BMW TV Guide December 9 - 26 | Previous News, Links & Notes

News Briefs:

In 2010 BMW may bring back the lovable Isetta. http://www.bmw2002.co.uk/news.html

BMW's Rolls-Royce Motor Cars division sold 50% more vehicles last month than in November ’06. BMW Motorcycle sales were down slightly last month, but still up 3.3% year-to-date. http://www.press.bmwgroup.com/pressclub/us02.nsf/fwPressemeldungFrame?readform&docid=64F31087C8BEB98EC12573AA004C36E9

“. . . boy, does the BMW 135i go when you change down a gear & put your foot down. Even if you don’t change down it still goes hard enough to raise your pulse. And blow both of the others – yes, even the new & improved Nissan 350Z – clean into the undergrowth. It’s so much faster in a straight line than the Porsche Cayman that over a flowing country road without too many corners in it you can easily drop the Porsche without ever having to shift out of 6th gear. That’s how much more mid-range thrust there is from the 135i’s twin-turbo 300hp/295lb ft straight 6 compared with the Porsche’s 2.7-liter atmospheric flat 6. In the end this is what defines the 135i’s entire driving experience: its seemingly never-ending reserve of acceleration, be that at 2000rpm in 6th gear or, better still, at 6000rpm in 3rd gear. No matter how monumental the flow of torque feels from 2500-4000rpm, it’s nothing compared with the way the 135i rips towards the horizon over the last 1500rpm.” http://www.speedtv.com/articles/automotive/newmodels/41924/?page=1

BMW UK managing director Jim O’Donnell: “A recent study concluded that the total carbon savings resulting from the proposed £25-a-day London congestion charge will be around 8000 tons a year. That’s the equivalent of around 3 hours worth of carbon emissions from flights arriving at, & departing from, Heathrow airport. BMW’s Efficient Dynamics program will save around 45,000 tons of carbon from being emitted into the UK’s atmosphere in 2008. And it’s about time we had some reasonable legislation proposed that accounted for that.” http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/229098/

“Peering down at a Global Positioning System’s navigation screen to see where you are going . . . means you are not looking where you’re going. To fix this problem, BMW is adding navigation prompts to a head-up display in its 5- and 6-Series models. Using LEDs & a partly reflective area at the base of the windshield, the package projects information, including speed & the distance to the next turn, in the driver’s line of sight. The display looks as if it’s floating just above the hood, so it is not necessary for the driver to look down or refocus to see what’s there. On the 5-Series, the package costs $3,100 ($1,200 for the head-up display & $1,900 for the necessary navigation system). The display on the 6-Series adds just $1,200, because those models come with a navigation system.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/automobiles/autospecial/24safety.html?ref=automobiles

The J.D. Power & Associates 2007 Consumer Financing Satisfaction Study finds BMW Financial Services of North America, LLC (BMW FS) ranked highest in satisfaction with initial consumer leases for luxury nameplates. This is the 1st time that a financing provider has scored highest in not only in Luxury Lease Satisfaction in the Consumer Financing studies but also Retail Leasing Satisfaction in the J.D. Power & Associates Dealer Financing Satisfaction in the same year. http://www.jdpower.com/

Forbes lists the BMW 3-Series & BMW 5-Series as 2 of the 15 Best Luxury Cars For The Buck. “Depending on the specific model & how it’s optioned, the 3-Series sedan can be a comfortable tourer or a hard-charging sport sedan. The 3-Series makes a lot of sense in several ways, as it carries high Total Value Index ratings from Strategic Vision & has a resale value that’s better than the Audi A4 & Mercedes-Benz C-Class -- 36% of its original value after 5 years. What's more, it has the lowest projected maintenance cost of any luxury model, according to Vincentric data, at a projected $1,871 over 5 years” “The 5-Series is a luxury sedan that appeals to performance enthusiasts. The ‘5er,’ as it's called, has a higher base price than other cars on this list, but it stands vs. similarly priced luxury competitors for having a lower ownership cost. Credit its good resale value--estimated at nearly 40% after five years--and lower-than-typical maintenance costs.” http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/10/cars-luxury-value-forbeslife-cx_bh_1210cars_slide_6.html?thisSpeed=15000

This week’s issue of AUTOCAR magazine will choose the Greatest New Car of 2007. Candidates include 6 cars: Mercedes CLK63 AMG Black Series, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, BMW’s Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, Audi R8, Lotus 2-Eleven, & Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/229610/

Once again this year, Barney & Miss Beazley have a delightful new Christmas video. This one’s called Barney Cam VI: Holiday in the National Parks. Show the kids. http://www.whitehouse.gov/barney/

This weekly publication normally hits the streets between noon Wednesday & noon Friday. It always starts with the previous Sunday’s shows so that you may see details of programs such as Autoline Detroit which often do not release details before broadcast dates. Accessing BMW TV through the BMW Car Club of America national or Peachtree web site may sometimes yield an obsolete edition when webmasters vacation. Find most recent plain text & Microsoft Word updates (& back issues) @ www.knology.net/bmwtv . With multiple photos in News Briefs & at least 1 photo per page in the schedule, the Microsoft Word version exceeds 3 MB some weeks. Contact us @ bmwtv@knology.net .