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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Paris Show: BMW Confirms Smaller than 1-Series FWD Model for the USA

*Opening Photo: 1993 BMW Z13 Concept

Motor shows aren't only about new car and concept model presentations as many carmakers take the opportunity to either announce or detail future projects. And while we already know about BMW's plans to develop a smaller than 1-Series front-wheel drive model, BMW AG board member for sales and marketing, Ian Robertson, told reporters on the sidelines of the Paris Show today that the car will be sold in the United States.

BMW's people are currently calling the new model series, "UKL", which is said to be a German abbreviation for lower compact class cars. .

"It will be a relatively big segment because we have several body styles," said Robertson.

While Robertson didn't go into specific details about the available body styles, he did say the small front-wheel drive bimmer will be offered in the States with a four-cylinder engine, with sales set to start before the 2013 launch of the Bavarian firm's megacity electric car.

That means we could see the new (or shall we say 0-) Series making its market debut as early as 2012.

The BMW AG board member added the company expects to sell as much as 100,000 examples of the car worldwide a year and that he is convinced BMW can continue to command premium pricing even though it's a front-wheel drive model.

"No one has said to me the Mini isn't great to drive," Robertson said referring to the front-wheel drive cars of the BMW-group brand.

Expect to see a concept version of the new FWD small BMW making its debut at an international motor show within the next year or so.

Source: Autonews

Friday, October 15, 2010

BMW’s South Carolina Factory May Get Fourth Model, Possibly 3-Series

BMW is considering adding a fourth model to its Spartanburg, South Carolina factory in order to further compete with U.S. luxury market leaders Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.

The Bavarian firm's chief, Frank-Peter Arndt believes an additional "volume model" could be added to Spartanburg's production line. The introduction of a fourth model would help reduce BMW's exposure to foreign currency, which presently tops US$14 billion. IHS Automotive analyst Rebecca Lindland believes the 3-Series is the most likely candidate for production at Spartanburg: "The 3-Series is a no-brainer." she said.

Of the 1.07 million vehicles BMW delivered last year, 397,103 of them were 3-series models. In spite of a 9.2% rise in U.S. sales from January to September 2010, BMW is still trailing behind Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.

The Spartanburg factory - which makes BMW's X5 and X6 SUVs - recently underwent a US$750 million renovation to squeeze in the compact X3. The introduction of the latter model meant an increase in BMW's U.S. production capacity by a whopping 50%. Roughly 70% of the vehicles built in Spartanburg are exported, with more than 65% of the component parts sourced from North American suppliers.

Giving further credence to the 3-series at Spartanburg rumor is the December 2009 announcement by rival Mercedes-Benz that it would begin building the C-Class at its Alabama factory. It only figures that BMW would want to face this threat head on.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Bloomberg

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Saturday, August 1, 2009

BMW Sharpie Art Car - 2001 BMW 330ci work of Art

Travis Todd at work with a Sharpie on his BMW

BMW Sharpie Art Car Hood by Travis Todd

This BMW Sharpie art car was created by South Louisiana artist named Travis Todd. He used a 2001 BMW 330 as his canvas and drew for 12 hours straight to complete his work of art with a sharpie. Unfortunately his car was vandalised some time later. There are more pictures and a complete story about his car via.

Friday, October 15, 2010

BMW Confirms Return to DTM from 2012 with M3 after 18 Years Hiatus

BMW has officially confirmed its return to the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) starting from 2012, almost two decades since its departure from the series in 1994. The Munich-based marque said it took the decision after the positive nature of discussions in recent months with the DTM umbrella organization ITR e.V. and the other manufacturers represented in the touring car series on issues regarding the future technical regulations, and the long-term internationalization of the championship.

The company said it plans to make its racing comeback to the series with the M3 model as the firm's basic DTM vehicle.

Dr Klaus Draeger, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG with responsibility for development, says: "The return of BMW to the DTM is a fundamental part of the restructuring of our motorsport activities. With its increased commitment to production car racing, BMW is returning to its roots. The race track is the perfect place to demonstrate the impressive sporting characteristics of our vehicles against our core competitors in a high-powered environment. The DTM is the ideal stage on which to do this."

BMW has won the touring car series twice in the past with Eric van de Poele (BE) and Roberto Ravaglia (IT) who celebrated two DTM titles with the original E30 M3 back in 1987 and 1989, while before that, Volker Strycek (DE) won the DTM premiere in 1984 in the 635 CSi.

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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Survey Finds that BMW Drivers are the Angriest on Britain’s Roads

If I had a dollar for every time I was honked at, tailgated or called something unsavory on the road, I would be a very rich man. And it seems that the worst for this sort of behavior, at least according to a recent UK survey, are BMW drivers - feel free to insert your own joke about iDrive. If you want to see a frustrated / angry BMW driver in action, check out this... enlightening video.

The results were released by Gocompare.com, a UK insurance comparison site, that asked some 3,000 UK motorists about their opinion on road rage. Scroll down for their findings.

-Over 50% drivers polled said they had suffered a "bad experience" at the hands of a BMW driver.

-17% had a "bad experience" with a motorist in the last week.

