It takes a real gun aficionado to appreciate the artwork on this bimmer. Perhaps if they were a little bit more accurate, it would have turned out less perfect. Note to bimmerphiles: Get bulletproof armor plating installed. You’ll never know when an artist somewhere will hire another mercenary to put his ideas onto paint.

Source: Jalopnik

This is just freaking hilarious! Talk about mistaken identity. Can you believe that New Yorkers in Upper West Side mistook a BMW X3 for a car bomb? Well, maybe you can give them credit since the X3 was lightly camouflaged and was left running by its careless driver in front of the National Museum of History.

Oh, what the heck. We’ll give it to them for fearing bomb attacks. The media has been pumping images of car bombs into American television for years now, and it isn’t helping people unwind especially in the urban jungle of New York.

Throw into the mix a certain Martin Birkmann, head of BMW North American Motorsports and a member of BMW’s product planning team (yes, he’s the driver of the X3, apparently), and you’ve got one hell of a shit storm and a false alarm to really bug the hell out of the NYPD.

So the next time you find a partially-camouflaged car left running without a driver, don’t panic. It might just be that its driver was in a hurry. But DO NOT open its doors if they’re left unlocked. It could be a real bomb ticking inside, waiting for a jackass carnapper to fall into the trigger trap. Call the bomb squad and enjoy the show. We’ll be here writing about it if it comes up false.

Source: Jalopnik

BMW is in a bind. Because of the air travel shutdown due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland, the German automaker may have to shutdown its assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, temporarily.

The Icelandic eruption has sent clouds of hazardous pyroclastic ash floating in the air, ceasing all air travel to prevent catastrophes. This has left people and businesses stuck on the ground.

The Spartanburg plant, which relies solely on shipped BMW X5 and X6 parts, will have no choice but to close shop indefinitely until air travel is once again restored.

But there’s some good news, though. Scientists are already finding less pyroclastic material being expelled from the volcano despite the high level of seismic activity that persists around its zone. So hopefully, everyone can get on a plane soon and life will be back to normal.

Source: Autoblog

Time for a little engine porn (ahem) education.

Have you ever fantasized about what a valve train looks like sawing at redline? Well, here’s what.

Warning: Engine oil spewing from total awesomeness. [Click to watch video] (Courtesy of Jalopnik)

The cannibalized engine belongs to a BMW S1000R. Yes folks, it’s a super bike. The kind Mr. Valentino Rossi is so famous for.

These cams and valves are what gives the 1000cc engine its 193 horses. Never try this at home.

Of course, you wouldn’t cut your engine in half.

Source: Jalopnik

One of the perks of being the fastest man on two wheels is winning extravagant awards. And for Valentino Rossi, six-time MotoGP champion, it happens not once or twice, but five times. BMW awarded Rossi with a 2009 BMW M3 sedan for having qualified for pole position in the 2009 MotoGP season’s final race in Valencia, Spain.

This is the fifth time Rossi has been able to clinch the award, so you could fairly imagine how many M3s he has won. He also got a chance to drive BMW’s latest model, the M3 GTS, around the Valencia track. His verdict? He wants one reserved for his stable as soon as production starts.

In case you didn’t know, Rossi is no stranger to four wheels. He has done several test runs on Ferrari’s Formula One cars, lapping very competitive times as if he were racing in MotoGP. And as a side note, there’s also news that Rossi’s being pegged for a driver’s seat in the 2010 Formula One season. So you can only imagine what kind of endorsement that means for BMW and the M3 GTS.

If the fastest man on two wheels liked it, there’s no reason to doubt its performance and track-worthiness. Check out Rossi’s shots with the BMW M3 GTS here.

Source: Motor Trend

I’ve always been a big fan of BMW ever since I was a kid. There was something about how precise all of its vehicles are crafted. Something out of the world actually, yet the regular Joe can drive its vehicles with almost no effort at all. Recently, I’ve come across one hell of a luxury car that comes from the gates of BMW: the 2009 BMW M6 Coupe.

The 2009 BMW M6 Coupe is just one of the many luxury coupes that date back to 1972. It’s actually BMW’s answer to the Mercedes Benz’s AMG and the Jaguar XKR. The best thing about this car is that it has three different power levels that you can adjust.

The Looks

The 2009 BMW M6 Coupe has subtle lines and a loud spoiler. Apart from that, it boasts of a M-design wheels, aero-mirrors, and superb illumination. In short, you’ll never miss this vehicle when you see it on the road. On the other hand, it also uses lightweight materials in order to reduce its baggage. In fact, its roof panel is made of carbon-fiber, which is both tough and light at the same time.

