BMW LayerON Concept: Personalized Rent Car

The BMW LayerON is a design study of a futuristic rental vehicle which can be customized in shape by means of electrically controlled outer panels. It was created by students at The European Institute of Design in Turin, Italy. The three designers are Aydar Nigmatullin(Russia), Patrick De Laet Moreno(Spain) and Rocco Sergio D’Argento (Italy).

Back in August, we wrote an article on a contest sponsored by BMW where students at the European Institute of Design were creating 2015 BMW concepts. The students’ job was to interpret the language, evolution and the trademark essence, in view of the company’s future perspectives.

The project BMW LayerOn was developed in two stages, first they focused on future world and society.

“We noticed that the world ‘goes virtual’ : people buy less and rent more. The post-industrial society is characterized by the vast use of services and, respectively, decreased purchase of goods.”

“We imagined that future generations will go further following this trend. And they would like to have a rental car when they need it rather than to buy one.”

Another trend taken into consideration was the need for personalization, the possibility of customizing your car to meet your needs.

Read the rest of this entry »

BMW M Sales Up This Year

In a press release issued a two days ago, BMW confirmed that the M sales were up this year compared to 2007. The 50 percent increase over last year and the 22, 340 vehicles sold worldwide is impressive, but in the same time deceiving. The new M E9x models were released as MY08 and as expected with the release of a new product, the sales were booming. Next year we will be able to make a fair comparison and see where BMW stands in terms of sales.

Also, the BMW dealerships are offering amazing deals on the M3s and associated with the low finance(0.9%) or lease rates(2%-4%), you get the full picture. In a conversation with a dealership, I was told that they are taking losses just to be able to clear the showrooms. 

The increase in M sales helps with BMW’s revenue for this year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the profits made on the M car is directly proportional with the “amazing” ‘08 sales.

The press releases are fun to read, but they sometimes tend to sugarcoat or misguide the reader. So, I’ll let you read it and I look forward to seeing your comments.

Thanks for the tip Streetdrift.net

Read the rest of this entry »

BMW X5 Diesel arriving at US dealerships

I was just informed today that many of the US based dealerships are starting to receive the new, highly awaited BMW X5d.

Both the 335d Sedan and X5d SAV are equipped with BMW’s advanced 3.0L diesel and 50-state compliant Blue-Performance emissions system. The 3.0L inline-six diesel uses the latest Variable Vane - Twin Turbo technology, an aluminum crankcase and third-generation common-rail direct fuel injection with precision-quality piezo-injectors for improved performance, reduced NVH, lower emissions and improved fuel economy.

The BMW X5d’s advanced diesel is rated at 265hp and 425lb-ft of torque at 1,750 rpm and it has a base price of $52,025. The good news it that X5 xDrive35d will qualify for a maximum tax credit of $1,550.

So, if you’re looking to test drive one, please contact your local dealership.

Thanks for the tip Irv!

Formula One: Radical changes in the 2009 season

Despite the Honda’s plans to leave the Formula One championship, all the other racing teams are currently placing their monoposts under intensive testing sessions in order to comply with the new and more restrictive rules imposed by FIA. 

There are radical rule changes for the 2009 championship which include the return of slick tires. In the past decade, tires with four grooves have been used in order to slow down the F1 monoposts as they got progressively faster throughout the 90’s, as aerodynamics became more and more prevalent and the wind tunnels were standard in each time.

By 2004, the cars were at their fastest levels under the current engine regulations of the time which required a V10 configuration of now more than 3.5 liter. 2007 came and the rules have been altered one more time: V8 2.4 liters were becoming the norm.

Fast forward a couple of years, Max Mosley and his FIA board, decided to change the rules once again. In 2009 the aerodynamic rules have changed to ban the use of any winglets, flip ups, or air modifiers on the side pods of the car.

Read the rest of this entry »

New Spy Shots: 2010 BMW X6 M

The 2010 BMW X6 M seems to be in the final testing stages and it has been spotted once again near the BMW Plant in Spartanburg, SC. Our friend Palbay was there once again snapping photos of this controversial BMW //M model.

The X6 M has never been confirmed by BMW and all the hints that we received over the last months were about “the new performance twins”. The BMW X6 M rumors have been received with skepticism by the bimmer fans, majority of them disagreeing with BMW’s intention of adding more M performance models to the SAV/SAC market. The BMW X5 M is another model that was spotted several times near Spartanburg, but it is expected to make its debut after the X6 M.

Read the rest of this entry »

2009 BMW Z4 - Technical Specifications

BMW has just released their full press release of the 2009 BMW Z4 Roadster.Earlier, we published the first photos of the BMW Z4 E89 and now we are back with more information regarding engine options and performance.

The PDF will answer most of your questions about the type of engines offered and as expected, the top runner, sDrive35i, blows everything else away. The DCT with 7-Speed is standard on the BMW Z4 sDrive35i and runs from 0-60 in 5.0 seconds.

Btw, here are the designers of the 2009 BMW Z4:

Juliane Blasi - exterior design
Nadya Arnaout - interior design (the one who designed CS Concept interior as well)
Hilke Schaer - materials, trim & colors

2009 BMW Z4 Technical Details

Since the Press Release is very long, we decided to place it into PDF files just in case you want to take it with you offline.

Download:

2009 BMW Z4 Roadster Release

2009 BMW Z4 Roadster Highlights

 
THE NEW BMW Z4 ROADSTER
MODEL HIGHLIGHTS

• First BMW Roadster with a retractable hardtop. The new model is the successor to both the BMW Z4 Roadster and the BMW Z4 Coupe. Two-piece electrohydraulically retractable hardtop in lightweight aluminum shell construction. The hardtop opens and closes fully automatically in each case within 20 seconds; the roof elements coming to rest in the roof compartment to give the car a low-slung rear-end design reflecting the traditional proportions of a roadster as well as a large luggage compartment. The high-quality interior lining finished in an extra-light color as well as large windows including the heated glass window at the rear ensure an exclusive ambience and optimized all-round visibility.

Read the rest of this entry »

2009 BMW Z4 - The Ultimate Photo Gallery

2009 BMW Z4 Photo Gallery

If you haven’t been following the news in the past few hours, I am going to let you know again  that the all new 2009 BMW Z4 Roadster has been officially unveiled. As expected and as we have seen before, BMW has hit the jackpot with the new BMW Z4 E89. 

So, we decided to come back with our usual, regular, whatever you want to call it, “Ultimate Photo Gallery”, we believe the new Z4 deserves its own place on our blog, so we will collect all the photos from now on, into a single page. 

I am not sure about you, but I am duper super excited about the Z4, despite the fact that I have been fighting a severe cold for the past few days, I would jump out in the 20F Chicago weather and drive it RIGHT now. Yes, I know, it’s a summer car, but you get my point. 

I would like to end with a big thank you to Ms. Juliane Blasi, the great designer at BMW. I hope she will have her hands into future models as well.

Stay tuned, we’ll be back soon with more exclusive news on the Z4. If you would like us to keep you updated on all the BMW news, please take a moment and sign up for our email feed Get updates by email or grab the RSS Feed

Click on the photos within gallery for a higher resolution, we set them up at 1600×900

Gallery after the jump Read the rest of this entry »