BMW E36 Blog

Scott, a reader of the BMW E36 Blog, has sent me some info about a project that he’s working on. The project is actually a carputer (Car Computer) that will be installed in his 1997 318is and will be handling the GPS, music, phone calls (Freehand) and reverse camera. The idea is really cool and I think Scott has accomplished most of the project. Here’s a video of the touch screen installed in the car:

For more details about the project and the components used, please refer to Scott’s website
here. Thanks Scott for the great info.

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate E36 Information Source.

It seems that I have a weakness towards head units that will look and act great inside a BMW E36. I’m sure that by now, every BMW E36 owner here knows that if you don’t like the original BMW head unit or you just need a little bit more options inside your head unit, that you will have to sacrifice the look of the car to get these options. In my "quest" to find the best head unit for the BMW E36, I wrote about the Bluetooth Ready Headunits For Your BMW and the Bluetooth Ready Headunits For Your BMW . . . Revisited! which were very good choices indeed. The problem with all these great head units was that they will not fit into your dashboard 100%. It will always look a little bit different than its surroundings.

Today, I’ve found a new head unit which is the Blaupunkt Bahamas MP46. This unit is great and will blend nicely inside your BMW E36. Take a look at these photos of the head unit:

Now for the best part. This head unit can be set to illuminate amber which will match your BMW dash 100%. I saw a picture of this head unit with the Amber color somewhere, but now, I can’t find it. Sorry about this guys, if you saw that photo, you would know what I’m talking about.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I wrote about Bluetooth Ready Headunits For Your BMW before and I suggested the Pioneer (DEH-P7900BT) and the Sony (MEX-BT2500) headunits to be used in your BMW cars. The only problem that I could see and didn’t like about these two types was the blue illumination which didn’t exactly fit into your BMW car illumination. I’ve received some comments about other types that are designed with the same purpose in mind. One of these is the Alpine iDA-X001. This headunit is designed for iPod users and integrates flawlessly with them. This headunit doesn’t have integrated CD-ROM. Only Radio + iPod connection to play and manipulate your songs inside your car. This is a really cool way to store and play your music. It has almost the same interface that you use to play music using your iPod. And best of all, it can work as a car phone kit at the same time by using the Alpine Car Bluetooth Adapter. If you are not impressed with all what I’ve just said, I’m sure you will be when I tell you that this receiver can illuminate in either Blue or Red colors which will make it look great in your BMW E36 console. I’ve prepared some photos for this Alpine headunit for you to check out. Please take a look and let me know what you think. Oh, yes, I just wanted to thank Alexander for the photos that he sent me.

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.