The Price

The 2009 BMW M6 Coupe sells at a whopping 111,320 USD. If you think that it’s expensive, well you can expect anything less because it’s a luxury car in the first place. You’ll be spending good money anyways because its V10 engine can pump out 500 horses and 383 lb-ft of torque. Now that’s what I call legit power. Basically, the 2009 BMW M6 Coupe is simply a finely-tailored suit that just fits right. With its V10 engine, it can accelerate to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds. It also won’t leave anything in the speed category because its top speed is around 155 mph.

The Verdict

Sure it’s expensive, but if you’re CEO who earns bigtime, there’s no way that you should pass up this car. If I were you, I would take a close look at it because this thing is a winner.

No, it isn’t for an upcoming James Bond movie. This time, it’s for real. BMW has just created a vehicle that would perfectly suit action-packed films. Named the BMW 7 Series High Security, this vehicle features loads and loads of advance safety features ideal for politicians, businessmen, military officials, and high personalities.

The 7 Series High Security comes in two variants: the 750Li and the 760Li High Security. Both sedans are steel-armored, from the door to the roof, pillars, front footwell, underbody, and in the wall between the passenger cabin and luggage compartment. This armor is further reinforced against ammunitions to ensure safety. Aside from this, other basic features of the BMW 7 Series High Security include the following:

• Gap-sealing that covers areas such as doors and body-joint lines
• Multi-layer laminated windows with an internal polycarbonate to protect vehicle occupants from glass fragments
• Standard run-flat tyres that enable individuals to drive their vehicle up to 80 km/h for as far as 50 km
• Intercom system with concealed microphones and speakers
• Assault alarm
• Fire-extinguishing system with a temperature sensor, which can extinguish fire in the engine bay and under the auto
• Irritant gas sensors that can detect gas attacks, in which case all windows are closed, the fresh air valves are shut, and an internal fresh air supply system is activated

And if you’re not impressed by all these, what would you say about its gun case with two compartments that can accommodate two machine guns? Action-packed, eh?

For more of the features, you can check out NetCarShow.Com.

While BMW had been busy working on a car system that will help drivers when they suffer from a sudden health hazard while driving, Mercedes Benz had been focusing on another area of safety—the prevention of drowsiness-triggered car crashes. There are a lot of things that cause road accidents—drowsiness and falling asleep while driving are among them. In fact, these typical incidents cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year in the United States.

Wishing to address this problem, Mercedes Benz has come up with the Attention Assist. The system works by detecting when the driver gets drowsy and then providing warning to get the driver’s attention back on the road.

Attention Assist uses 70 parameters to determine when the driver is already dozing off. When the system detects sudden steering corrections, for instance, a typical symptom of driving while drowsy, it will sound off a warning alarm to remind the driver to pay attention. And to make sure that the driver understands, a coffee cup icon will be displayed on the speedometer. Now, that’s sure to get the message across!

This innovative safety feature will be included in the Mercedes Benz E-Class, together with other safety features like blind-spot detection and adaptive cruise control.

[Source: Luxury Launches]

If you’ve read the news yesterday, you might have come across the story about the discovery of a dead guy inside his minivan which was parked under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway underpass. According to reports, the said minivan has been parked on the said area for already two weeks, and the said auto has in fact been issued parking tickets over the couple of weeks it was there, with the dead man inside and with no one noticing. Can you imagine that?!

Reports said it was probable that George Morales, the dead guy, had suffered heart attack two weeks ago. His family could not contact him since early May and no one knew where he was. Now, if only vehicles would be equipped with a system that would monitor the state of their drivers and then do the right thing during inevitable instances like this, several lives might still be saved.

Well, that’s just what BMW is working on right now, a system called Emergency Stop Assistant. The main purpose of the system is to bring a vehicle to a safe stop when it detects that the driver is having a medical problem. Upon the detection, the vehicle switches to an autonomous driving mode to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. After that, hazard lights are turned on and an emergency call is sent out for medical assistance.

Check out the complete details below:

PRESS RELEASE:

Stopping safely in an emergency.

Munich. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany recently launched a research project titled “SmartSenior – intelligent services for senior citizens” which aims to make life in old age easier and safer. Among the areas the initiative focuses on are intelligent, location-independent emergency recognition and assistance systems which allow senior citizens to feel safe and secure on the road. BMW Group Research and Technology is involved in the SmartSenior initiative through the development of an Emergency Stop Assistant, which enhances road safety in the event of a medical emergency.

Safety in an emergency.

Older people with intermittent cardiovascular problems frequently no longer trust their abilities at the wheel. This doubt stems from the fear of suffering heart or circulation-related problems while driving which might cause them to lose control of their vehicle and trigger a serious accident. It leads to a loss of personal mobility and, by consequence, a considerable drop in independence and quality of life – especially for those living in rural areas. These issues also affect people suffering certain health-related limitations such as diabetes. As Ralf Decke, project manager for SmartSenior at BMW Group Research and Technology, explains: “Our primary aim is to avoid accidents caused by a health-related loss of control – or at least to reduce the severity of such accidents.”

