We are obvioulsy a few weeks away if not days from the time the 2009 BMW 3 Series facelift sedan and wagon will be available at the European local dealerships and the amount of new photos that keep poping up, is quite high.

There is really nothing to get excited over anymore, but hey….until I see it in person, I guess photos will do just fine. Again, the 2009 BMW 3 Series Sedan, this time in a Black Sapphire and Space Gray colors, was seen somewhere in Germany.

Based on the comments that I have seen yesterday on our other article, most of the people seem to dig the facelift and I have to agree with them this time. It is one of the most successful facelift that BMW showed us recently and without increasing the price by much, they managed to give the car a good value.

Will the new sedan exceed the amount of coupe orders? Probably not, but it will make the people feel less bad by choosing it. I know I would.

[Source: Germancarzone member picsoubmw ]

2009 BMW 3 Series Photo Gallery

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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 (more…)

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

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 ]

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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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 ]

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

In the past two months, most of the article here at BMWBlog focused on the facelift version of the popular 3 Series. We discussed many times the changes from the ‘08 model, the new iDrive system and most recently, the price increases. Today, we would like to show you on of the first test drive of the 2009 BMW 3 Series, in this case the 330d model available in Europe.

The fellows at Edmunds had the honor to drive one of the most successful facelifts done by BMW.

At the Wheel of the 2009 BMW 3 Series

Over the past 33 years there have been no fewer than five incarnations of the 3 Series — each and every one of them a roaring success. It looks like the 2009 BMW 3 Series will be no exception.

The BMW 3 Series manages to rake in sales year after year without ever appearing to try particularly hard. Since the inception of the BMW 3 Series back in 1975, it has entirely dominated the compact sport sedan market with a heady blend of performance and dynamic excellence. Other carmakers have desperately attempted yet failed to emulate this car’s perennial sales success.

Such is the popularity of the 3 Series that it accounts for 44 percent of total BMW sales worldwide. This illustrates just how important the 2009 BMW 3 Series is to the company, and this face-lifted E90 model has changed in important ways to reflect this.

The New-Look E90
BMW shocked us with the look of the current 3 Series when it was introduced in 2005, the last of the cars designed with the new styling vocabulary developed by the team of chief designer Chris Bangle. Time has served to lessen its impact somewhat, but there are still those who think it lacks the sort of visual emotion that made earlier models of the 3 Series such a worldwide hit.

Full Article

It has been a while since we posted pictures of the BMW X6 Hybrid version that was spotted several times before in the hot californian desert, but today, we have more spy photos for you, courtesy of GlobalMotors.net. This time, the X6 Hybrid was seen somewhere in Germany, but we can’t pinpoint the exact location.

With the risk of repeating myself, let me start with a little bit of technical information on the BMW X6 Hybrid.

The X6 is the first hybrid based BMW and it will go on sale initially in Europe, sometimes at the beginning of 2009. The newer, greener X6 will utilize the previously outlined dual-mode ActiveHybrid system, which has discrete modes for high-torque, low speed driving as well as for high-speed cruises.

The system uses a modular hybrid system which can be adapted to many different engine/vehicle combination, as opposed to a design-specific petrol engine/hybrid combination, which sees wider use in the automotive industry.

The X6 test mule spotted in Germany is a little different from the U.S bound one, when it comes to the bump found on the hood. The same X6 with the “weird” bulge was being tested in Germany back in March. Could they be two different versions of this hybrid? Or is BMW just doing some extra testing? Not sure at this point, but we shal find out soon enough.

Oh, almost forgot, some not-so-close interior photos are available as well.

[Source: GlobalMotors.net ]

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Our friend Palbay from Upstate SC sent us a video of the BMW X6 M version that was spotted by him yesterday near the BMW Plant in Spartanburg.

He also came through for us and our readers yesterday, by publishing some new, more detailed photos of the X6 M. In case you missed the article, I encourage you to take a look.

Forty seconds in the video, you will hear that amazing sound coming from an M engine. We still don’t have an official word on which engine will power the M Sport version of the X6.

Thanks again Palbay!

The all new BMW PAS, short for Progressive Activity Sedan, or codename F5, has been spotted again somewhere in Germany during some more testing sessions. Not much of a difference from the previous spy photos, but we do get a little more details when it comes to the frond end. As the folks at 5post.com pointed out, the grill is not as large as the one on the 2009 7 Series, but it is larger than the current models. A new trend?

