اخبار سيارات BMW لسنه 2009

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Safety, BMW, Motorcycle, Alternative Fuel

BMW C1-E Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Says BMW, "This is what a safe, environment-friendly and highly practical single track vehicle for city traffic could look like in the future." Well then, let's dissect that statement and see how BMW sought to accomplish these seemingly contradictory goals.

First, safety. Between 2000 and 2003, BMW offered a scooter in Europe called the C1. Though a marketplace failure, that machine may still be the safest two-wheeler ever offered. Featuring a fully-enclosed cabin with integrated rollover protection, a front-end impact zone, a rider seat belt and a low center of gravity, the C1-E has safety baked right in from the start. To that package, BMW adds electronic aids that include integral ABS, Tire Pressure Control, Anti-Slip Control and Traction Control. So... safety? Check.

Environmentally-friendly? The scooter itself emits nothing - BMW borrowed the electric motor and control systems from electric scooter manufacturer Vectrix (which recently filed for bankruptcy). Vectrix's battery pack, though, has been swapped out with a high-tech lithium ion unit for greater energy storage. Alternatively, BMW could equip the same basic platform with any electric motor or small internal combustion engine of its choice.

Now, how about practicality? First, that enclosed rider cockpit means the C1-E could be used in nearly any kind of weather. Further, the bike features a large luggage compartment behind the rider. As far as single-track vehicles go, this one's pretty darn practical. As much as we'd like to see the C1-E go into production, that's not currently in the cards. BMW built this concept as its contribution to the European eSUM safety project. Want to know more? Check out the gallery below and hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: BMW C1-E Concept

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW previews its vision of a safer city scooter with C1-E concept

BMW previews its vision of a safer city scooter with C1-E concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, BMW, Renault

Everything's changing for the Renault F1 team. The team principal has been barred from the sport indefinitely and the technical director has been mercifully banned for five years. They've already booted out their car-crashing, whistle-blowing driver Nelson Piquet Jr. and replaced him with rookie Romain Grosjean. Their star driver, Fernando Alonso, who brought two titles home for the team, is leaving for Ferrari. And they've lost their title sponsor ING. The team has hit just about rock bottom, but now it's time for them to get up and begin rebuilding for next season, counting their lucky stars they've been allowed to participate altogether. And this is their first step.



Following weeks, if not months of speculation, Robert Kubica has been announced to be moving to Renault for next season. The promising Polish driver - who took the checkered flag last year at the Canadian Grand Prix - has been racing for BMW Sauber for the past four seasons since entering Formula One. But now that BMW has pulled the plug, Kubica's headed to the French team.



There's no telling who, at this point, will be driving alongside him next year at Renault, but Grosjean has so far failed to earn his keep. Speculation places his equally talented BMW team-mate Nick Heidfeld alongside him, but nothing's been announced yet. Details in the press release after the jump.



[Source: Renault F1 | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

Continue reading Robert Kubica jumps sinking BMW ship to fill Alonso's seat at Renault

Robert Kubica jumps sinking BMW ship to fill Alonso's seat at Renault originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, BMW, MINI

Mini Motor-Tober ad - Click above for high-res image gallery

They call it Motor-Tober, and it's as made up as the R56 Mini's claims to the lineage of the original car. What's not fake are the deals you'll find on 2009 inventory. Before the snow flies, there's still time to enjoy the Mini's famed cheeky personality on foliage tours, and U.S. dealers would love to move out some stock to help fill the coffers going into the typically difficult holiday season.



Just as the car itself isn't the normal automotive fare, Motor-Tober isn't the run of the mill SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! sell-down. Dealers will be hosting test drive events so customers can try out the different flavors on offer, from convertible to Clubman. Takeaways like pumpkin carving stencils and temporary tattoos will be given out as reminders of the jack-o-lantern-faced vehicle.



To promote it all, there's a typically-Mini-clever marketing campaign. Tag lines such as "Save a pumpkin. Carve the road." Another spread shows one of the cars in the traditional sheet-based ghost costume. While the Openometer might not spin its needle much through the winter, if you head to your MINI store soon, there's still some days left before Thanksgiving to enjoy dry roads. High-res gallery below, press release posted after the jump.

Gallery: MINI Motor-Tober

[Source: Mini]

Continue reading Mini getting into the Halloween spirit for Motor-Tober

Mini getting into the Halloween spirit for Motor-Tober originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hatchback, BMW, MINI, Rumormill

Mini Clubman JCW in the Autoblog Garage - Click above for high-res image gallery

The BMW 3 Series, once the smallest car in the company's catalog, has grown tremendously over the past few generations. So to meet demand for smaller vehicles, the Bavarian automaker has been continuously cranking out smaller models to slot in below it. Reports now indicate that BMW is preparing a new 0 Series to bridge the gap between the 1 Series and the Mini.



According to the reports, BMW will base the new 0 Series on the next Mini's platform, which tells us two things: first, that it will break with company convention and go front-wheel-drive, and second, that they're planning on developing the next Mini in-house, instead of co-developing it with another automaker. Meanwhile the 0 Series is expected to arrive in three- and five-door hatchback body styles, and potentially (as is usually the case with BMW rumors) breed a compact roadster as well. The point of the 0 Series is to help the company bring down its environmental impact overall, while flipping the same coin to offer premium buyers a smaller, more efficient package.

Gallery: Review: 2009 MINI Clubman John Cooper Works

[Source: CAR Magazine via MotoringFile]

REPORT: BMW developing new 0 Series on Mini platform originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Hybrid, Technology, Videos, BMW, Motorcycle, Alternative Fuel

BMW SIMPLE concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

BMW has been rumored as of late to be pursuing everything from a so-called "0 Series" range of cars to a revival of its Isetta microcar brand, but the Bavarian automaker remains essentially mum on plans to diversify into the microcar market. Stoking the fires, however, is the new Simple concept, a leaning trike that is geared toward the "professional commuter" - that is, an urban dweller who travels alone.



From the start, the SIMPLE (which stands for: "Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption") was designed to minimize resources both in use and in production. The leaning concept is tall as a 5 Series, yet shorter than a Mini Cooper, and it offers seating space similar to that of a 3 Series coupe.



That tidy footprint and a slick drag coefficient of just 0.18 means that the Simple figures to be around 450 kilograms (under 1,000 pounds), so it only needs a small internal-combustion engine and an electric motor to power it. BMW says the Simple is capable of hitting 100 km/h - 62 mph - in under ten seconds and it tops out at over 200 km/h (124 mph), yet it needs a miserly 2 liters of gas over 100 km (62 miles), or around 118 mpg.



This isn't the first time BMW has investigated thrifty trikes - it actually began working on its CLEVER ("Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport") concept back in 2002 in conjunction with the Berlin's Technical University, a project that took the form of a compressed natural gas trike with a CVT.



While there are no plans for production of either the SIMPLE or the CLEVER, BMW's expertise in motorcycles and its increasingly prominent Efficient Dynamics initiative doesn't have us ruling out a similar vehicle sometime down the road. In the meantime, you'll have to make the pilgrimage to the BMW Museum to check out BMW's SIMPLE and CLEVER contraptions. Check out the high-res gallery below and a video and press release after the jump.

Gallery: BMW SIMPLE Concept

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW gets back into the leaning trike thing with SIMPLE concept [w/VIDEO]

BMW gets back into the leaning trike thing with SIMPLE concept [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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