Autocar gives its 90 second verdict of the 2011 X3. They were convincingly impressed with the all new X3 and rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
A new N54 tuning platform (for N54 motor based 135i, 335i, and 535i) has hit the market. The COBB Tuning AccessPORT is a hand-held ECU flash tuning solution for the N54 motor, allowing custom reprogramming of the ECU at the push of a button. N55 compatibility is currently in development.
M-power.com chronicles Tommy Milner’s (M3 GT2 driver) visit to BMW M headquarters in Garching, Germany where he checks out the M3 GTS and 1M Coupe for the first time in person. And although he doesn’t get a ride in the 1M, we are shown a new photo of the 1M coupe in alpine white.
BBS, the iconic wheel maker officially filed for Bankruptcy on December 30, 2010. Truly sad news from one of the best wheel makers on the planet. A company that has teamed up with BMW many times to design and create specific wheels.
BBS has created some of the most memorable light alloy wheels, but despite that had filed for Bankruptcy back in 2007, only to be saved by Belgian holding firm Punch international, allowing BBS to continue their daily operations.
According to German language paper FAZ.net, the move was a bit of a surprise to everyone involved, including corporate partner IG Metall whose CEO told FAZ that he planned a multi-million dollar investment in the firm. Competing wheel maker, Ronal, also had plans to purchase a BBS factory … CONTINUED
MINI Connected is breaking into new ground by now having 3rd party apps available for download for all 2011 MY MINIs. Makes sense, why waste time messing with your phone, when you can have the same app available right on your car’s screen. The first app to be available is appropriatly going to be the Pandora music app. The app will give you the full resolution Pandora display and allow you to create new stations or look at the album art in high resolution.
“Integration of Pandora has been highly requested by our existing owners and potential new customers,” said Stephan Durach, Director of the BMW Group Technology Office Palo Alto, in a statement. “We are pleased that we are able to partner with Pandora and look … CONTINUED
BMW is considering adding artificial sounds to its upcoming full electric vehicles to make them safer to pedestrians. German rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz say that they already have started developing brand-specific sounds while Nissan and Infiniti have revealed the solutions they will use to ensure that their EVs don’t pose a danger to people when traveling at low speeds.
The 1M coupe should be a delight from the factory, but tuners’ brains are already at work. IND has announced its plans for a 1M coupe build project, based on Jon Sibal’s conceptualized 1M with traditional 3.0 CSL-style paint scheme.
The full 11+ minute length video of the 1-Series M coupe has already been posted and viewed over 80,000 times! This is an HD version of clips of the same video for those of us who liked the original video but yearned for a bit more digital quality.
This is just a quick update of our 1 Series coupe and convertible LCI coverage with the same videos previously posted but now in full HD quality. Enjoy! 
