There’s nothing more painful than seeing a low production car like the BMW 1M coupe being totaled and written off as a salvage car. Which makes seeing the rescue and restoration of one of these cars that much sweeter. Well, how about one body shop restoring four such 1Ms, including the very last 1M delivered to the US!
Check out the restoration journal from this body shop from Queens, NY who has become a 1M whisperer of sorts, with the fondness they have developed for the 1M and bringing salvaged versions back to life.
Here’s a great ownership story about a man and the relationship he feels with his E30 3 series after 20 years of ownership.
David Duran has been driving his ‘87 BMW 325i for the last 20 years, it’s his daily driver and his pride and joy. The E30 is considered by many as one of the finest BMW’s ever made and has a huge following in the car scene worldwide. Dave’s E30 is a classic example of keeping the dream alive, it looks as good today (if not better) than the day he got it and his dedication to the vehicle is quite humbling.
After last year’s record number of 2.3 million visitors from around the world, the BMW Welt [see complete Welt experience in photos] welcomed its ten-millionth guest since opening on 20 October 2007 on 4 July 2012. The visitor in question, Patrick Zanker, received a personal welcome from Thomas Muderlak, head of the BMW Welt and BMW brand ambassador, His Royal Highness the Prince of Bavaria, and was presented with a special gift: Patrick Zanker will be able to enjoy BMW’s characteristic “sheer driving pleasure” for ten weeks in a BMW Z4.
“Ten million enthusiastic BMW fans in just under five years certainly confirms that our varied programme and our building’s fascinating architecture make the BMW Welt a place for extraordinary experiences. Over the coming years, we will … CONTINUED
Great in-depth owner’s review of an F30 328i sedan, covering everything from the engine to the transmission, steering, suspension, tires, comfort, seats, visibility package, audio system, idrive, black panel, and other technologies.
There is a slew of photos accompanying the review as well.
We’ve just spied the next generation BMW X5 M prototype beginning its testing! Although still clad in full camouflage, signature M features leave no doubt that we are looking at the next X5 M.
The most conspicuous items are the quad M exhausts, active differential and blue brake calipers, which have become the signature color for M model brakes (i.e. F10 M5 and F12/F13 M6). Seen behind the blue M brakes are drilled rotors, the first for any X5 model. Hiding behind the front end camouflage are huge air intakes and we get a very clear look at how the headlights will connect to the kidney grilles, in the same fashion as on the F30 3 Series.
This prototype comes just 6 months after the regular F15 X5 … CONTINUED
Video showing the theft of a 1ADDICTS member’s 1M coupe, performed in a frightening fast 3 minutes, without keys. The thieves accomplished this by accessing the BMW OBD port in the footwell by breaking the glass, reaching in and using a device to reprogram a blank key fob. The car was simply then unlocked and pushed off the drive and driven away.
BMW may have an issue on their hands as over 300 BMWs have been stolen in March 2012 in a single UK county.
Anyone wanting a RWD X1 should look into buying a current generation X1, if a new report coming out of Autocar is true.
It’s being reported that the current model’s RWD / AWD platform (adopted from the E9X 3 series) will be replaced by the FWD / AWD UKL platform when the next gen BMW X1 hits the market around 2015. “UKL” is German for ‘Unter Klasse’ or ‘entry level.’
The FWD UKL platform is the same one upon which the initial FWD BMW models and the next MINI will be built on. The initial lineup of FWD BMW cars will include Gran Turismo, City Compact, and Family Activity Sports Tourer variants. See a summary of the next generation RWD / FWD 1 Series and 2 Series models.
The … CONTINUED
A mystery BMW model appeared at the BMW Museum a bit over a month ago, shrouded under a big blue tarp. It’s yet to be positively identified, but could this possibly be the next generation F80 M3 sedan or F82 M4 coupe?
There’s not much to go off of by way of the sparse photos, but the one part of the car that can be partially seen - the wheels, happen to match the wheels that have been spotted on the F80 M3 sedan prototypes from our spy photos.
It’s premature for any F80 M3 concept to be shown, much less an F82 M4 coupe (the F32 4 series coupe upon which the M4 will be based has not even debuted yet), but is it just our hopeful … CONTINUED
The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported June sales of 27,720 vehicles, an increase of 3.2 percent from the 26,865 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW Group is up 10.5 percent on sales of 158,563 in the first six months of 2012 compared to 143,521 in the same period in 2011.
“The June numbers continue the solid, consistent growth we predicted but, most important, the first six months of the year are setting the stage for even better results ahead,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America, LLC. “Demand is strong though we’ve been constrained by new model ramp up but supply will soon catch up in the second half of the year.” … CONTINUED
