We’ll file this one under weird and wonderful things that artists sometimes do. On my daily trawl through Google and Twitter, today I discovered that Chinese artist Dai Geng has created a replica BMW Z4 entirely out of bricks. As awesome and innovative as that is, I really can’t see it turning up at any used BMW dealerships in the near future.
In the world of company cars, it’s all about fuel economy and company’s go to great lengths to ensure that money is not wasted on use of their vehicles. For a shortcut just use BMW!
A survey which has been carried out by Fleet News magazine has found that the BMW 3 Series is the most reliable company car. Fifty of the largest contract hire companies managing a total of 1.5 million vehicles were polled and voted th BMW the best. This is no prettied up survey done for a nice looking car by biased people – this is based on hard, cold facts. No business can afford to choose their fleet cars on sentiment, only on cost – cost to run and maintain.
It seems that the Ultimate Driving Machine isn’t infallible when it comes to escaping from the police – three Sydney teenagers have been charged by police after reports came in of a BMW coupe being driven unsteadily on a south Sydney highway.
Police pursued the stolen vehicle to a stop when four young men ran from the car only for three of them to be apprehended shortly after.
The teenagers are alleged to have stolen the vehicle from Little Bay in southeast Sydney and later drove off without paying for fuel at a nearby station. The individuals have been charged with taking the vehicle without consent and one of the arrestees has had assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest added to his charges.
M3 owners are in for a unique treat as BMW have announced that they will be offering a new range of carbon fibre accessories for the popular luxury vehicle. The super-rigid material has been used by the German car giants to create custom parts for the high performance coupe, sedan and convertible variations of the M3.
There are a range of components included in BMW’s vision for carbon fibre plated cars, with some being available across the M3 range. Door mirror caps and lower front splitters will be obtainable for all models, while coupe and sedan owners will have the opportunity to purchase a rear boot lid spoiler.
In a remarkable 12 minutes, 30 buyers, most of whom are in all probability current owners of used BMW Coupes, were found for the 2011 BMW custom-painted Frozen Gray M3 Coupe. The 30 initial registration slots were filled in an incredibly quick time, leaving more than 50 disappointed potential customers left to settle for a place on a back-up list. Should any of the reservation holders fail to purchase the custom paint job model, which will ship later this month, then they will be in with a chance of getting their hands on the stunning 414-hp limited-edition motor.
German car manufacturing giants BMW have rolled out their one millionth X5, further cementing their place at the summit of the luxury SAV market. At just under 100,000 units a year for the past 11 years, the X5 has been a prolific vehicle for its manufacturers and has outsold its competitors for the past seven years.
It is an impressive feat for the X5, with its units per year ratio comparing pretty favourably with some of the most successful cars of modern times. The VW Beetle, the most produced car ever to be sold, averaged around 320,000 units per year. For the X5 to have even reached six figures per annum is remarkable given the level of competition it faces and the fact that it is deemed a luxury SAV.
The stylish new BMW Gran Coupe looks set to tempt owners of the 5 series to upgrade their used BMW for a shiny new motor.
This new sedan looks set to be released wearing a 6 series badge and BMW may display a production model as early as the Paris Auto Show in the autumn. The show acts as a demonstration of the newest models likely to hit markets over the coming years. If the Gran Coupe proves to be as stylish as initial reports seem to suggest, then the forecourts of used BMW dealerships look set to swell with older models.
If your used BMW is getting through far too much fuel for your liking, then the answer to your prayers may have arrived with the German car giant’s greenest ever 3-Series. Having achieved over 1,000 miles on a single tank of diesel, the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon looks set to make a significant impact on the cost of refuelling for BMW owners.
The feat achieved by the Sunday Times’ Tom Ford, on a test run from the Channel Tunnel to Munich, ending in Lille, was also notable for the fact that the driver didn’t use overly efficient driving techniques such as coasting, and drove at reasonable speeds throughout.
BMW are no strangers to integration with smartphones – they were the first car manufacturers to incorporate the BlackBerry Address Book into their onboard applications, after all. Now, however, they’re going the dedicated application route.
The BMW Roadside Assistance application will soon be available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android users and with the range of features on offer, it’s easy to see why this app could prove useful. The app is aimed at cutting down the time it takes the user to get information to BMW in the event of a breakdown so that they can provide assistance sooner and also providing the same user experience which users expect from BMW.
It’s a busy time for BMW with new updates across its range. But how will these cars look in five years time? Will that bright sparkling Beamer be as attractive after a few visits to your local garage?
The German manufacturer is extremely eager for people to keep using BMW servicing rather than independents. To help its cause it is actively pushing its inclusive servicing offers with all of the new models.
In short this allows you to make a single advance payment which covers you for the first five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. It might seem like a big expense in the short term, but you will at least know the servicing costs in advance.
Never ones to shy away from a fight, it seems that BMW are wading into the electric vehicle battlefield. The German giants are heading into next month’s Detroit Auto Show with the impossibly posy-looking Concept ActiveE, with strong hints that it may actually see production.
The Concept ActiveE is the latest piece to roll out of BMW’s Project i campaign, which is dedicated to creating low-emission city cars and follows the MINI electric car out of the door and promises “CO2-free Mobility”.
BMW have just released a new car that is set to take the performance car world by storm. The new BMW M3 GTS is a hardcore version of the BMW M3.
The German manufacturer has decided to follow in the footsteps of Lamborghini, Porsche and Aston Martin in making an extreme race version of their supercar. This new M3 has been stripped of any weight and tips the scales at just 3300lb including the internal roll-cage and six-point race harness.
BMW fended off the competition, including Honda, to take their place at the top of the Fleet News reliability survey as the most reliable company car manufacturer.
Fleet News is a sister publication of the well respected car guide, Parker’s, and the annual survey covers 840,000 cars from 50 of the biggest UK contract hire companies.
Manufacturers were graded by counting the number of vehicles on a fleet per 1,000 that broke down.
BMW received the same points as Honda yet more companies voted for BMW as first placed manufacturer.
Although the German manufacturer’s profits have fallen thanks to this year’s trying economy, the BMW group remain optimistic. Thanks to recent indications of recovery, they are hoping to make a positive turnover by the end of the year across all their brands.
The fall in returns has been blamed on a decrease in consumer spending and has resulted in a loss of 73.8% (down to £70.5 million) with total sales of cars across the BMW group including BMW, Rolls Royce and MINI brands down 15.7% from the year before.
The latest BMW 3 Series emphasises the German motor experts’ intent on producing eco-friendly and economical vehicles that do not compromise on performance.
The BMW 316d saloon encompasses BMW’s award winning EfficientDynamics technology and returns impressive statistics.
With better combined fuel consumption (62.8 mpg) than two of its main rivals – Audi A4 TDIe 136 and Ford Mondeo ECOnetic TDCi 115 – and more eco -friendly, emitting just 118g/km CO2 (just 35 pounds annual road tax), the BMW 316d is set to finish top of the class yet again.