اخبار سيارات BMW لسنه 2008

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Filed under: Auction Action, Supercars, BMW

Click above for gallery of the 1979 BMW M1

One of the rarest of (relatively) modern BMWs is the M1. Back in the mid-1970s, the gang in Munich were tired of Porsche getting all the glory in sports car racing with its 911-based 934 and 935. BMW decided to design a car specifically to compete in Group 4 and 5 racing against those Porsches, and because Group 4 required that a minimum of 400 road going cars be built for homologation, BMW designed the race car and then changed only what was necessary to make the car acceptable for the street. Unfortunately, by the time they got the 400 cars built, competition was already moving on and few M1s were ever raced.

BMW did build a small run of cars based on the Group 4 spec car for an all-steer series called ProCar that was ran in conjunction with some F1 races, and the 3.5L twin-cam 24-valve inline-six eventually found a home in the first generation M5 and M6. Some of the 456 road cars were later converted to replicas of the ProCar machines, including one that has popped up on eBay this week. As of this writing, the bidding is at $140,000 and the Buy it Now price is a mere $189,000. Thanks for the tip, Michael!

Gallery: BMW M1 "Pro**** on eBay

[Source: eBay]

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Filed under: Car Buying, BMW

Justin B. from TTAC sent us a tip that BMW NA is offering all of its models - from the 135i to the Alpina B7 - with a pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top APR of 0.9%. No car is exempt from the ultra-low loan, which means you can get behind the wheel of an M3 sedan or a 335i with relative ease, assuming you have a FICO credit score of 600 or more. We called up our local BMW dealer to find out if there are any exceptions, and apparently the credit score and a loan spanning 24-60 months are the only things keeping you away from Teutonic bliss. The offer is good through October 31st - likely a last ditch effort to clear out the '08s and spur sales in a month where buyers are putting off big-ticket purchases. If October's numbers are as abysmal as we expect, don't be surprised if this sale leads into November. Check out BMW's site for the details.

[Source: BMW via TTAC]

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, BMW, Ford

Being a Democrat or Republican is like being a Ford fan or Chevy supporter. While there are undecideds who might choose a Mustang or Camaro based on their spec sheets alone, most us already know where our allegiance lies and will defend our choice regardless. The analogy between your political party and pony car preference just got a little more interesting thanks to a study by Landor Associates and research firm Penn, Schoen and Berland. They issued a survey asking respondents to compare the top two political contenders with brands in the marketplace, and the results weren't shocking so much as reflective of the prevailing perceptions of each candidate.

Barack Obama, for instance, was associated with brands like Google, James Bond and Target, while John McCain was linked to AOL, Jack Bauer and Wal-Mart. When it came to auto brands, Obama was buddied up with BMW and McCain paired with Ford. We would have gone a bit more granular and pegged Obama as an M3 and McCain a Shelby GT500, as that would certainly be a race more exciting than the one we're watching now.

[Source: Adweek]

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Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, BMW

Automakers have been adding electronic gizmos to vehicles for decades, and operating systems have been developed to allow each system communicate with one another. The OSs are different from one brand to the next, but BMW wants to help develop a system using an open-source Linux platform it's helping to create along with Google and Wind River Systems.

Using Linux as a base would allow anyone with a background in coding to make changes to the system to suit each manufacturer's needs. Plus, a single platform would make it easier for third-party vendors to create hardware or an application and be sure that it would work correctly in any vehicle using the OS. Automakers such as General Motors and Chrysler sound interested in the idea, while Ford and Honda, which already use a Microsoft OS in their cars, have a few more questions that need answering before they are ready to jump on the open-source bandwagon. In any case, in-car gadgetry's not going anywhere and it will take years for any one system to made standard.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, BMW, Mercedes-Benz

BMW, the Munich-based German automaker, is reportedly in discussion with other automakers -- rivals in some cases -- to sell their engines and transmissions. Klaus Draeger, BMW's head of development, told Auto Motor und Sport that the automaker is in advanced talks with Mercedes-Benz about licensing engines to its Stuttgart-based competitor.

Specifics have not been announced, but one likely candidate would be BMW's new V-12, set to debut in the new 7 Series and baby Rolls-Royce sedan. Mercedes would drop it under the hood of their flagship S-Class and Maybach. There was no mention about the possibility of BMW's twin-turbo inline-six finding itself under the hood of a Mercedes (while BMW continues to refine their award-winning inline-six powerplant, Mercedes dropped their popular straight-six in the mid-1990's and replaced it with a V6), but Draeger did hint that other automakers have approached the company about diesel engine technology. Engine and transmission sharing isn't uncommon in the industry, but such a move would be a first for the two companies, each longstanding rivals with products selling in the identical segments.

[Source: Autocar]

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