AUTOMOTIVE FREAKS

Using ConnectedDrive Assist and Bluetooth technology, now the 2011 BMW drivers are able to listen to emails read to them by the car computer.

This is a one step further in harnessing the concept of mobile office.

The BMW has successfully integrates Blackberry smartphone capabilities into its vehicles. The integration is implemented in 2011 BMW cars which start to show up on September of 2010.

Other smartphones have already implemented such capabilities like photos, music, and contacts synchronization.

They also integrate the voice activated features that can convert text to voice.

Such feature is highly appreciated by those drivers who need to stay in touch with their text messaging service.

ConnectedDrive technology from BMW now has all these features implemented plus a new feature that’s able to read out loud the incoming emails directly from your Blackberry.

Satechi SCR-31 Car Holder & Mount for iPhone 4, 3G & 3Gs, BlackBerry, HTC EVO, DROID on Windshield and Dashboard

The iDrive control interface from BMW allows you to access unread messages on your Blackberry through a Bluetooth connection.

Every model that’s equipped with Assist, Bluetooth connectivity and onboard navigation is able to use the iDrive control interface to access emails from Blackberries and other smart phones.

You may choose which email that you want to be read out loud by the system.

Unfortunately until today BMW supports such read out loud feature only for the new Blackberry Pearl 3G.

But in the near future BMW will expand its compatibility to support wider range of models.

By the way if you need some visualizations of the feature, you may go to YouTube and watch the clip that shows you an iPhone is being connected to the car.

Watch the demonstration of BMW ConnectedDrive. The computer features a female voice t0 read the email and text messages.

This feature that enables emails accessibility from vehicles is a new breakthrough in smartphone integration technology.

However it would be interesting to see such technology is being developed further to enable us to reply the email by using voice that’s converted into text.

Blackberry Accessories

(I recommend you to always read the customer reviews before deciding to purchase)

OtterBox Impact Case for BlackBerry Curve 8520 (Black)

BlackBerry Skin for BlackBerry Curve (Black)

BlackBerry Curve 8520 / 8530 Black Silicone Case, LCD Screen Guard / Protector & Car Charger Combo

BlackBerry Skin for BlackBerry 8800, 8820, 8830 (Black)

Rim 9700 Charging Pod

BlackBerry Leather Holster for BlackBerry Bold 9000

The increasing prices of gasoline in the U.S. have forced a huge number of motorists to turn their backs on gas guzzling vehicles. Furthermore, car makers are developing fuel efficient vehicles to reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil. The demand for fuel efficient vehicles is evident on the demand for hybrid cars. These hybrid cars are equipped with an electric motor to help a gasoline engine produce a greater amount of power without having to add to the worsening problem of pollution. Since the engine is not the only source of power, motorists can save on their fuel consumption. This technology however is not the only means for motorists to reduce the amount of money spent on fuel.

Another engine technology that has been gaining ground in the European market is the diesel engine. This kind of engine has been introduced in the past in the U.S. although the public has lost interest on the use of such engines because of the amount of emission that it gives off. But development in the automotive industry is constant and a result of this is the birth of a diesel engine with its trademark high torque output but with less emissions. In fact, the use of diesel engines is so widely accepted in the European market that luxury cars now even employ diesel engines. While the use of diesel engines has become popular in the European region, in the U.S., the use of the engine is just slowly attracting the attention of the motoring public.

To further promote the use of diesel engines which are more environment-friendly today, BMW announced that they will be selling diesel powered cars in the U.S. next year. BMW CEO Norbert Reitholder announced that: “Next year we are also going to offer our diesel vehicles in the U.S. – another step in protecting the environment”.

The use of diesel engines will help in the protection of the environment since with the use of current technology, the emission of greenhouse gases is reduced. This is far from the reputation of the past generation of diesel engines which were known to produce black soot and is known for producing too much noise during operation. But with the advent of technology, better filters were developed to trap the greenhouse gases produced in the internal combustion engine. These filters are as efficient as EBC Greenstuff brake pads in stopping a vehicle.

The decision of the European car maker to market their diesel engine-equipped vehicles in the U.S. is the strong acceptance of the public of the said vehicles. In fact, 40 percent of the total number of BMW vehicles sold last year is equipped with diesel engines. BMW hopes that the level of acceptance in Europe for these diesel powered vehicles will be the same in the U.S. market.

When most people hear the company name BMW, they usually associate it immediately with the high end automobiles that the company is well known for.
Often they picture sleek sports cars and luxury sedans that epitomize an ideal blend between safety and high speed performance.

What most people don’t know, however, is that BMW had it’s beginnings in 1923 not with cars, but with motorcycle production.

