BMW ActiveHybrid X6 Is Stretching The Green Image Of Hybrid Cars

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I am a total fan of the BMW X6. It just looks awesome and in my opinion it is the most interesting car BMW offers these days. Of course I was intrigued when BMW announced a hybrid version of the BMW X6 SAV last year at the Detroit Auto Show 2008. The BMW ActiveHybrid X6 will go on sale in Spring of 2010 and will be launched at the IAA 2009 this month.

I got a brochure of the BMW X6 Hybrid in my hands and the specifications are a bit of a headscratcher. Read more

Posted on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW to leave Formula One Racing

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The Formula One Racing will, according to German Bild, loose one of its most prominent teams today. BMW is supposed to announce today that they will leave the Formula One by the end of the season.

BMW just reentered Formula One in 2000. For BMW the Formula One is not green enough for their new overall marketing strategy. Read more

Posted on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:30:36 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Garmin Announces BMW Motorcycle Navigation Unit

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Garmin has announced that it will be producing a new navigation unit specifically for motorcyclists called the Garmin BMW Motorrad Navigator IV. The unit is based on the Garmin zumo 660 and adds BMW specific features to the device.

Among the exclusive features are a customized mount, BMW dealer database, audio, and Bluetooth capabilities. The device has a 4.3-inch touchscreen that is glove friendly and has preloaded maps of streets and millions of points of interest. Read more

Posted on Mon, 6 Jul 2009 06:14:21 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

BMW Emergency Stop: Step 1 Towards Real Smartcars

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Alright, all these iPhones and netbooks and motion sensing video games are cool, but they're basically just self-amusement devices. It's about time we start taking all of this awesome new tech we've developed and use it to keep people from dying in random traffic collisions. Since the Jetsons came out, every sane human being has wanted a self-driving smartcar. Imagine how nice it would be to just jump in your car, type in the destination, and enjoy a thirty minute nap for your morning commute?

Unfortunately neither computer nor automotive technology have managed to advance to quite that point yet. But, thanks to BMW, we're closer than ever. They're in the process of developing a program that will be able to sense a medical emergency on the part of the driver, take control of the vehicle, and pilot it safely over to the shoulder of the road. BMW says that the Emergency Stop software will be able to pilot the car based on radar.

Posted on Mon, 8 Jun 2009 10:30:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

BMW Z4 Experience: Shameless Advertising, Awesome Ideas

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Artificial Life (AL), a mobile game and app maker, has just released the final version of its BMW Z4 Experience app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Normally I'm not one to laud apps made to advertise ridiculously expensive luxury cars, but AL has packed some pretty rad features into this app.

This BMW marketing ploy consists of four different mini-games. One of them is a standard driving game with fairly decent graphics. You can only drive the BMW Z4 Roadster, of course, but it still looks kinda fun. There's also a "traveling salesman style" game that looks like a navigation-based puzzle game. Both of those mini-games are pretty run of the mill; it's the last two that are really cool.

Posted on Tue, 26 May 2009 11:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Thermaltake Level 10 PC Case designed by BMW

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The BMW Group Designworks USA tried its hands on a PC case for Thermaltake. The Thermaltake Level 10 PC Case concept has been previewed at the CeBIT 2009.
The Thermaltake Level 10 PC Case is rather unique as it features a separate compartment for each major component. There is no word yet if this design has any advantages in terms of cooling and noise reduction. It looks dramatic that is for sure. Read more

Posted on Sat, 7 Mar 2009 06:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW 5 GT Concept Car

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BMW unveils at the Geneva Motor Show 2009 the new BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo. The BMW 5 GT takes pointers in the design from the BMW X6.
The BMW 5 GT is mixing several styles into the BMW 5 GT. You sit almost as high as in an SUV, but the overall look is a luxury sedan. The length of the BMW GT is then reminding more of a Touring.
Initially the BMW 5 GT will have space for 4 people like the X6, but will get a 3 seating option for the rear later. The BMW 5 GT is supposed to be available next year with a 245hp engine and a V8 with 507hp. Read more

Posted on Mon, 2 Mar 2009 11:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Electric Mini to come from BMW?

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Automotive News reports that BMW is planning to build 500 Mini Coopers with Electric Motors for California.

The electric Mini cars would be built at the Mini factory in Oxford, England without engines, gearboxes and fuel tanks and then shipped to Munich, Germany, where they are being fitted with electric powertrains. Read more

Posted on Wed, 9 Jul 2008 23:27:31 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW Gina Light Cloth Concept Car

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BMW unveiled a unique new concept car dubbed BMW Gina Light. The BMW Gina Light has a flexible skin enabling whole new shapes of a car.

The video below shows the impressive views of a car that is skinned by a high-tech cloth.
Of course this is a very futuristic car concept, but today there is for instance no reason from a stability point of view to use metal as a car skin. Read more

Posted on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:24:46 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW X6 Test Drive

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Car blog Jalopnik has a hands-on Test Drive of the upcoming BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe.

The test of the BMW X6 highlights lots of good points but also some negatives and compromises.
Quote: "Dynamic Performance Control is a genuine game changer, think of it as a form of stability control that gives you more control, increases grip to unimaginable levels and does both without interfering by grabbing brakes or cutting power. Other electronics eliminate dive and roll, too. Read more

Posted on Tue, 8 Apr 2008 10:30:33 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW X6 Pricing revealed

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Pricing details about the cool new BMW X6 SUV for the U.S. market have appeared.

