Our friend Jonathan Spira has just posted an exclusive review of the all new, redesigned, improved, you name it, iDrive system. As we mentioned several times before, the new iDrive will be available on the 2009 BMW 1, 3 and 7 Series. 

Just recently, we dedicated a full lengthy article on the new iDrive System and all the goodies that come with it. The article contains quite a lot of details as well and it’s a great read.

But until today, we haven’t had the opportunity to post a personal review of someone that actually spent some time playing with the iDrive and putting it to several tests. Jonathan was lucky to have this chance and he did a great job talking about the new features. On top of this, there are also two videos available showing the iDrive system in action.

I hope you will enjoy this and if you have any question for Jonathan, please feel free to leave a comment on the BMWCCA forum or here, he will respond to them promptly.

More after the jump

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We were just informed that the 2009 BMW 3 Series Sedan and Wagon(facelifted models) started to show up at German dealerships. One of our dear readers proXi was kind to share them with us. 

The two 09 3ers spotted were the E90 sedan and an E91 Wagon. The cars are debadged so we can’t really tell which models they are, but that’s probably less important now. We also hear that the U.S 3 Series should reach our dealerships in the second or third week in October.

The M-tech front looks pretty sweet but I’m sure it will not please everyone, us, the bimmer fans, tend to be very picky.

Thanks again for the great photos ProXi, we love the detailed shots focused on different body panels.

More photos and full gallery after the jump Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you waiting patiently. Wait no more! BMW has updated their website with the 2009 models. So you can go in and see the new colors and choices and Build Your Own. I know I am…

Build your own BMW

In the past, many of our readers have emailed us questions regarding insurance policies for their new or used BMW. While we are not experts in this field, we looked up to people that have more knowledge when it comes to insurance claims, policies and pricing.

Today, in a first series of articles that will be available here, we have an interesting post written by Cole.

Performance, luxury and style make up a few key features your will find in a BMW. With cars such as these, you must know how to shield it with the proper insurance protection from driver’s with less than sufficient coverage. There are many underinsured motorists that you must take into consideration when choosing the best coverage.

Many drivers with older or inexpensive automobiles will only purchase the state minimum coverage for their car without placing much thought into what may happen if they become at-fault for crashing into a much more expensive automobile. Just a fender bender with a later model BMW may exceed the other driver’s state minimum coverage limits. This could result in the driver of the BMW being left to cover the unpaid property damage or having to take the at-fault driver to court.

However, taking someome to court will not always result the way you hope it would. The driver that hit you may just end up claiming bankruptcy or not even show up to court.

Underinsured Motorist coverage (UMI) will help pay for damages when the other driver doesn’t have enough coverage to pay the full amount needed. This coverage is considered “excess coverage” which can go above and beyond what is paid by the other driver’s auto insurer. If damages come out to $40,000 and the other driver’s insurer only pays $15,000, getting the remaining $25,000 can become very difficult, as mentioned above.

If you have Underinsured Motorist coverage with a limit set at $30,000, you will be entitled to the $25,000 payout needed from your policy. A good way to determine about how much you should set for your UMI limits is by taking the value of your car and subtracting your state’s liability limit to see what’s remaining. You can find the liability limits for your state as well as compare insurance quotes by clicking here.

BMW to launch a four-door coupe to compete with Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide and Mercedes-Benz CLS3 AMG.

Back in January, we announced that BMW has placed Gerhard Richter in charge of development of its new Gran Turismo model, which is based on the popular CS concept car. Richter has worked on BMW’s high-performance “M” cars since 1982. 

Since then, many rumors have been going around about BMW’s new four-door luxury GT and one of them was related to the final name convention. Will the new concept be called simply GT, short for Gran Turismo or will it take the 8-Series name? While there are still many debates on the name convention, BMW M’s President Ludwig Willisch confirmed that the M badge will not put placed on this car. Most likely the car will indeed take the previous 8 Series models name convention in order to position itself as the highest, most luxury and expensive BMW.

Some of you might remember that the original 8 Series two-door coupe was launched in 1991, as an 850i model, followed shortly by the 840i. Due to low sales the car was pulled out of the market in 2000. 

Another interesting aspect lays in the fact that the GT/8-Series will be the first non-M car built by the performance division. BMW M President, Herr Willisch said that the CS “It’s a car that doesn’t have any resemblance to the other cars built by BMW AG, so it was decided to give the project to us.” 

The four-door four-seater GT/8-Series will have a large wheelbase, an approximate length of 196.8 inch(about 5 meters) and is expected to be based on the underpinnings of the new 2009 7 series, but with a sportier chassis.

