GT3.

Overall: *****
Many purists will argue the size, weight and complication are the antithesis of an M car. In practice, these concerns aren't borne out. The 2008 model has as much involvement and more speed than any M3 before it. Where rivals are merely range-topping versions of the more pedestrian models below them, the M3 is a bona fide supercar, capable of satisfying the needs of even the most discerning drivers. This much practicality, this much pace and this much involvement from a four-door sedan? To say we're smitten is an understatement.

Also see:

• 2008 BMW M3, Part One

The top six, that's the "Firestone Fast Six" by the way, since everything from the trash cans to the retaining walls are sponsored in racing, will duke it out in a ten minute race for pole position. Naturally we expect next year to have a car carrier race off to determine pit road position and a pit bike race to settle who gets power to the trailers hooked up first. Seriously, how many races before the race must there be? [TSN]

This thought first occurs as I'm shifting from third to fourth on the same wet, windy and narrow road in the Catskills that had the Jaguar XKR tying itself in knots. Burying the throttle well into three figures that thought comes just after I ask myself if this is a bad idea. The answer is no.

The fast cars following disappear into the spray as the M3 crests yet another apex and accelerate out onto the flat corners beyond. The BMW making that impossibly fast, flat cornering believable, redefining the way in which I think a car should perform. I almost feel sorry for whatever it is I have to drive next.

That the M3 eschews conventional fast car wisdom makes it all the more special. Not present is any kind of manumatic or all wheel drive. The traction control is easy to completely defeat even if the power and electronic damping controls are baffling. The push-random-buttons-then-get-on-with-driving-it setting seems to work for me.

Those buttons, located down by your right leg, are the visible front to an achingly long list of in-car technology. A brief look reveals the usual dynamic stability control, as well as switchable throttle maps, electronically adjustable active dampers and regenerative braking. That you notice none of this once you put the owner's manual away speaks volumes for the fundamental right-ness of the design, none of it interfering as I use the throttle to play with the BMW's backend entering and leaving the mountain bends.

Earlier that morning, swamped in Manhattan's gray sea of traffic on my way out of town, there was little to hint at the M3's performance to come. The light clutch and adjusted-for-speed steering make easy work of the stop and go, while the suspension — firm in any setting — never makes the bumps go away, the jolts fail to affect the stiff body. The engine, while fast and flexible, doesn't hint at the performance its capable of. In fact, the whole thing feels decidedly normal. Looks it too, the bulges and droops making the already unappealing current 3-series even uglier. I like to think of the sedan's body as a form of camouflage; helping drivers avoid the attention a car this capable would normally garner. Even with the badges, those sitting one car over in traffic think of you as an upwardly mobile young executive from New Jersey, not someone hell bent on breaking every traffic law ever written.

But it's not city driving for which people will purchase the M3. It's the sheer involvement with which it rewards drivers. To look at it on paper, the BMW would seem a parallel for fast sedan rivals like the RS4, IS-F and C63 AMG. Gone is the lightweight simplicity of its forebears and present in the kind of complexity that'll make used car buyers shudder in three year's time. But, once you put your foot down, that piece of paper will disappear nearly as quickly as just about any other car on the road. It's just that good.

Thanks to: Brian, Tony and Matt at 0-60

Let's just get it out of the way: Peak power occurs at 9,000 rpm, to the tune of 2,139 hp; peak torque of 1,926 ft.lbs. comes in at 7,500 rpm. Okay, breathe. With that done, we can move on. We mentioned some tricks, didn't we? How about the engine not having a single gasket? That's pretty tricky right? Moran says he doesn't really like gaskets and has had issues with them in the past, so he decided to go all o-ring for this car. That doesn't just mean little rubber bands all over the place. The craziest one lives on the fire deck and is a silver-plated, nitrogen-filled, aluminum tube ring. The nitrogen heats and expands the ring and the seal gets better and better. Wow. Custom made, auto-centering piston rings, force focusing pistons, an intake system based on exhaust flow concepts.... too much, way too much. Oh, did we mention this runs in the street legal class? No? Cause it does. [via Popular Hot Rodding]

Look at the variety of cars in this 1960 race at the still new Daytona Super Speedway. Sure things were crude by todays standards, but there's a bunch of guys in short sleeve shirts blasting down a track at 150 mph in cars with the aerodynamics of a toaster. Look, you can see Bel Airs, 300's, there's a Fairlane, shoot, there are even some old Highboy's in this shootout. Now that's our kind of racin'. (As an aside, there have been few NASCAR names as awesome as the ones mentioned in the video; Banjo Matthews? Fireball Roberts? Awesome. And what do we get - Dick Trickle.)

