BMW BLOG

The Joy campaign continues and BMW finds new ways to engage its fans and not only. From November 6th to 9th, everyone is invited to join BMW at the Welt center and build a BMW X1 out of 2,000 LEGO blocks.

Here are all the details:

2,000 LEGO® blocks. Four days. One construction plan. From November 6th to 9th 2009, the BMW Welt will be transformed into an assembly hall. And you can be involved! All families and children from age 5 are invited to build a full-scale BMW X1 – out of LEGO® bricks.

Whether individually or in groups, everyone will be working together for a good cause: for every LEGO® block used, BMW will donate a sum of money to the Munich children’s foundation “Die Arche”.

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At the SEMA 2009 Show, Local Motors has unveiled a prototype of the Rally Fighter, the off-road racer developed in just 15 months through the innovative crowdsourcing design process. So how is this related to BMW?

Well, the four-seater car is powered by the award winning BMW 3.0 liter twin-turbo diesel engine. The high performance clean diesel delivers 265 hp and 425 pound-feet (576 Nm) of torque at only 1750rpm that are transferred to the rear wheels through a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Putting together the lightweight of the Rally Fighter (3,200 pound/1,450 kg) and the EfficientDynamics 3.0 liter diesel, the fuel consumption is stellar on this prototype: at 30-36mpg (12.8-15.3 km/l) , the Rally Fighter is competing for most efficient in its desert off-road class.

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BMW has released a new BMW TV app for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It’s available for free at the App Store.

The international video platform BMW TV provides contributions for every field of the premium automobile manufacturer and offers a unique brand experience: The opportunity to stream the latest videos from the BMW TV platform, a video wall with an interactive interface and also the possibility to filter its content according to various criteria. Just start your requested video easily with your fingertip und bookmark interesting videos.

All videos selected from a certain category are displayed one after another and without interruption. Thus you are not only able to enjoy your favorite videos in full length and high quality, but to tell your friends via social media or email about this feature.

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Probably one of the most recognizable slogans amongst car manufacturers around the globe, BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine” tag line,  has served the Munich based company well over the years. Used in North America, the tag line is simple, descriptive, to the point and most important of all, it is identifiable with the brand.

Many companies can certainly come up with clever slogans, but if they don’t “stick” to the brand or transcend the products they represent, then they are lost in a sea of three to five word sentences and it’s back to the drawing board so to speak.

So what is it about BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan that actually makes it work? Simple, BMW has backed up their claim quite well with cars that are simply thrilling to drive. The slogan, now nearly 34-years-old, was originally created under the reign of Bob Lutz by a relatively unknown ad-agency, Ammirati & Puris.  Ammirati & Puris caught the attention of Lutz by their impressive Fiat ads and it was consider a gamble to go with such an underdog agency.

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The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported October sales of 20,619 vehicles, a decrease of 19.1 percent from the 25,475 vehicles sold in the same month of 2008.  The BMW Group also reported a year-to-date sales volume of 199,838 vehicles, down 23.7 percent compared to 261,802 vehicles sold in the first ten months of last year.

BMW Brand Sales
Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 18.6 percent in October for a total of 16,443 vehicles compared to 20,203 vehicles reported in the same month a year ago.  The sales volume met BMW’s expectations for the month and reflected limited inventory of the new 2010 model lineup, which began to arrive at dealerships in the middle of October. Year-to-date, BMW brand sales were down 25.6 percent to 160,666 vehicles compared to 215,836 vehicles sold in the same period of 2008.

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After the post regarding the 320Si, a few of us began to discuss the different merits of the engine and why technologies such as VANOS and Valvetronic were or were not present and even what things we’d like to see on a similar engine. And that got me thinking – what is the favorite BMW engine of the masses?

I drive an E46 3 Series and I’ve got nothing but praise for the M54B25. It’s not the most powerful engine ever made, not by a long shot, but above 3,500 RPMs the engine absolutely comes alive and pulls with all of its might to the 7,000 redline. The engine’s sense of urgency and pull along with the scream it produces at the back makes for an absolutely wonderful driving experience. One of my favorite characteristics of the M54 is the fact that is bullet-proof reliable while also being able to deliver more than satisfying performance. But, while the M54B25 is a great engine in its own right, the S54 is the king of the hill for me.

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Our friend Jonathan Spira over at the Executive Road Warrior went through an unfortunate accident while driving his new BMW 7 Series. We learned in the past about BMW’s safety measurements implemented in their cars and even more evident in the latest generation 7 Series, but truth is that, fortunately, we didn’t go through a similar experience.

Let’s take a look at the incident and how the 7 Series “reacted”:

“In addition, while not perfect, features such as real-time traffic reporting via the navigation system, which provides information about any accidents ahead and other traffic patterns, and head-up display, projecting navigation, road geometry, and speed information in the driver’s field of vision, add to overall safety.

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The new BMW wind tunnel in the north of Munich: a place that can even surprise the much-travelled Sylvie van der Vaart.

She sits in a 1987 open-top BMW 3 Series Convertible, authentically dressed in an eighties-style Bordeaux-coloured dress, her hair down and put into perfect shape by a hair specialist. She is slightly nervous before the “test drive”: “I’m a little on edge because I’m not sure exactly what’s going to happen with all this wind.

But BMW has assured me that it’s all safe.” The huge rotor of the wind tunnel slowly starts to turn, from the control centre you can see a gentle breath of air slowly but surely developing into a stiff breeze at 60 km/h. After this windy test drive, the result is clear: the hairstylist on the set is not too happy since the only thing the tousled mane of model and TV presenter Sylvie van der Vaart would be good for is an eighties music video.

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It is an understatement to say that the BMW community is loyal to the brand and its members. BMW has always had a very tight and loyal community following. The members of this community are one of the most helpful car owners, but the story below will really emphasize the value of this community.

Tom (nybsbl04) a member of e90post.com, lives in New York City. Earlier this week, he noticed in front of his apartment an abandoned BMW 335i Coupe Alpine White in a no parking zone. The cEditar was showing signs of a break-in -sunroof cracked-  and more than 20 tickets in the window.

Being a good Samaritan and aware of its surroundings, Tom posted an entry on the forum, along with photos, stating the facts listed by us above. Several member forums jumped in to help and requested the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). After running the number, Tom managed to obtain the address where the car was registered.

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When the new BMW 7 Series launched, an improved version of the Night Vision System shipped together with the car. Featuring an upgraded camera, the Night Vision System features a better resolution and improved object-recognition. The system will warn the driver if he is in danger of a collision with any detected object or human.

Compared to the traditional navigation system, the Night Vision System is also able to detect road speeds without relying on pre-saved data on the hard drive. Therefore, if the limit is reduced because of road-building-measures, the Night Vision system will actually be able to detect it.

The system will be able to detect humans and to display a flashing warning triangle in the dashboard if any humans should appear in front of the car. The system is built to function not only in good weather conditions, but also at night, even in rain or foggy conditions. The car won’t slow down automatically though, but it will emit a warning signal in the dashboard if he is driving to fast.

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