To this day, BMW constantly comes out with new models of motorcycles employing cutting edge technology. Their racing teams see constant action in the international racing circuits, and win quite a number of these races with regularity.

As a matter of fact, some BMW racing teams like to show off the specs of their machines by beating modified motorcycles from other groups, but they do so using only stock motorcycles that can be bought straight off the showroom floor by regular people. This impressive fact stands out and is something to bear in mind if you’re considering buying a motorcycle.

BMW has enjoyed such a high level of popularity that almost every country in the world has exclusive BMW motorcycle clubs for racers, owners, and enthusiasts. These clubs promote the popularity of BMW motorcycles by holding races, rallies, showroom events, and regular meetings among it’s members.

Aside from the high levels of speed and overall performance of it’s cars and motorcycles, however, BMW machines are also well known for one other thing. Sheer durability. BMWs are some of the toughest vehicles around, and their motorcycles also bear this same stamp of durability. Despite looking like racing bikes, which in the mind of most people means that a bike is delicate and can only function at top specs on a race track, BMW bikes have actually seen action in quite a number of off-road and all-weather competitions.

The only drawback perhaps to the BMW is it’s price tag, which tends to be higher than the average motorcycle. However, most BMW owners feel that the price is a worthwhile trade off for all the perks of the bike. As a matter of fact, it’s price and quality have made owning a BMW a status symbol.

The price actually works to the advantage of some of the more knowledgeable motorcycle enthusiasts, who have made a livelihood out of restoring BMWs or selling them to collectors. Because of the popularity and prestige of BMW, older model beemer bikes have become vintage units that can fetch a hefty price with the right people.

If ever a production car had a lot in common with Formula One, it is the BMW M3. So it is no surprise that BMW is releasing a racing version of the latest generation of this impressive sports car. After one year development time, the BMW M3 designed specifically for motor racing has completed its first meters on the track. Watch the video of its maiden drive. BMW M3 ALMS

BMW M5 commercial with Madonna very funny and sweet *** car

The BMW Formula One Team had a resounding success in 2008 as Robert Kubica took the team’s maiden win in Canada. The 2009 season was supposed to be the year BMW serious challenged for both the driver and constructor championships. It hasn’t. The year has been a disaster and changes are going to happen. This includes the issue of who will drive for the team in 2010?

BMW likes stability. The team has fielded the same two drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld since the 2007 season with Heidfeld being there since the 2006 season. In Formula One, this is considered a long streak. Alas, the question is whether the streak will continue and all indications are it will not. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each driver.

Nick Heidfeld likes to be called “quick Nick”, but the statistics don’t really bear this out. He has been much better than Kubica in the current campaign, but consistently underperformed in previous seasons. He is a tough nut to figure out. He can do brilliant things like pass both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in a car that is not quite the measure of theirs, but then drive around the back of the field for three or four races in a row. His qualifying leaves a lot to be desired, but he has an ace in the hole in that he is German and BMW is known to prefer to have at least one German driver.

Robert Kubica is the first Polish driver in the history of Formula One. He has been brilliant during the first two seasons he spent at BMW. In the 2008 season, he both snagged the first win for the team and led the driver’s standings half way through the season. His star was rising so fast it was considered only a matter of time till he and the team were on the top step of the podium on a regular basis.

Then the 2009 season hit.

Like his team, Kubica has had a very rough year. He regularly is stuck in the last few rows of the field after qualifying and doesn’t show much during the race. The problem is clearly the car, but the driver has done himself no favors by continually complaining about it and the team. This is in contrast to Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton who have had equally bad cars, but have tried their best to remain positive and keep spirits high on the team while further development has occurred. Interestingly, Ferrari and McLaren are bouncing back to the front of the field while BMW is not.

So, will both drivers be back in 2010? Based on the 2009 season, it would appear that Robert Kubica would be in trouble. The powers that be at BMW are not fools. They know Kubica is a star waiting to happen and will not release him. Heidfeld is a bigger question. All indications are he will be out of a ride based on his overall performance across four seasons. Nico Rosberg has been touted as a replacement, but nobody really knows till it happens.

What will happen? I would look for Kubica to stay and Heidfeld out. In a surprise move, it will be Timo Glock moving from Toyota to BMW instead of Nico Rosberg. You heard it here first!

The Top Gear boys are out in force attempting to review supercars in Spain.Who will come out on top out of the BMW M3, the Mercedes C63 and the Audi RS4? Watch this brilliant highlights video in high quality from BBC smash hit motoring show, Top Gear, to find out. Don’t forget to visit www.topgear.com for all the latest news and car reviews.

