The groundbreaking BMW Hydrogen 7, the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan will join other hydrogen-powered cars in the 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour. The tour will take the convoy of environment-friendly cars across the country from Portland, Maine to Santa Monica, California. The goal of the tour is to call on congressional leaders to support the creation of nationwide hydrogen fuelling station infrastructure.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 stores liquid hydrogen to power its internal combustion engine, the only car on the tour to have this functionality. Since hydrogen produces zero emissions, it is one of the cleanest energy sources available. In fact, the Hydrogen 7’s tailpipe emission is water vapor, which recent studies confirm to be safe enough to drink as it is well within the limits set by the US Environmental Protection Agency for safe drinking water standards.
The tour will also include a mono-fuel version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 that features a V12 internal combustion engine which runs exclusively on hydrogen. The mono-fuel Hydrogen 7 was created to demonstrate the zero CO2 and low emissions potential and feasibility of a dedicated hydrogen internal combustion engine. The Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel doesn’t only produce close to zero emission; it actually helped clean the air.
The 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour will run from August 11 to 23 and is in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, the California Fuel Cell Partnership and the National Hydrogen Association. In addition to BMW, participants include Daimler, GM, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Nissan, Toyota, and VW. Also part of this broad coalition are hydrogen fuel providers Linde, BMW’s hydrogen fuel partner for the Tour, and Air Products.
BMW has unveiled a new car that can read speed limit signposts and variable limit signs and display this information on the instrument cluster. With this technology, drivers are always aware of the speed zone they are in and adjust their driving accordingly especially on roads that have several different speed zones depending on traffic flow.
A small camera installed near the interior mirror constantly monitors the signs along the road and compares this with data saved in the navigation system. The camera will be able to read painted metal signs as well as dynamic digital displays. The date recorded by the camera is given priority and the speed allowed is displayed through the instrument cluster or in the head-up display on the car’s windscreen. This will significantly reduce the risk of breaking the speed limit by mistake.
Still, the BMW Speed Limit Display is an information system only. It will not intervene in the control of the vehicle or its speed. Maintaining a correct and safe speed is still the sole responsibility of the driver. The new Speed Limit Display will be available in the new BMW 7 Series set to be unveiled in Europe later this year.
BMW is expanding its current plant in South Carolina. The car maker would be investing $750 million more and this would be used to give the plant additional 1.5 million square feet. With such an expansion, the BMW South Carolina plant would need 500 new employees.
The Spartanburg County factory, BMW’s South Carolina plant, would be improved so it would help BMW meet its goal of producing 240,000 units come 2012. At present, the factory has an annual production of 160,000 units. The plant would also be manufacturing three BMW models composed of the BMW X3 sports activity vehicle, BMW X5 (also a sports activity vehicle), and the X6, a sports activity coupe.
BMW plans on using 1.2 million square foot for a new Assembly Factory. This factory would be responsible for manufacturing the BMW X3. Also, the company disclosed that it would be giving around 300,000 square feet to the current Paint Shop.
All roads lead to Paris from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15 as the 2006 Mondial de l’Automobile opens at the Paris Expo, Porte De Versailles. Just like in previous Paris Motor Shows, automakers from all over the globe will turn out in full force to reveal their latest brand new models and concept car designs. This year, the spotlights will be on the latest hybrid and alternative fuel cars competing with high-end luxury cars and exotics for the public’s attention. Companies from Audi to Toyota will unveil their hottest new models and show a glimpse of their future design directions.
BMW’s navigational system will start offering Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) at no additional cost on select 2007 BMW models including the X5, M5, M6, 3, 5, and 6 Series. Slated to be launched this September, the premium service will offer up-to-date traffic information for BMW drivers in 44 major metropolitan areas in the US. The system will also offer dynamic rerouting, the first of its kind on any production vehicle sold in the US. RTTI is the latest innovation from BMW highlighting the company’s commitment to offer industry-leading service, technology and innovation.
Now the navigational system is not anymore just an optional feature that is mostly used when customers get lost or need to find a way to their destination. The RTTI is an innovation that will help drivers reach their destinations more efficiently and easily than before. The RTTI will be available through Clear Channel’s Total Traffic Network. Drivers won’t need to search for traffic information on radio stations. The BMW RTTI system gathers timely traffic information from different sources such as FM radio stations, highway-embedded sensors, video monitors on roadways and bridge ways and local traffic monitoring centers.
The information is then streamed to a dedicated tuner on the car’s radio. In dynamic rerouting, the navigation system calculates the best routes depending on the traffic conditions, incidents and other potential delays. If the delay will exceed 5 minutes, the system will provide alternative routes around the congestion.
The BMW RTTI will be part of the cost of the navigation system in selected 2007 BMW models and there are no activation fees and monthly recurring charges.
Parking a car has just been elevated to a new level with BMW’s new “self-parking†prototype vehicle equipped with remote parking technology. It actually lets drivers stand beside their car while it parks itself perfectly into the garage. Sounds cool, doesn’t it? The prototype BMW Remote Park Assist system, revealed at the BMW Innovations Day in Munich, Germany last month, is designed for automatic garage parking. The driver providse parking instructions to the system through a central locking button on remote control. The car can then be reversed from the parking place while the driver is monitoring pedestrian traffic around the vehicle. This eliminates the risk of reversing into small children and pets.
The driver controls and supervises the car through a key fob and the vehicle moves at half-walking speed (2.5 km/h). The automatic parking process is made possible by the use of video cameras and sensors that detect the distance from obstacles. To avoid collisions, the driver can interrupt the parking process by simply releasing the button on the key fob.
The system lets the car park exactly in the middle of the space to allow maximum room to open the doors. And since everything is saved within the system’s computer; the car will maintain the same trajectory when leaving the garage and also stop at the same point where the driver started the parking maneuver. It even lets exterior mirrors fold automatically when parking and exiting. The BMW Parking Assist System is ideal for parking areas with restricted space such as in condos and apartments. This innovation is another proof of BMW’s leading edge when it comes to developing advanced and sophisticated automotive systems.
See BMW’s Remote Park Assist in action in this video:
The information gathered from more than 60 million visitors of Kelley Blue Books’ kbb.com, the most visited third-party auto web site in the net, comprised of the raw data of the latest most researched vehicles for the first six months of 2006. Included in the Top 20 list of America’s most trusted source of new and used automotive information are the following.
Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Rav4
Honda Odyssey
Honda Pilot
Toyota Highlander
Chevrolet Tahoe
Honda CR-V
Ford Mustang
Nissan Altima
BMW 325
Acura TL
Toyota Sienna
Toyota 4runner
Ford Escape
Infiniti G35
Toyota Avalon
Mazda 3
On top of the list are Asian models, Honda and Toyota. Seven slots are occupied by Toyota and five by Honda, which are all included in the Top Ten. In place of the Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which has fallen off from the current list, are Toyota RAV4 and Chevrolet Tahoe. Together with the Tahoe is the Ford Mustang, the sole domestic models that made it to the most researched line-up.
Two utilitarian minivans came in at the 6th and 7th spots, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna respectively. Three entry level luxury vehicles also made it in the list - the BMW 325, Acura TL and Infiniti G35 (pictured above) – which according to Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com have definitely become the brands and vehicles that the public aspires to drive and own.
The German Car Blog reports that Audi has begun production of the newest version of the Audi TT sports car. Audi has spent almost 230 million euros on new production technologies and equipments to ensure that the new TT is produced with highest quality standards and latest production methods. The production of the TT will be a joint effort between two Audi plants, the main plant in Ingolstadt, Germany where the TT’s body will be built and painted and the Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. in Györ, Hungary where final assembly will take place.
The assembly line at both plants have been redesigned and streamlined without any compromise in the quality of the vehicle, Audi says. The automaker is not about to gloss over the finest details. In fact, TT’s are regularly taken out of the production process and tested by laser measurement to ensure that everything is at its right configuration.
The new TT is an improvement on its predecessor especially in the way it is constructed, its overall body weight and weight distribution, longer wheelbase, and roomier interior. The body of the new TT is a mix of both steel and aluminum that weighs in at 3146 lbs, about a hundred pounds lighter than the previous version. The redesigned and freshened 2007 Audi TT is poised to be a fierce challenger in the luxury sports car segment, already populated by the BMW Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z, Porsche Cayman S and the Mercedes-Benz SLK. It will be available in North America by April of next year.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Toyota executives are currently in talks to revive the automaker’s sports-car lineup. Mr. Tokuo Fukuichi, a Toyota official based in France said that the new Toyota sports car model “is going to be a global project, not one aimed at one region more than anotherâ€. Meanwhile, Shinzo Kobuki, Toyota’s managing OIC of development of hybrid systems said that the automaker is aiming to produce sporty cars to compete with German luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. Toyota has been criticized for being the last major car maker without a trophy sports car.
Last year, Toyota unveiled a hybrid sports car concept, named the Volta (pictured above) designed together with the legendary Guigiaro of Italdesign. The concept was later renamed as the ‘Priapus’. Despite the rather awkward name, the Volta/Priapus featured a stunning design, a powerful V-6 engine with electric motor providing 408 horespower, 0-60 mph acceleration in 4 seconds, and 30 mpg fuel economy.
The legendary Chevrolet Corvette widely regarded as “America’s Sports Car’, zoomed to the top of 2006 list of the top ten “sexiest, hottest, and wildest wheels†released by Road and Travel Magazine. The other pony car, Ford Mustang, came in at second. Rounding up the elite list were the BMW Z4, Hyundai Tiburon, Honda S2000, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Nissan 350Z Roadster, Dodge Charger, and the new Pontiac Solstice. As expected, almost all the cars listed were sports cars and coupes with the exception of the Dodge Charger, the only four-seater on the selection.
All these cars possessed one common denominator: pure sex appeal. Road and Travel Editor-in-chief Courtney Caldwell explained the predilection towards sports cars. She said that ‘sports cars are all about the sensations they inspire from how the supple leather feels on our skin to its aromatic splendor, from the youthful spirit felt driving one to the sun on our back and wind in our hair; Sports cars are about fantasy and self image. Just looking at one incites erotic thoughts and visions of grandeur. Owning one turns those images into reality!’
The other cars who made it to the list have already won accolades from other award-giving bodies. The Pontiac Solstice took home the ‘Most Sex Appeal’ award at the 2006 International Car of the Year Awards. The Dodge Charger won the coveted top plum: Car of the Year. Meanwhile, Nissan 350Z’s ads won for it the 2nd Annual Heart String Award for best car commercial, also given out by Road and Travel Magazine.
BMW’s navigational system will start offering Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) at no additional cost on select 2007 BMW models including the X5, M5, M6, 3, 5, and 6 Series. Slated to be launched this September, the premium service will offer up-to-date traffic information for BMW drivers in 44 major metropolitan areas in the US. The system will also offer dynamic rerouting, the first of its kind on any production vehicle sold in the US. RTTI is the latest innovation from BMW highlighting the company’s commitment to offer industry-leading service, technology and innovation.
