Sections: E60 5 Series May 28th, 2008 10 Comments 
Jalopnik has a photo of a car badged 555i that a reader sent in from California. Is this a test mule for the 555 we had mentioned earlier or just someone changing a badge? Our sources are on it and we will continue to update as we get more information. You can read-up on the 555i if you haven’t already here in one of our past articles.
Sections: Design, E60 5 Series, E63/E64 6 Series, E70 X5, E71 X6, E81/82/E87 1 Series, E90 3 Series, F01 7 Series May 26th, 2008 19 Comments 
Last month we broke the news to the world that there was a new iDrive on the horizon for most of vehicles in the BMW lineup. This was met with some skepticism. As sources have continued to verify it there is very little doubt that it will indeed happen sooner than later.
What we did not know was the total package. One of our sources indicated that the car would have a hard disk and a system from Harmon Becker but we were unable to confirm this information at that time. Time has rolled on and our good friend, Jonathan Spira, has confirmed some of the same information. He has acquired information that essentially has spilled the beans on much of the up coming iDrive.
We still are a bit puzzled by the hard drive allotment; 10GB for a phone book? All in all this sounds to be a much improved system when you also consider the fact it will also feature the new controller. As we know all too well sources sometimes give you bits and pieces of information and you have to sift through them, we commend this effort and can at least agree that the system will feature a hard disk; we know this from the interior of the F01 7 series as there is only one slot! The details may still not be finalized and changes are happening regularly so the system we will eventually see may be a bit different. Information we have obtained indicates that there will be a multimedia showing of the new iDrive around the launch of the F01/02 on 07.07.08.
continued →
Sections: Motorsport May 26th, 2008 4 Comments 
BMW Sauber F1 Team - Monaco GP - Race
05-25-2008 Weather: Rain at the start, drying out later. Air: 19-21, Track: 19-22
Monte Carlo (MC). Lewis Hamilton recovered from an early contact with the barriers to win a frantic Monaco Grand Prix and take the lead in the drivers’ championship. Robert Kubica drove a clean race to take second ahead of Felipe Massa.
Finishing second in the most prestigious Grand Prix of the year, Robert Kubica made sure he took part in the podium celebrations held in the principality’s famous winners’ lounge. It was the team’s fourth podium this season and their eighth overall. Kubica’s team mate, Nick Heidfeld, who has four podiums to his credit, had a black Sunday. Having started from 12th he had improved to fifth when Fernando Alonso (Renault) hit the side of his car on lap 14. In the end Heidfeld brought his damaged F1.08 to the chequered flag in 14th and last place.
Sections: Motorsport, Official News May 24th, 2008 No Comments Kubica continues to be in control while Heidfeld is dealt another blow to his confidence.
Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying, Saturday – 24.05.08
Weather: light rain during practice, dry during Qualifying. 19-21°C Air, 19-29°C Track
Monte Carlo (MC). Robert Kubica qualified fifth for the Monaco Grand Prix. His teammate, Nick Heidfeld, ended his streak of qualifying in the top 10 for 28 consecutive races when he came in 13th. A red flag after an accident (David Coulthard) robbed him of his last opportunity to get a top ten position.
Light rain in the morning gave a preview of what a wet race would be like in Monaco. For Kubica and Heidfeld the third practice session was trouble free. Kubica especially dealt well with these tricky conditions.
continued →
Sections: Motorsport May 23rd, 2008 4 Comments 
This weekend the famed Grand Prix of Monaco will take place. The BMW Sauber F1 team is expected to do well in this race even though only one car (Kubica) will be tuned specifically for this demanding course.
Nick Heidfeld blew his motor during practice and the team scrambled to replace it so that he would be able to get back racing; whether or not this will effect both drivers is still unknown. The rain forecasted will be a further complication and may create treacherous conditions for the drivers.
If you are lucky enough to have the “Speed” channel you can tune into this race on Saturday and Sunday with a start time around 8am EST.
continued →
Sections: Sales/Marketing May 21st, 2008 No Comments Ever wonder how long you have to change your mind about a color or option? Maybe you will be stuck with it or maybe not. BMW uses specialized internal status codes to describe where in the production sequence a particular vehicle is. Depending on when you ordered the car and where the allocation slot was you usually have some time to make adjustments to the order.
Your CA can access the status of the order through the BMW computer system. You may also track your order through the BMW phone number and online via the website (these options are not as accurate). Once a car reaches status 112 you have a very brief time frame to make any necessary changes. If you have any doubts about the makeup of your order it is best to make the changes as soon as possible because once production has started you have no ability to change the car! Here is a list that helps sort out the codes:
continued →
Sections: Concept, E90 3 Series, EfficientDynamics May 20th, 2008 2 Comments The guys over at BimmerPost have some spy photos of what was believed to be the new BMW “V3″. To us the nose looked more like the X1 from spy shots we had seen a while back.
This car is in reality a E91 with an X1 nose on it. The X1 as we reported earlier will be based on the E91 platform. This mule is allegedly testing the new I4 turbo that BMW and PSA recently agreed to in a joint venture. It is much cheaper and easier for BMW to test cooling and other related systems in a modified car than to create a pre-production model. What is interesting to see is that these new motors will not only be used in the Z, and 1 as we were originally led to believe. They will be used elsewhere in the model lineup (but if you consider the X1 as part of the 1 series then it makes more sense!). There is little indication that the US will see these 4 cylinders anytime soon.
Sections: BMWCCA May 20th, 2008 1 Comment 
For all those in the North East or those that just love to participate in large scale BMW events look ahead to September 23-28 of this year.
The BMWCCA is once again hosting an event at the famous Watkins Glen race track. It is a course full of twists and turns with beautiful surroundings. It is located just outside of Ithaca, NY in the Finger Lakes Region (also known for its wineries). In the Fall this region is simply breathtaking and aside from the event there are a wide range of activities to participate in.
The event will feature general activities for socializing, car drooling and clinics. For you track warriors there will be autocross, car control clinics and a variety of track based schools. All in all it looks to be a great event at a great venue. For all those that are interested please see the official site. Register early to save some money and to also assure yourself of a quality hotel at a reasonable price!
Sections: In the Press May 20th, 2008 No Comments As we reported several weeks ago BMW and Daimler (Mercedes Benz) continue to discuss a variety of joint ventures.
The talks are more for cost savings and economies of scale than anything else. R&D, purchasing from suppliers would all benefit from a larger scale operation. This small scale has been a strong point and a downfall for both manufacturers, they tend to develop (along with suppliers) breakthrough technologies but have difficulties selling on a large enough scale to make profit margins great enough for investors and the overall health of the company.
BMW has seen a drop in its profit margins and Daimler recently lost a lot in the Chrysler fiasco so both can benefit from sharing in development costs and greater scale in purchasing. What remains to be seen is how deep this relationship will go and how it will effect future models, especially in green technologies.
continued →
Sections: //M3\\ May 19th, 2008 3 Comments As we had originally stated the //M3 sedan will be getting an update along with the rest of the E90 sedans. The front fascia will remain the same as it already has the //M specific aerodynamics and aggressive look. This spy shot from our friends at BimmerPost shows that the rear will see the new notched CELIS LED lighting more along the lines of the X6. The interior tweaks are still being hid very well for all the E90s (aside from the iDrive) as the spies have not yet released photos of them.
Space Grey appears to be a new option for the sedan. The coupe version has been wearing that since its inception; so it is nice of the coupe to finally share its paint with its four-door sibling because it is such a great color!
This means there are going to be some really angry owners of the pre-LCI E90 //M3, the car is getting a new look six months after the intro, especially if they paid a premium!
Photo from M3Post via BimmerPost
Sections: E90 3 Series, EfficientDynamics May 16th, 2008 5 Comments Earlier in the week we promised you a short video starring a BMW diesel, well here it is. It is entitled: Passing the Pumps with a Smile. It stars what appears to be a 320d (something we won’t see in the US) on a long distance road trip. Watch how many times they need to stop for fuel, or rather the stations they pass. I wonder why the US is so hung up on hybrids considering these diesels will outperform and out mpg them; this baby averaged just under 58 mpg on this trip. Let’s hope that the rumors of the 335d mpg being a very conservative estimate are even partially true!
Sections: Concept, E90 3 Series, EfficientDynamics, Technology May 15th, 2008 No Comments 
The BMW NG6 Project, Next Generation 6 (cylinder) was begun over 6 years ago. This document is believed to have been originally found in the garbage of a BMW facility back in 2003. It may be the notes from one of the engineers after they attended a meeting or presentation. So far all of the engines depicted on this have come to fruition, the only one the US has not seen is the N53.
continued →
Copyright © 2002-2007 Gabriel Bridger