From the current trend, we can assume that many carbonfiber parts will be used to reduce the car’s weight and increase performance. The original 8 Series were powered by 5.0 liter V12 and 4.0 liter V8 engines, but we can expect to see one of the following engines in the new concept: either a V8-V10 twin-turbo engine or the an 6.0 liter naturally aspirated V12.

The release date is set for 2010 and I can already tell that there will be two long years with lots of rumors and spy photos.

If I disagreed before with BMW’s strategy on building cars such as the PAS, X1 or the recent rumored X2, this time I applaud their decision of bringing to the table something new, a car that will be considered a high-end luxury model to compete directly with brands such as Porsche, Aston Martin or even Maserati. Of course, the price will be set accordingly to the respective class, but hey, at least we have an option now.

[Source: Drive.com.au by Jez Spinks - Thank you, great article ]

The bimmer fans were greeted today with a new rumor or apparently a confirmation of a new BMW model being launched in the near future. The vehicle in question is the BMW X2 that has been rumored for some time now. We reported back in July, that the BMW X2 might make its way into the BMW line up as soon as 2011. 

The initial news and renderings were brought to us by the fellow at LeftLaneNews and today Carmagazine UK came back with more news, but the same rendering. 

The BMW X2, codenamed SAR, short for Sports Activity Runabout(yeah, I know, always wonder how they come up with these names), is portrayed as X6’s little brother, a baby BMW, as Carmagazine calls it. 

The X2 will be a two-door model with coupe like lines, sharing the same engines as the BMW X1 and most likely similar technologies, one of them being the xDrive. 

The conflicting part comes from the fact that Carmagazine UK states the BMW X2 is still on the drawing board and it has not been given a green light, but in the same time, we are being shown a test mule spotted in Munich. 

I can’t really tell from the photo above which one is really the X1 or X2.

Regardless, I stil consider this a rumor and at this point, I am not sure BMW will go ahead with this, especially since things are not as pink as they used to be.

Opinions? Thoughts?

[Source: Carmagazine UK ]

P.S Interesting fact that I admit I did not know: BMW is the world’s biggest player in the premium 4×4 arena. Contrary to popular belief, BMW sells more four-wheel drive vehicles than Audi does quattro or Mercedes 4Matic. In fact, in 2007 it flogged 60,000 more.

Here are some new photos of the upcoming facelift version BMW 3 Series Sedan. I won’t get into the details again about the 2009 3 Series models, we covered that extensively, so I would rather let you enjoy these new photos.

Not the highest quality possible, but I love to see the car from different angles.

Photos courtesy of Germancarzone.com and Carenthusiast.com

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Since we are getting closer to the 2009 BMW 7 Series launch date, BMW has already started to mail out the official 7 series brochure. Our german friends are the first ones to receive the marketing brochure and as always, they chose to share it with the bimmer world.

The fellows at 7Post.com got their hands on the german brochure and even though the photos are a little blurry, a camera was used to photocopy them, they are still worth the time to look at them. We’re working on getting the PDF version, but in the mean time, feel free to scan through these photos.

P.S The car looks pretty darn good in some of the shots, especially the black exterior side photos.

[Source: 7Post.com ]

Full Gallery Read the rest of this entry »

With the U.S market still waiting for the first diesel BMW, the X5d and 335d, our U.K friends are being lucky again and they get to buy and drive the X6 xDrive35d. The Fifth Gear folks put together a great review of the X6 diesel, funny as always while still giving the viewers a sense of the X6 is made of.

P.S We might get the X6 Hybrid before them, so let’s see how laughs then

Months after the official launch of BMW’s 1 Series Coupe, the Design Chief Adrian Van Hooydonk talks about the design of the 135i Coupe. As I have said before many times, I am really fascinated about the stories and reasoning behind BMW’s choices when it comes to their design. 

Of course, the video below doesn’t match the amazing article we posted on the behind the 7 series design, but it is still quite fascinating. I really wish BMW will do more of these type of videos or show us the full design process that usually lasts 7 years. 

[Source: BMW-web.tv ]

Apparently, BMW is actually looking into the possibility of selling their popular European 320i and 120i models here in the U.S. The news came via Edmunds’ Insideline yesterday and they were quoting BMW’s Project Director Oliver Friedmann.

It is well known that BMW has been a little disappointed with the 135i Coupe sales and they are looking to change that. The BMW 135i Coupe suffered from low sales due to the higher than expected price, which pushed away even the most passionate 1er lovers. As we mentioned when the car was released, by positioning the 135i so close to its “bigger brother”, the 335i, BMW has put themselves in a tough spot. Everyone started to debate on whether the 3 Series will be still a better buy than the overprices 135i.

