2010 BMW X1 Officially Revealed

After many spy photos and teasers, BMW has finally released the official photos of the 2010 X1.

In Europe the X1 will be offered mainly offered with diesel engine choices with the most powerful model being the xDrive23d with 201-hp and 295 lb-ft. of torque. The most powerful gas powered engine will be the xDrive28i with 258-hp and 228 lb-ft. of torque.

The X1 is expected to be launched by the end of this year with sales starting in the US early next year. Expect more details once the official US press release is available.

2010 BMW 7 Series to Offer xDrive AWD This Fall

BMW has announced that the 2010 BMW 7 Series will be offered with the xDrive AWD system for the first time ever.

The 2010 BMW 750i and 750Li will be offered with BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system. In addition the 2010 model year also sees the introduction of the V12 powered 760Li model, which brings the total to five variants of the 7 Series.

A new M Sport package is also available on the 2010 7 Series. The package includes an M steering wheel, lift-reducing aerodynamic kit, Active Roll Stabilization (RWD only), Shadowline trim, Anthracite headliner and 19″ wheels with ultra-high performance tires. 20" wheels are also available.

BMW Confirms the X1 for the US in 2011

After all the photo leaks yesterday, BMW has officially released more photos of the X1 and released a brief press release which states that the X1 will be offered in the US, sometime in 2011.

The X1 will debut this fall in Europe with a choice of either three diesel engines or a gas engine. It will also be available in either rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configurations.

BMW hasn't officially announced which configurations the US will receive in 2011.

A BMW Isetta With a Meter - Interview

Who: Chuck Miller, 66, custom-car guru
What: Isetta taxicab
Where: New Boston, Michigan

This is not the first of your cars to appear in Car and Driver, right?
Right. I built the Corvette Sportwagon that was on the cover in July 1972.

That design was by Harry Bradley?
That’s right. I built the prototype and then built six more of them. I still have one in my shop.

How long have you been building custom cars?
My first custom—my first car—was a 1950 Ford coupe that I bought for $35. I was 16 and still in high school [Lincoln Park, Michigan]. When it was finished,Rodding and Restyling magazine did a feature on it. May of 1961.

When did you open your own shop?
Actually, I worked at my shop through high school, before it was my shop. It was Dick’s Collision then. In 1963, the owner wanted to retire, so I took it over, renamed it Styline Customs, and operated there for 36 years. I sold out in 1999. The shop’s still there and still operating in River Rouge. I’m semiretired, but I still do little projects like this, and I work with the Autorama show people in Detroit.

2010 BMW 750i / 750Li xDrive - First Drive Review

Among folks fortunate enough to live outside of the Snow Belt, all-wheel drive is usually only brought up in conjunction with pickup trucks and Jeep Wranglers. For those of us that have to deal with snow and freezing conditions for months every year, though, an all-wheel-drive car can be the difference between getting to work and getting stuck at the end of your driveway. Indeed, here in Michigan, just about every luxury ride on the road wears an “x” or “4Matic” or “Quattro” badge on its rump, signifying four-wheel power, with the BMW 7-series being one of the only cars in its competitive set not to offer all-wheel drive. Until now.

Fitting all-wheel drive to a big, rear-drive car, however, can run the risk of upsetting driving dynamics. Take the current BMW 535i xDrive. With its power distribution tightly set at 40 percent front and 60 percent rear, it understeers like a baseball player barreling headfirst into home plate. Now imagine if the 7-series, which in short-wheelbase form has over seven inches more between the axles and at least 600 pounds on the 535i xDrive, was fitted with the same system. Dynamic disaster. So the engineers at BMW took that previous version of xDrive—currently used in the 3-series as well as the 5-series—and reengineered it in such a way that the all-wheel-drive 7er handles just as well, if not better, than its rear-drive sibling.

BMW Adds Real-Time Fuel Prices, Weather, and Stock Quotes to BMW Search

Starting this month, BMW will offer a BMW Assist Convenience Plan, an updated version of its BMW Search service, which will include real-time fuel prices, weather forecasts and major stock indices. Currently, BMW assist can be used to make calls, get directions and traffic information, and to signal one’s location in the event of an emergency. This updated system will search for nearby gas stations and let the user know current prices and the distance to each station. Three-day weather forecasts are available, and any weather advisories or warnings are announced to the user. Bloomberg supplies continuous updates of the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ indices.
Ford recently started offering a similar service for its Sync system that includes traffic, directions, information, and emergency assist. This $95-per-year service takes advantage of Sync’s excellent functionality and intuitive voice commands.
The BMW Assist Convenience Plan will be available on all BMW Assist-equipped 2010 models, and select 2009 models (including 1-, 3-, and 7-series). The cost will be $199 per year for BMW Assist subscribers.

2009 BMW X6 xDrive50i - Short Take Road Test

Maybe it was an Oktoberfest-fueled decision, or maybe it came after a particularly trying meeting, but the volks at BMW seem to have said to themselves, “The gents at AMC really got it right in the early ’80s. Herr Bangle, make the X5 look more like a 1983 AMC Spirit, bitte, and we’ll call it the X6.”

At least when you’re driving the X6, you don’t have to look at it. And after driving the X6, it’s likely that the styling will be forgotten or, at the very least, forgiven.

It’s a prettier picture, mechanically. Despite its rhino-like 5241-pound weight, the X6 drives like a much smaller sports sedan. Steering effort is heavy and requires a deliberate hand, but the X6 responds quickly and without drama. Part of the credit goes to the xDrive all-wheel drive and a torque-vectoring system that can vary the power between each of the rear wheels to stabilize the X6—or engage in lurid power slides if you turn off the stability control. Grip from the wide Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires registers 0.89 g on the skidpad, which will send passengers reaching for overhead grab handles that aren’t there. That the X6 achieves these numbers with a supple ride is even more remarkable considering the stiff and heavy run-flat tires on 20-inch wheels.