Since we last half-assedly updated you, Kyle Busch took the lead, then Greg Biffle inherited things as Busch took a pit stop. Waltrip did the same when Biffle took a breather, then Kyle Busch returns the favor to Mr. Waltrip as of lap 124. Pit lane shenanigans begin and though Clint Bowyer is briefly credited with a lap lead all by himself, Greg Biffle quickly retakes the front spot. Other than that, they sure are driving in a column in a straight line around an oval.

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup 50th Daytona 500 Starting Lineup

Row 1
Inside: Jimmie Johnson Outside: Michael Waltrip
Rw 2
Inside: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Outside: Denny Hamlin
Row 3
Inside: Reed Sorensen Outside: Tony Stewart
Row 4
Inside: Ryan Newman Outside: Jeff Gordon
Row 5
Inside: Casey Mears Outside: Kasey Kahne
Row 6
Inside: Carl Edwards Outside: Mark Martin
Row 7
Inside: Bobby Labonte Outside: David Ragan
Row 8
Inside: Juan Montoya Outside: Kevin Harvick
Row 9
Inside: Kenny Wallace Outside: Greg Biffle
Row 10
Inside: Sam Hornish Jr. Outside: Dale Jarrett
Row 11
Inside: Paul Menard Outside: John Andretti
Row 12
Inside: Brian Vickers Outside: Kyle Busch
Row 13
Inside: Martin Truex Jr. Outside: Robby Gordon
Row 14
Inside: Scott Riggs Outside: Matt Kenseth
Row 15
Inside: Reagan Smith Outside: Travis Kvapil
Row 16
Inside: Clint Bowyer Outside: David Gilliland
Row 17
Inside: Jeremy Mayfield Outside: Dave Blaney
Row 18
Inside: Elliot Sadler Outside: Jeff Burton
Row 19
Inside: JJ Yeley Outside: Jamie McMurray
Row 20
Inside: Kyle Petty Outside: Dario Franchitti
Row 21
Inside: Joe Nemechek Outside: David Reutimann
Row 22
Inside: Kurt Busch

The Ten Commandments of A.N.U.S.
1. Thou shalt only race from a standing stop to the end of a 100-foot strip, which is constructed of an unpaved surface. Winner having the fastest time.
2. Thou shalt only use one wheel.
3. Thou shalt only use a power plant that is over five-years-old.
4. Thou shalt only use a power plant that is stock for whatever its intended use was.
5. Thou shalt not exceed the size limit of four feet in width, or eight feet in length.
6. Thou shalt compete in any of these classes:
A-Class: 750cc to unlimited
B-Class: 400cc to 749cc
C-Class: 200cc to 399cc
D-Class: Occ to 199cc
E-Class: Electric
F-Class: Rocket Class (strictly exhibition)
7. Thou shalt employ a "Deadman's Switch," which will render the beast inoperable in the event that the pilot is launched.
8. Thou shalt consider steering and brakes optional.
9. Thou shalt not touch the ground forward of the axle during any run.
10. Thou shalt touch the ground only rear of the axle during any run, but may not exceed size limitations

Feel free to visit their website (beware the ad heavy service provider) HERE where you can take a look at the historical records. time slips, pictures. Heck you can even buy and A.N.U.S. t-shirt. Imagine the looks you get with that one the next time you visit the local drag strip.

"I found myself in the passenger seat, which was strange enough, but to have "Schumi" behind the wheel of my cab was incredible"... "He drove at full throttle around the corners and over-took in some unbelievable places."

One of the more unbelievable shots of the car and a boarder together off the same jump in mid air is running on the cover of Snowboarder magazine this month so you can get big glossy pictures if you look for it on news stands. This certainly outdoes our normal snowboarding trick of bunny hop to shaky landing to comical snowball rolling down the mountain. We're also wondering if this this would be considered drifting. (sorry)[Rally SportsMag.com]

Prospective rally drivers in the UK will have a new institute of higher education in which to learn such skills as driving really fast on dirt and avoiding pine trees like the plague. Ford's RST Rally Academy at Silverstone has been set up (with BR Racing) to give kids as young as 10 an introduction to the motorsport, using special cars the company developed for that purpose. The RWD Ford Rally Sport Trainer (RST, pictured) is a left-hand-drive (represent!) two-seater with a tubular steel spaceframe strong enough to withstand inevitable rollovers and side impacts, and powered by a Ford 1.3-liter four banger. It's not GT4, but then again, the kids have to start somewhere.

Related:
Ford Launches New WRC Focus in Bologna [internal]