Originally Posted by Rudy' post='523760' date='Jan 28 2008, 09:50 AM

This incident is quite tragic indeed and I'm not sure what else to say other than to offer my sympathy to all the families that were affected by this event.

It does remind me of something I often think about with regard to something BMW could do to help prevent these incidents from occurring in the future. Obviously, this isn't BMW's fault and it's not BMW's responsibility to prevent these things from happening but there is something that can be done to add an additional "safety net" for situations where immaturity and/or lack of experience override common sense and skill. (If I think back to the days when I was 18, if my father had an M5 in the garage and went out of town with my mother, I doubt I'd have found an airport runway in the middle of the night to drive on but it's still likely I would have done something stupid with the car -- even though my dad told me not to drive it...)

The concept I'm speaking of? How about adding some sort of "parental controls" to the software of our cars. For example, my E30 M3 (1989) had a "code" feature that allowed me to preset a four-digit code when turning the car off. Once a code was set, the car could not be started unless it was entered again. I'm pretty sure that when BMW put this feature in those earlier cars, it was designed as an anti-theft device more than a parental control but clearly it could've been used for either.

Taking that process a bit further, BMW could setup different "permissions" in software that could allow different drivers (with different codes) to be used to "unlock" things like the ability to start the car or the ability to unleash the car's full potential, etc. For example, there could be a menu of options that could be turned on or off by the car's "administrator" that would allow a person to tailor the different settings to different "users."

Some examples of the settings could be:

• Turn off the ability to disable DSC.
• Have the ability to adjust the speed limiter down to some lower maximum speed.
• Prevent an M-car from turning on the "M" button or, on SMG cars, not allowing certain drivelogic modes.
• Have the ability select a mode that reduces the car's horsepower and/or redline.
• Disable the transmission from starting in 1st gear.
• Etcetera, etc.

The list is limited only by the imagination, I suppose...

Again, I'm not saying BMW is to blame here but in the age of the V-chip, etc., why not offer some control over these 500hp beasts?

Originally Posted by Rudy' post='687844' date='Oct 7 2008, 09:22 PM

All I can say is -- good job Ford BMW should follow this lead and add something similar to the iDrive system and/or the key (as Ford did.) It makes way too much sense, at least to me...

Originally Posted by alexf9496' post='687853' date='Oct 7 2008, 11:32 PM

Agreed, but this is nothing new and the technology is certainly there. In 1990 the $80,000 ($150,000 street) Corvette ZR-1 with the 405hp handbuilt Mercury Marine engine had a "valet switch" that would detune the engine to 150HP. Fast forward 19/20 years and add electronic engine management...I don't see why this isn't being done by more of the major manufacturers. Insurance companies could also offer a discount for cars with these restrictions.

Originally Posted by alexf9496' post='687853' date='Oct 8 2008, 12:32 AM

Agreed, but this is nothing new and the technology is certainly there. In 1990 the $80,000 ($150,000 street) Corvette ZR-1 with the 405hp handbuilt Mercury Marine engine had a "valet switch" that would detune the engine to 150HP. Fast forward 19/20 years and add electronic engine management...I don't see why this isn't being done by more of the major manufacturers. Insurance companies could also offer a discount for cars with these restrictions.

Originally Posted by E60714' post='687951' date='Oct 8 2008, 03:26 AM

Why not beat some sense into your child?