To this end, the engineers have set out to develop an assistance system which automatically activates an autonomous driving mode when it detects that the driver has a serious medical problem, and carries out a controlled emergency stop. In simple terms, the car switches on the hazard warning lights and manoeuvres carefully – taking into account the traffic around it – to the outer edge of the road, before drawing to a standstill. At the same time, an emergency call is sent out containing the data required to initiate the necessary medical and traffic-related assistance measures. This enables the provision of effective emergency care tailored to the situation at hand. “In order to keep a limit on the variety of possible driving situations, which vary infinitely in complexity, we are developing the prototype of our Emergency Stop Assistant initially for use on motorways and sections of roads resembling motorways,” explains Decke.

System based on existing driver assistance systems and Extended Emergency Call from BMW ConnectedDrive.

The emergency stop assistance system is based both on sensors designed to monitor vital data and on existing BMW ConnectedDrive assistance systems. The BMW Group has, for example, offered an emergency call function for ten years now. In addition to precise position location and information on the vehicle, since spring 2007 the emergency call has also included information on the accident the vehicle has been involved in. The rescue services are therefore not only able to pinpoint where the vehicle is located and to identify it by model and colour, they also have information on the number of occupants in the vehicle and the severity of any injuries. An intelligent algorithm calculates this information from data supplied by the sensors of passive safety systems (airbags, seatbelts etc.). In the future it will also be possible to pass on vital physiological data to the emergency services via this network of technology. The SmartSenior project also focuses on establishing valid vital data – here, other project partners such as Siemens and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin take the lead role, ensuring that the required help is quickly at hand.

Assistance systems such as the Lane Departure Warning system and Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go function provide a further technological basis for the development of the emergency stop system.

Content of the Emergency Stop Assistant project.

In addition to the clarification of the legal framework, another early stage of the process involves the key development of new algorithms to register and interpret the environment around the vehicle. Here, particular focus is centred on achieving reliable localisation of the vehicle within its lane through the fusion of redundant sensors, the recognition of objects in the area surrounding the vehicle and the development of an electronic coordinator, which in an emergency takes all strategic driving decisions – instead of the driver – and passes them on to the relevant interfaces governing the longitudinal and lateral position of the vehicle.

BMW Group Research and Technology
BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG and has been responsible for research at the BMW Group since 2003. VehicleTechnology, CleanEnergy (hydrogen technology), EfficientDynamics (intelligent energy management/alternative drive systems), ConnectedDrive (driver assistance/active safety) and ITDrive (IT and communications technology) activities all come under its umbrella. Its legal independence as a GmbH (limited company) ensures creative freedom and unbeatable flexibility. The Managing Director of BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH is Prof. Raymond Freymann. Worldwide access to trends and technologies is provided by an established international network with bases in the USA (Palo Alto, CA and Clemson, SC) and Japan (Tokyo), plus Liaison Offices in France with Eurécom (Sophia Antipolis) and in Germany in the shape of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI GmbH) in Saarbrücken.

The SmartSenior project.
“SmartSenior – intelligent services for senior citizens” is a development project bringing together a total of 29 renowned partners from the fields of research and industry. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting this alliance to the tune of EUR 25 million as part of its high-tech strategy for Germany.

Once this system is fully developed, it will be very useful for saving lives and preventing road accidents. People with medical problems can already drive alone with peace of mind knowing that they’ll be taken care of when any problem happens.

[Photo: AutomobileMag]

That’s along with BMW, both brands aiming to cut their overall fuel economy.

We all know that fuel economy is not really on top of the list of priorities by many luxury car makers. In the luxury car industry, comfort, technological features, speed, and overall opulence top that list.

Mercedes Benz’ plan to bring back the 4-cylinder engine shows a change in direction toward fuel economy consciousness, coupled with improved emissions.

You might remember that Benz was fined $28.9 million due to CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) violations last year, making it the second automaker to pay the largest amount for CAFÉ fines ever (Daimler Chrysler being the first). These kinds of incidents, and others, might have triggered the brand to be more fuel-conscious.

As of now, Benz hasn’t released any final word yet about the 4-cylinder engine it’s planning to include in its models, but many are speculating about the 4-cylinder diesel engine included in the E250 BluTEC concept that the brand showed at the last New York Auto Show. The said engine generates 204 horsepower and promises 43 mpg fuel economy.

Meanwhile, BMW is already working on a twin-turbocharged, direct-injected 4-cylinder engine, to be used in the 1 and 2 Series, as well as the X3 and X1.