Filed under: Car Buying, Coupes, Euro, BMW

A new entry-level car from a premium European brand will be washing up on our shores when the BMW 1-Series arrives carrying a price tag slightly under $30,000. Much the same way as Volvo’s looking to its bobbed-tail C30 to recruit younger buyers into the fold while offering an appropriately flavored confection of a car, the 1-Series has the task of winning customers who would love a Roundel on the hood, but can’t swing the 3-series. Having done the truncated poop deck on the E36 318ti, BMW decided to go with a traditional three-box profile this time around.

Where former entry-level efforts from premium European brands have not inspired drivers, the 1-Series has everyone buzzing. While the 135i gets the 335’s delectable 300-HP drivetrain, good for a 5.1 second run to 60 mph, even the “entry level” 128i will have plenty of snort. The 128i will make do with 230 horses, giving up a second in the accelerative dash, yet taking it about $5,000 easier on your checkbook. We expect that BMW has learned from its 318ti experience, and the interior will not be a cheapened affair when compared to the 3-series, but will carry the same high quality materials, super comfortable seats, and impossibly tight fits. It’s getting to be so you can’t swing a cat without hitting a slightly-sub-30K vehicle with a spiffy emblem on the rump. We like that.

[Source: Auto News - sub req.]

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Filed under: Coupes, Etc., BMW, Driving

BMW is serious about its M3 coupe, so much so that the German automaker is willing to invest big bucks to show potential buyers just how great the M driving experience is. To give you control of the M3, BMW created a video game where you get to dance around the Nürburgring. The file is a mega-load at 345 MB, and BMW suggests having a steering controller for the PC to get the best possible experience. We didn’t have the wheel, so we stuck with the keyboard controls. The interface seems like it was designed by the architects of iDrive, and trying to exit the game almost crashed our fortified quad-core gamer machine, but the graphics were pretty sweet. That said, if the M3 handles as poorly as it did for us in this video game, most of us would rather have a Crown Victoria rolling on DUBs (Readers, be advised: “Most of us” refers to Chris and the other voices in his head. Just a clarification. - Ed). It took us 20 minutes to get to the point where we could keep the virtual 414 HP on the track, and steering was too sensitive on pavement and flat-lined on anything else. Let us know how you do if you take the time to try it. Heck, it’s a time waster, but it’s free.

[Source: BMW]

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, BMW

Where do BMW fans go on vacation? The ‘Ring, of course. If you’re taking that type of jaunt, you’d be forgiven for leaving your pants at home, but should you neglect to pack the zoom lens, woe unto you. With the E92 M3 arriving in the hungry driveways of customers, the Bayerische wizards are readying sedan and cabriolet versions of the M3, and a quick New Jersey BMW enthusiast snapped the cars near the Eifel mountain’s most famous attraction. The sedan’s looks don’t improve, and the 3-series cabrio is already the best looking car they’ve currently got, so there’s nothing outwardly earth-shattering about the new flavors of M3. Performance-wise, though, the four door and floptop flavors of the M3 will share the palpitation-inducing abilities of the coupe, and let’s not forget about the upcoming CSL, which sheds weight and ups the ante. More variants of the uber-3 equals more fun for everyone. We’re holding out for a wagon, so the whole family can don helmets and go rippin’ around.

[Source: Fast Lane Daily]

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Filed under: Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, Videos, BMW

click above image to view VIDEO of the BMW M3 Sedan

There are plenty of BMW M3 coupes driving around the web, but the newly announced sedan is a much rarer bird, indeed. The four-door M3 is mechanically the same as its coupe sibling, with its 4.0L V8 engine and six speed manual transmission. And from the A-pillar forward, the two Ms are nearly identical. The pair of souped-up 3-Series also have a lot of differences, starting with the door count and ending with the sedan’s steel rather than carbon fiber roof, the latter of which helps the four-door tip the scales at over 3,500 lbs.