Well, nothing much to report here, like I already mentioned before, I still don’t see the point of this PAS model. I do see some other manufacturers looking to build similar autos, like the 2010 Cadillac CTS Wagon,
but according to BMW, the Progressive Activity Sedan is more than just a wagon version.

[Source: 5post ]

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One of the exterior design elements that I like the most on the BMW M3 is the vented bonnet. Many times I have drooled over the M3’s hood and I wished my 3 Series sedan will some day have the bonnet. Yes, I know, that’s what you get for paying for an M3 and the regular 3ers will never match them, but I am allowed to dream, right?

In the mean time, our friends at MotorAuthority took some interesting spy photos of the BMW 3 Series Convertible, in this case a 335i model. The car spotted comes with the BMW M Sport Package bodykit and….read this..with a VENTED BONNET. I got really excited for a second, even though I own the sedan version and not the beautiful coupe or cab. Some of my colleagues raved about the possibility of seeing the cab and even the E92 coupe with this aggressive style, but the details are sketchy at this point.

One of our friends from BMW gave us an even more interesting detail. The 335i Convertible in these photos is actually being used for testing purposes of the BMW’s N54 engine, the tuned up version (Wiki: N54 Engine). As some of you might know, the N54 was proven to be underrated and it is indeed capable of reaching higher horsepower and torque. The N54B30 outputs 326 horsepower and 332 ft-lbf torque, about 20 ponies increase over the current 3.0 L twin-turbo found in the 335i.

The 2009 BMW 7 Series F01 is the first model that will take advantage of this revised engine.

So, all those bimmer fans that were cabriolet or coupe owners and were drooling over the sedan facelift, hold on, BMW has it good for you. If the M Sport Package will come with the vented bonnet and the cab(coupe also?) will get the extra power, then I’m sold on it.

[Source: MotorAuthority ]

More photos

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I have to say from the begining, I am usually not a big fan of car moding and despite what my friends tell me, I don’t think I will ever mod my bimmer, but…regardless of my personal preference, many people do enjoy moding their cars and making them stand out. Once in a while, I do see an interesting bodykit that gives the car a different look, unique, head turning, you name it.

Our dear friends from the TeamSpeed forums have recently posted some photos of black BMW 3 Series E92 pimped out to the extreme. The car has so many mods applied to it that it probably set back the guys at owner at least $6000-$7000.

The exterior body is definitely wider than a regular 3er Coupe, the trunk lid looks pretty good and front bumper is mean looking. Some of you might love the wheels as well, but for me, they are a little too flashy.

Oh, I forgot to mention the Brembo brakes, now that’s something more exciting for me.

Enjoy the photos and if you think you can “beat” these mods, feel free to email us some pictures.

[Source: TeamSpeed.com and i2iStudios.com ]

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We all know the vaunted award winning N54 engine is a beast out of the box. 300hp and 300 lb ft of torque. However there are certain BMW enthusiasts that think too much is never enough.

With that in mind we at BMWBlog wanted to learn a little more about one of the quality tuners that offer enhanced performance for the N54 engine. So we had a little chat with Terry Burger of Burger Motorsports. Terry took some time out and give us some insight on why his company does what it does and a glimpse at what is in the future for Burger Motorsports.

BMWBlog: Terry thanks for taking some of your time and going through a few things with us. We understand you are a busy man these days. Before we dive too far into the future. Tell us a little about what started Burger Motorsports?Did you grow up around cars? Have a lead foot in High School? How did it all begin?

Terry: I think my passion for cars started with “stompers” as a child,which were miniature electric cars that ran off a 1.5 volt battery. I would get together with friends and modify them with larger batteries,
taller tires, stronger motors, and compete in little races. From stompers I went to electric RC cars, then gas powered RC cars, and before I knew it I was working on the real thing.

During high school cars were always a central part of my Social structure, often I would get together with a small group Of friends and we would purchase inexpensive cars (e.g. less than $500) just for fun on a weekend, modify them a bit by removing the mufflers and taking off weight, add nitrous, race fuel, and other little things, and smash them around in on the road destruction derbies. One of my favorites was a Pontiac LeMans with a three on the tree manual transmission that I bought for $120. It didn’t last a week.

I suppose I got started professionally with my 1993 Chevy Camaro, which was the first year of the fourth generation.It Had a six speed manual transmission, 275hp, and major drool factor at high school. A car ahead of it’s time. I began attending drag racing events with it, joined an online car forum, and began to make my name as a player in LT1 modification.
At one point I had the quickest LT1 on the internet, running 10.80 at 129 in the 1/4 mile, and soon after began receiving solicitations to tune others for similar performance.

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