-23% confronted a motorist who got out of their car after an altercation.

-10% have been involved in accidents they claim was a direct result of road rage.

-11% were forced to make an insurance claim after an encounter with an angry motorist.

-90% claim men are more likely to show signs of road rage than women.

-65% claim they encounter one intimidating driver every hour.

-The most frightening behavior on Britain's roads is tailgating (58%), other drivers pulling out in front (40%) and speeding (39%).

-40% get worried when they see others undertaking or driving faster in the inside lane.

-37% feel nervous when others flash their headlights to indicate they want to overtake.

-32% are shocked to receive a rude hand gesture.

AND... THE TOP 10 ANGRIEST DRIVERS IN BRITAIN ARE:

1.BMW

2.White van

3.Audi

4.Ford

5.Land Rover

6.Lorry

7.Vauxhall

8.Range Rover

9.Volkswagen

10.Mercedes

Lee Griffin, Gocompare.com's Chief Operating Officer said about the poll:

"There really is no excuse for bad behavior and loss of tempers on the road, and we would recommend anyone who is feeling angry or emotional thinks twice before getting in the car. It only takes one wrong decision or thoughtless maneuver to cause a really serious accident - and if you're thinking about waving an angry fist at someone, your full attention isn't on the road."

By Tristan Hankins

Via: Telegraph

Monday, October 18, 2010

BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroën want to Expand Cooperation to Hybrid Systems

The ongoing love affair between the BMW Group and PSA Peugeot Citroën has just become more intense as the two companies announced today their intention to further expand the cooperation to include hybrid components for front-wheel-drive vehicles by singing a memorandum of understanding. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the agreement.

In a joint statement, the two automakers said the components are to be used in front-wheel-drive vehicles with electrified drive trains with the proposed deal said to offer significant economies of scale for both partners, while also allowing them to standardize key elements for the electrification of vehicles.

"This cooperation will deliver a major contribution towards a competitive cost structure in the field of electrification. It also represents another important step on the road to sustainable mobility," said Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

"We are pleased to broaden our long-standing cooperation based on the strong relationship that exists between our two companies," added Philippe Varin, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën. "Combining both partners' expertise in hybrid technologies will clearly create competitive advantage."

The two brands already cooperate on the development and production of a 1.6-liter engine that is used in BMW's Mini and in Peugeot and Citroen vehicles while recent reports from Germany note that there have also been talks about a cooperation on carbon fiber materials.

In February 2010, BMW and PSA agreed to develop the next generation of their jointly designed 4-cylinder petrol engine, which will also meet EU 6 requirements.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

BMW Sends Draped 1 Series M Coupe for a Photo Shoot in Paris

Welcome to another round of insignificant teaser pictures of BMW's upcoming 1 Series M Coupe. This time, the Bavarians took a pre-production version of the high-performance compact coupe over to the Arc de Triomphe, just off the Place Charles de Gaulle in Paris, for a quick photo shoot. Once again, the car was fully wrapped so nothing really new to see here. And before you ask, we don't know anything about the man or the young woman posing with the car.

BMW hasn't really given out any specific details about the car, but we do know it will be powered by a turbocharged straight six producing somewhere around 350-ponies with the Germans also hinting that it's meant to be a spiritual successor to the original E30 M3 of the late 1980s / early 1990s.

The newest member of BMW's 'M' model family is scheduled to be launched into the market sometime next year.

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

BMW Drives New 2011 X3's Prices Down, Starts from $37,625

BMW has announced U.S. pricing for its all-new, second-generation X3 before the crossover model arrives in dealerships at the end of the year. Customers can choose from two variants, the X3 xDrive28i that comes with a 3.0-liter inline-six engine producing 240HP and a base price of $37,625, or the X3 xDrive35i with a 300HP turbocharged-six priced at $41,925. Both prices include $875 destination and handling fee.

According to the Bavarian firm, the entry price for the X3 is $2,100 lower than the previous generation model [2010 X3] which started at $39,725.

The two new X3 models come equipped with a standard 8-speed automatic transmission and BMW's xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive system, as well as with Bluetooth connectivity, iPod/USB interface, anti-theft alarm system, and on the X3 xDrive35i, standard Xenon Adaptive Headlights.

The new X3 is built exclusively at BMW's Spartanburg, S.C. factory, with the company claiming that customers will be able to make changes to their vehicle order until six days prior to the start of production.

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Monday, October 4, 2010

Pick your Parisian Poison: What were your Favorite Concept and Production Debuts at this year's Paris Show?

With the 2010 Paris Motor Show officially finished from the car fan's perspective, it's time to see what debuts people thought were the real winners and losers. From VW's less-than-lackluster Passat to the revelation of the entire new Lotus lineup, there were some very conversation-inspiring appearances this year.

Many manufacturers showed they could compete in Paris with attractive concepts, while others, who pride themselves on style, brought a dollop of bland with beige peppered on top. Segments were re-entered, recreated, and started, all in Paris.

So, car people, the question to ponder is this: what was your favorite concept and what was your favorite production car? Feel free to express which ones you were disappointed in, too.

By Phil Alex

2010 Mondial de L'Automobile Premieres