When Mercedes-Benz announced a four-cylinder diesel that will make its way into the U.S market sometimes in 2010, we knew it was just a matter of time until BMW will make their move. Looking from a fuel efficiency perspective as well, the 320i and 120i models seem very appealing. The 3er direct-injection four cylinder outputs 170 horsepower, same as the BMW 120i. If you ask me, plenty enough even for the most bimmer die-hard fans.

These latest news correlate with what we posted a few days ago: BMW is indeed looking into phasing out larger, not so efficient engines, and focus more on the smaller ones that will also allow them to keep the prices within the “acceptable” range.

[Source: Insideline ]

For some of you that might not remember, the first BMW M3 was based on the 1986 model year E30 3-Series and it was powered by a 2.3 liter I4 engine. This was basically the beginning of what we called today the top of the line cars in the 3-Series line. The M3 has been one of BMW’s most successful projects to this date and it set new standards for everyone in the automotive business. 

The E30 M3 differed from the rest of the E30 line-up in many ways. The M3 was equipped with a revised stiffer and more aerodynamic body shell as well as “box flared” fenders to accommodate a wider track with wider and taller wheels and tires. The only body panels the standard model 3-series and the M3 shared were the hood and roof. It also had three times the caster angle of any other E30. The M3 shared larger wheel bearings and front brake calipers with the E28 5-Series. It also had a Getrag 265/5 5 speed gearbox, and rear differential with different final drive ratio and 25% lockup. (Wiki)

Quite impressive, isn’t it? Well, fast forward another 20 years and you will see many E30 M3 restoration projects. One of them was done by atan888, a member of TeamSpeed.com forum and here is what he accomplished, both in words and photos:  

I just finished another complete restoration project of another E30 M3. This time its more rare. Its a 1990 original Dinan Turbo S14. I purchased her 5 months ago with only 62k original miles. It was completely stripped to bare metal and freshly painted. I added a few rare (old school ) bits such as :
17 x 8.5 / 17×10 BBS LMs (very rare)
ACS bits and
OEM Evo bits
I took these photos on our way for a photo shoot with his stable mate my other E30 M3 for Performance BMW (UK magazine)

Ready for the photos?

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According to Consumer Reports, BMW’s 1 Series most important model, the 135i Coupe, has taken the crown in a tough competition against the Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Volkswagen R32, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

The strongest 135i’s points were the always amazing BMW handling, the impressive 5.2 seconds straight line and of course, the sporty exterior design.

I remember back in September ‘07, that one of your most popular articles was about a comparison between the 135i and Subaru’s WRX STI. Several advantages were listed but since the 135i Coupe was not released at that time, everything was based on rumors and initial tests. I have also always wanted to put the 135i head-to-head against the Lancer Evo, but I didn’t feel that they belong in the same class. Well, apprently Consumer Reports thouhgt they do, so we will let them have at it in just a few moments.

But before I will let you read the quite long report, which btw, gives out some detailed technical information, I would love to hear your opinion on this. Would you rather take one of the other cars before the 135i?

Consumer Reports Press Release via MarketWatch

Just last week, the friends at Edmunds had the opportunity to test drive the 2009 BMW 3 Series , and they gave the 3er facelift two thumbs up. This week, the fellows at Channel4 got their hands on a 330d.

Definitely a good review, lots of details and useful information.

As class benchmarks go, few are as enduring as the BMW 3-Series. Now in its 33rd year and fifth incarnation, it still remains the default choice for those seeking out the best, most capable compact exec.

Make no mistake, it’s not perfect, but its blend of top-drawer handling, fine quality and the best engines in the business mean, even after three years into this current fifth generation, it still has what it takes to top its class against stiff new competition.

Now the Munich brand has put its best-selling, but middle-aged, number under the knife to prepare it for the final few years before an all-new sixth generation car arrives.

As BMW facelifts go, it’s a big one, involving sheet metal changes with a new twin-ribbed bonnet, front and rear bumpers and, perhaps more predictable new front and rear lamps.

Engineers have also widened the front and rear tracks. The overall effect is a marked improvement, although the combination of the squarer rear bumper and tail lamps now unfortunately apes the ancien Saab 9-5

Full review here

One of the main attractions at the recreational and commercial vehicle show taking place in Dusseldorf, Germany, is the Caravon Concept, designed by a company called Merhzeller.

The caravan was designed by Christian Freisling and Theresa Kalteis and it’s motor home in a shape of a polygon. The idea behind the Caravon Concept is that any buyer has the ability to configure online their trailer by using as many as possible geometrical shapes and of course, based on their own taste. 

The interior was designed with luxury in mind and wood is the predominant element. BMW is one of 30+ companies behind this project which draw a lot of attention during the show. 

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