The BMW X6 was officially introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Back then European pricing was already available.

The BMW X6 3.5i is launching in April and has a base price of $52,500. Read more

Posted on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW X6 ActiveHybrid at Detroit Auto Show 2008

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Besides the production BMW X6, BMW also shows the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid concept at the NAIAS 2008 in Detroit.

The BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid allows far greater driving dynamics than a conventional hybrid car and at the same time reduces fuel consumption by up to 20% versus a comparable car running on a combustion engine alone. Read more

Posted on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:10:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Weekly I4U Top Stories: Earthrace, BMW X6, Corvette ZR1

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The Holiday Shopping season is almost over. One crazy weekend left at the malls across the country. If you still have no gift there is always the Amazon Gift Card.

Do not miss out on our Optimus Prime Photo Model Competition.
Read more

Posted on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 07:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW X6 SAV ships in May 2008

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The BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe will debut at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show in January. In Germany the first X6 SAVs will ship in May.

We first reported about the BMW X6 in 2005 and I have been excited about it ever since. At the IAA 2007 BMW unveiled the BMW X6 Concept. Now in a couple of weeks the production version of the BMW X6 will debut at the Detroit Motor Show. Read more

Posted on Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:54:55 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW 1 Series Intorduced at LA Auto Show

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In addition to debuting the new 2008 M3 coupe and sedan at the 2007 LA Auto Show, BMW also introduced a new series called the 1 Series. Walking up and looking at the BMW 135i coupe was uneventful. The car failed to move me at all and so closely resembled the 3 Series that it made me wonder why BMW even bothered. You would expect with the 1 Series sitting numerically lower than the 3 series perhaps the difference is price.

BMW declined to comment on pricing for the 135i Coupe seen in these photos at the show. However, reports from others at the show are claiming that the price for the 1 series will be very close to that of the 3 series leaving many to wonder why BMW even went through the trouble. Read more

Posted on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:35:54 CST | by Shane McGlaun

2008 BMW M3 Sedan & Coupe at the LA Auto Show

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BMW unveiled its new M3 in both coupe and sedan forms to North America at the LA Auto Show. The coupe version of the M3 is particularly interesting to me. The entire roof section you see in the images as black is actually carbon fiber. The sedan version of the M3 lacks the carbon fiber roof.

The new M3 in both the sedan and coupe will be powered by a V8 engine producing 414-bhp and propelling the cars to a 4.7 second 0-60 time with the manual transmission. BMW claims that the 0-60 mph time is the same for both versions of the M3. With the coupe version coming standard with a carbon fiber roof, I would expect the weight reduction to translate into better performance for the coupe over the sedan. Read more

Posted on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:18:44 CST | by Shane McGlaun

BMW designed Starbucks Sirena

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Starbucks offers a cool looking espresso machine designed by the German car people at BMW.

The Starbucks Sirena is based on a Saeco machine. It comes with the ability to "auto-tamp" the coffee, pull a shot, and then with a proper heat time, steam your milk. Read more

Posted on Fri, 9 Nov 2007 13:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

The new BMW Concept 1 tii is a Drifter's Dream

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When I first saw the BMW 1 Coupe, I really did not like it. The new BMW Concept 1 tii version that BMW showed at the Tokyo Auto Show makes me love the new shape.

The BMW Concept 1 tii has an impressive 306hp and a theoretical top speed of 275km/h (~171mph) (electronically leveled at 250km/h). The weight of this fast little sports car has been reduced with carbon parts. Read more

Posted on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:36:19 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Spectacular BMW World opens Today in Munich

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Munich has another attraction besides the Octoberfest. BMW celebrates the opening of their BMW World (BMW Welt).

The dramatic architecture of the BMW World is carried by two twisted glass cones.
In the BMW World you can pick up your new Beamer in style. Your car arrives in a glass elevator and is put on a turning platform. After you get a 40 min. introduction to your new car you can drive it out of the BMW World into the real world. Read more

Posted on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:21:29 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

AC Schnitzer GP3.10 Gas Powered 3-Series BMW has 552hp

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German car tuner AC Schnitzer jumped on the green movement and developed an interesting power tuning of a 3-series BMW using auto gas.

The AC Schnitzer GP3.10 Gas Powered 3-Series BMW runs on Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
AC Schnitzer used the V10 engine of the current M5/M6 BMW cars as the bases for this project. AC Schnitzer generates 552 HP/406 kW and produces up to 540 Nm from that engine. The sprint to 100 km/h takes 4.5 seconds, and the 200 mark is passed after just 13.9 seconds.
LPG is not only cheaper than gasoline but produces around 15% less CO2 from the exhaust. Read more

Posted on Mon, 8 Oct 2007 08:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

BMW X6 Concept Car unveiled at IAA 2007

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BMW unveiled the BMW X6 sport activity vehicle (SAV) concept at the IAA 2007 in Frankfurt.

About 2 years ago we reported for the first time about the BMW X6. As you can see when you compare the photos the X6 has changed quite a bit since then. For the better I might say.

The current BMW model portfolio is a bit boring. The X6 would be a very desirable car if it were available today. Read more

Posted on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:27:20 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr