I gotta say, I love the new BMW 3-Series. Whether you're a fan of Chris Bangle's design concepts or not, you have to admit that the upcoming 3-Series is going to continue the legacy that it started. And with it's unveiling, BMW wants to make sure they make a huge splash for this corporate cash-cow - so they're going to hit the market, and hit it hard.

On March 26th, BMW will kick off a historic grassroots 44-day cross-country tour dubbed "3 Across America" to celebrate the launch of the new 3 Series. The "3 Across America" tour will culminate on May 6th, with an 18 hour marathon broadcast which will be aired on a special SIRIUS BMW Channel.

The program will consist of an entertaining and continuous "travelogue" of the entire coast-to-coast tour, including local attractions and adventures experienced on the drive, unique and eccentric stories from the road, live interviews, and vignettes. The journey will be topped off by a live concert starring top name performers.

A caravan of classic BMW 3 Series cars, new 330i Sedans, and the 3 Series' spiritual predecessor, the 2002ti -- representing the breadth and heritage of the 3 Series -- will depart from New York and travel across the country, ending up in Los Angeles on May 6th, which is also the official U.S. "on-sale" date for the new 3 Series. This cross-country caravan will give people across America a sneak peek at the new 3 Series before the car arrives in dealerships.

Snippets from the road will be compiled into minute-long updates to air across SIRIUS talk and entertainment channels throughout the "3 Across America" tour. Attendees of the various events across the country will have the chance to share their favorite driving stories, songs and experiences for these broadcasts. Listeners will also be treated to the sounds of local flavor from each city, which will be peppered throughout the broadcasts.

Very, very, very cool.