Judging from the video posted after the jump, the M3 Sedan’s extra tonnage doesn’t seem to affect its road performance. While the M3 sedan was put through the paces in front of the cameras, the subdued speeds and the absence of an F1-style soundtrack leads us to believe the marketing folks were behind the wheel. Regardless, the BMW M3 is gorgeous, and the scenery and roads picked for the video shoot are just as hot. Check out nearly four minutes of the M3 Sedan riding through the mountains after the jump.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Continue reading VIDEO: BMW M3 Sedan doing its thang

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Filed under: Car Buying, Convertibles, Coupes, BMW

Click the image above for a gallery of high-res pics of the 2008 BMW 6-series.

BMW released the details on the 2008 6-series today, and after wading through the lengthy press release, the only exterior changes we could come up with is a mildly revised fascia and LED taillamps. On the engineering side, BMW added a lane-departure warning system and a new electronic shifter with an optional Sport Automatic that blips the throttle when you grab the “-” paddle on the steering wheel. The new cost of entry for the 650i coupe is $76,375, while the 650i convertible comes in at a cool $83,475.

BMW’s exceeding long-winded press release is posted after the jump.

Continue reading BMW slaps a refreshed nose on the 6, plus new prices

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Filed under: Podcasts, Sports/GTs, Supercars, BMW, Chevrolet, GM, Hyundai, Nissan, Celebrities

Autoblog Podcast #83 was judiciously held back until after the embargo cleared, but we can now talk freely. The biggest news this week is the official unveiling of the Corvette ZR-1/Blue Devil. Powered by the new LS9 supercharged small-block, the car’s performance is sure to be astounding. After laying eyes on the un-camoflaged car, hood porthole and all, we have to ask: is it overwrought? From ridiculous speed to ludicrous wordsmithing, we talk about the Nissan FORUM concept mainly for the chance to bash the hilariously composed press release. Maybe it was written in Japanese and they just passed it through translation software before releasing the announcement.

While we’re being scornful, we turn our gaze to the new Knight Rider. We’ve been keepig an eye on all the news, and let’s just say we expect the show to fail. The new Mustang-based KITT, even in Attack guise, is no Super Pursuit Mode original KITT. We wrap up with some discussion of Hyundai’s move toward a turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-inject engine (GEMA?) and take that off into a discussion about the expanded selection of good, inexpensive, and powerful coupes. The finale is some speculation about the rendering of a new McLaren supercar, as well as analyzing the absurdly high price of the BMW 1-series. 43 minutes will do it, see you next week!

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Filed under: Car Buying, Detroit Auto Show, Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, BMW

Click the image above for plenty of high-res pics.

If you’ve got a hankering for a V8-powered, carbon fiber-roofed über 3-series, BMW has finally named its price for the M3 coupe and sedan. $57,275 will buy you entry into the M3 Coupe, and bargain hunters willing to settle for an extra pair of doors can get the M3 Sedan in their driveway for $54,575. The M3’s come a long way since it’s E30 homologation-special roots. The cylinder count has now doubled from that original car, the long serving six cylinders having been jettisoned in favor of a 414 horsepower V8. The interior of the new M3s is a level of luxury unknown to the E30, too. The optional wheel-mounted M-Drive control will allow the driver to customize engine and chassis responses, and iDrive shuffles media and navigation chores. These prices will likely be less than what typical M3s roll off the lot for, as most buyers will want to add some options, and in the world of BMW, options cost.

Press release after the jump.

Continue reading Detroit 2008: BMW announces M3 pricing

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Filed under: Coupes, Etc., BMW

click above for more high-res pics of the BMW 135i

If you’re still frothing at the mouth for anything having to do with the new BMW 1-Series coupe, some new photos have found their way onto the internet. It’s still a 3-series that was left in the dryer too long, but the new shots show the car off in its best possible light. There’s been a lot of talk about the 135 being a return to the roots of what propelled BMW to such greatness, with alphanumerics like E30 M3 and 2002tii flying about. The 135i certainly holds its own stylistically, even if it is not possessed of the same delicacy of line as its forebears. The 135i appears hefty, like a block of dense marble carved by a skilled artisan, and when you get right down to it, that’s what it is. We’ve babbled enough, check out the gallery. Thanks for the tip, Horatiu!

[Source: edbmw]

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