Last week, BMW made an announcement that they will be shipping out the facelifted BMW 3-Series. The bumper, hood and fascia have been tweaked but I still don’t find it attractive enough. No new offerings aside from the facelift but the US market will finally get the 335d equipped with 3.0L twin-turbo, 265-hp, inline-six diesel.

Anyway, the cars will be debuted in Paris though. If we’ll get any more drum banging for these cars until then, we’ll know soon.

While many gearheads like myself would be excited whenever we hear news about some car company dishing out yet another car with massive horsepower, quick 0-60 times, staggering top speeds, and agility to put gibbons to shame, I have to acknowledge the call of sensibility these days. So now I wonder why, BMW would even try to create a “better” version of the M3.

By what BMW is planning, the M3 CSL should be a good car, if not great. All the comforts will be thrown out in favor of lightweightedness. Airconditioning, luxury panels, the lot will be stripped out and the car will sport carbon fiber panels instead. Power will come from the same 4.0L V8 but will be boosted from 420 hp to 470. And yes, the 0-60 time will be shaved down 4.5 seconds and a can reach 185 mph.

Well, sure the M in M3 stands for their motorsport division but with sales figures dropping, should automakers focus their attention and spending to more viable efforts? The CLS is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Show later this year and would retail at around 90,000 Euros. I just wonder how the sporty car market is doing. But if similarly priced luxury cars aren’t faring well…

Source: AutoZeitung (read through Google Translate)

Remember the American Le Mans version of the BMW M3 that was showcased in the lackluster Chicago Motors Show earlier this year? Well here’s a video clip feature on it.

At least, no matter how short of a take this is, you can see it move and hear it roar. The car sports the same 4.0L V8 but tuned as the P65 motorsports version giving it a 71 hp boost (rated at 485 hp). The car is equipped with a 6-speed sequential tranny, LSD, and racing body kit. It also put on a diet of carbon fiber to bring the weight down to 2,535 lbs.

Without further ado, the BMW M3 race version.

This should’ve been integrated in the last post so pardon me for posting this separately. This video’s part of BMW’s banging of the drum for the unveiling of the new 7 Series. Being the flagship, the 7 Series does deserve all this pomp. And without further ado, click on play and thank the YouTube gods for this clip.

Without any immediately pending motor shows anywhere, BMW makes available the official details of the fifth generation BMW 7 Series with which BMW is hoping to maintain a strong hold in the full-size luxury car market.

The 2009 7 Series will be offered in 3 engine variants - one diesel and two gasoline engines - for the three trim levels. The 730d (d is for diesel), features a 3.0L capable of 245 hp propelling the car from 0-60 in a respectable 7.2 seconds though the more interesting thing is that it gets 39.2 miles to the gallon.

The gas-powered ones, the 730i and 730Li get a choice between a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 engine (capable of 407 hp) and a twin-turbo 3.0L engine (dishing out 326 hp). The latter gets more decent mileage on the gallon compared to the former. 0-60 times are accomplished in sub-six seconds for both, making the 3.0L engine a more attractive buy for those looking for cheaper purchase and operating costs.

Being the luxury line, the 7 Series are equipped with all the bells and whistles that a luxury car should. All cars come with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Panels are made from aluminum for lightweightedness. It also comes with a whole-lot of driver assist systems like the Side View camera system, Park Distance Control, Night Vision system, Lane Change Warning combined with Lane Departure Warning system, Head-up Display and Lane Departure Warning system and Integral Active Steering. This is aside from the control systems for braking and stability.

With stiff competition from other luxury lines (and with the emergence of the budget luxury car that is the Hyundai Genesis), these new offerings for their luxury line should enable BMW to maintain its hold in the market. Pricing will only be available later this year but we sure hope that it’s competitive enough.

Talk about dumb. I mean you have to draw the line between ardent fervor to fuel protest and plain dumb. I mean, once I’ve seen a movie of some Chinese student burning himself alive as a form of protest (The Soong Sisters). That was graphic and extreme but somehow, pretty much excusable on the merits of passion. But this guy, burning his BMW as a form of protest against soaring gas prices is plain dumb in my book.

An unemployed German Guy took his 1995 BMW 3-series to a lawn just outside Frankfurt’s convention centers, jumped out, poured gasoline over his ride and set it on fire. The car was completely torched when the fire department arrived.

The price of gas in Germany is at almost $10 a gallon. I wouldn’t know if this would merit that kind of action. I drive a beat-up 1992 Nissan Sentra and I wouldn’t even dare set it on fire. Whatever happened to just trading it in for a smaller, more fuel-efficient car. I bet there are a lot of people who’d be willing to trade their Kei car for even for an old 3-series.

Source: CNN via eGMCarTech

In the old days of more conservative television, there were just some things that were not allowed to be shown. But today, you can get away with pretty much anything as long as no genitals are showing and you have that warning at the beginning of the show that it will contain some graphic images and you are thereby advised.

I can take what the autopsy table in CSI episodes and operating room shots in House can show. Blood, entrails, and gore. But for a run-flat tire advertisement, this seems a bit extreme. I mean, why do you need to show punctured human flesh (or at least the act) to sell cars with tires that give you 100 or so miles of travel distance when flat.

Via: eGMCarTech

BMW will strike at the crossover market with a double whammy - the BMW X1 and the MINI Crossman. BMW has confirmed that they will be using the 1-series platform for both vehicles and production will indeed commence with the X1 rolling out of the Leipzig plant and the MINI Crossman to be handled by Magna Steyr through an outsourced venture.

As far as the two are concerned the Crossman is nearing its production version while the X1 is still in the concept phase. What is quite notable in this is that, with the shared platforms, it is also indicated that the two might also share the same powertrain lineup. If details on the Crossman holds true, then that would mean that these will sport a 3.0L engine.

Platform and powertrain sharing partly annoys me to a minute extent since that would mean that you’ll practically be dealing with the same cars with two identities, one in a crisp suit and one in a baggy pants.

If you think that Formula 1 is the epitome of testosterone-filled gas burning that farts on Mother Nature’s face, then you might want to reconsider your thoughts given BMW’s latest move. They’re developing a hybrid specifically for F1 use. And yes, they aim it not to be carry on the Prius-esque silent and sluggish hybrid. BMW Motorsports have ‘race’ in their minds.

While this might not be a drive for fuel efficiency, BMW is looking at it as a way to make F1 cars greener. The technology involves the use of regenerative braking, capacitors and lithium ion batteries that will be used to power an electric motor in conjunction with the typical engine.

This is good news for those who love Formula 1 and are concerned with the environment. At least F1 is open to the idea of teams using fuel-saving technologies to improve car performance. BMW’s hybrid Formula 1 car should begin testing this summer and ready for the 2009 season.

Source: BMW Blog

Edmund’s came up with another head to head to head to head comparison. This time with mid-sized sports sedan featuring the Jaguar XF Supercharged, the BMW 550i, Mecerdes-Benz E550 and Audi A6. They took into consideration performance, handling, styling, price, and some of the bells and whistles that come with the cars. To round up, here are giblets of numbers for each of the cars.

• Jaguar XF Supercharged: 4.2L V8, 420 hp, 408 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.1 seconds.
• BMW 550i: 4.2L V8, 360 hp, 360 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.4 seconds.
• Mercedes-Benz E550: 5.4L V8, 382-hp, 391 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.4 seconds.
• Audi A6 4.2: 4.2L V8, 350 hp, 325 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.8 seconds.