In terms of branding, BMW is known in the automotive world for three things. One of which is the more recent facelift and redesign of its models that divided the motoring critics into love-it-or-hate-it camps. The two longer-standing brand identities associated with BMW are its logo and the numerical nomenclature used in the naming of their vehicles.

Despite numerous comical and not-so comical suggestions as to what it stands for, BMW is an acronym for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG or Bavarian Motor Works in English, not Break My Window after all.

The BMW roundel that sits upon all the automobiles and motorcycles it produces is a development from the circular Rapp Motorenwerke – the company from which BMW grew – logo. Like the Rapp Motorenwerke logo, the BMW features the companies letters against a black circle with an image in the centre. While the Rapp logo featured a black horse’s head in the centre, the BMW features blue and white panels.

The common interpretation of the interior of the BMW logo is that it represents the movement of an airplane propeller. Given that the company was a prime manufacturer of aircraft engines for many years (including the Second World War) it was little wonder that this was considered as the logos origin, or that BMW themselves adopted the explanation. The actual origin of the colours is much simpler: the blue and white panels are from the flag of Bavaria. Let’s not forget that BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works.

The first use of BMW’s numerical nomenclature for their cars arrived in 1933 with the 303. While this mid-size saloon was the first use of a number-for-a-name in the BMW automobile history it doesn’t follow all the rules for the naming that would arrive with the 315 in 1936.

The number at the start of the model denotes the class, or series; 1-Series, 3-Series, 5-Series etc. The two numbers which follow denote the engine displacement divided by one hundred. For example: 518 would dictate that the car belongs to the 5-Series and has an 1800 cc engine.

The letters that follow the letters on BMW automobiles also have some manufacturer-specific meaning. While on most vehicles an ‘l’ after a model name would dictate litres or a base-model, with BMW the letter stands for long wheelbase. If the ‘L’ precedes the numerical identity, it indicates that the car is a luxury variant.

As motoring trends have changed so too have BMW and their use of lettering though not straying too far from their recognised formula. Expanding out of their tradition of luxury saloons has seen the company add X and Z to their alphabet for sports activity vehicles and roadster identification respectively. Though, usually, a glance is able to identify that the Z4 is a roadster rather than a saloon.

In a motoring world where brand image and names are increasingly vital in differentiating between cars, BMW have a well-recognised and accepted identity. While names change and become increasingly awkward to pronounce, numerical identity is both simple and effective.

In 1989, BMW released a motorcycle that shocked the motorcycle world. That bike was the BMW K1 and it was surprising for two reasons, its performance and the fact that it was built by BMW. At the time BMW had been known for making solid, reliable bikes but they were uninspired and dull. The K1 broke that mold and led to the present day BMW line up that includes many performance oriented machines such as the K1200S and K1200R.

At the time the K1 was built, a voluntary limit of 100 bhp restricted the power output of German motorcycles. In order to obtain the maximum amount of performance from the K1 BMW engineers decided to wrap the motorcycle in an all encompassing aerodynamic fairing. This decision also made a statement that in the future BMW would make bikes that were not only reliable but were exciting both to look at and to ride.

The K1 was powered by a 987cc, liquid cooled, double overhead cam, 16 valve inline four cylinder engine that produced 100 bhp at 8000 rpm. It used a five speed transmission and a shaft final drive. The engine sat in a tubular steel space frame. The suspension included a telescopic front and a mono shock rear. Twin disc brakes on the front and a single disc on the rear provided stopping power. The bike was a bit on the heavy side tipping the scales at 570 lbs. While being the sportiest and most powerful bike ever built by BMW, it was still not as powerful or fast as its contemporaries. It didn’t possess gobs of torque at low speeds and the engine wasn’t a fire breather but it did pull linearly up to its 8500 rpm redline. The bike excelled as a sports tourer and was at its best when traveling long distances at high speeds.

Like its motor, the big BMW’s handling was not razor sharp but was adequate enough to get the job done. The K1 was heavy and required a moderate amount of force on the handlebars to turn, which proved to be advantageous for its role as a high speed touring motorcycle. The K1 could go all day on straight or long sweeping curves but when the road got twisty the K1 had to slow its pace to negotiate the turns.

The fairing of the K1 made long distance rides very comfortable. It did an excellent job of diverting the wind. The bike had great fuel economy and a long range. All in all the K1 was a great high speed touring motorcycle but it did have one drawback. It was sorely lacking in luggage space. The BMW K1 was not a pure sports bike but it was a success as a sports touring motorcycle. It was the first motorcycle to break the traditional BMW mold and led to the innovating and exciting bikes the company now makes.

The new BMW Vision EfficientDynamics combines superb driving performance with extremely low consumption. A hybrid drive system and a revolutionary design are among the highlights. The film reveals how a sustainable, but enjoyable future BMW will look like.