BMW

Part 1

Bugatti Veyron vs BMW M3

An airstrip drag race between a Bugatti Veyron and Dutch racing driver Ho-Pin Tung in a new E92 M3. View the original on: www.autojunk.nl

Acura ZDX

From the 2009 New York Auto Show, Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays takes a look at the Acura ZDX Prototype. It competes with the BMW X6 and Infiniti FX. Shot and produced by: Sarah Gersh Edited by: Lindsay Bjerregaard

Audi 2010 Green Car Super Bowl Commercial

Watch the Audi commercial featuring Cheap Trick, the Green Police, and the Audi A3 TDI® clean diesel, Green Car Journals 2010 Green Car of the Year®. Green Police www.youtube.com

The R8: The Slowest Car Audi Ever Built

New multi-million pound campaign for the new R8 highlights its painstaking ‘hand-intensive’ build process

Audi Smokes BMW? 2010 Audi S4 vs. 2009 BMW 335i

2010 Audi S4 vs. 2009 BMW 335i Comparison Test: www.insideline.com 2008 BMW M3 @ the Track Video: www.youtube.com Given all the praise heaped on the BMW 3 Series over the years, we can’t blame you for thinking there’s more to the story. We’ve heard all the conspiracy theories, most of them involving checks in large denominations from Munich. This might seem believable to a certain segment of the population, but there’s a far less interesting truth behind all those wins: The BMW was the best car. Sure, certain rivals often upped their game in one area or another, but the 3 Series always put it all together in a way that made it better. So now the 2010 Audi S4 is here to take another shot. It’s all-new this year and the old V8 is gone. There’s now a supercharged V6 in its place, along with a lower price designed to better align the S4 with the BMW 335i. The BMW 3 Series received a face-lift of its own last year. It was mostly minor trim changes and the like, but we’re told that idrive thing was tweaked again, too (oh, lovely). Sounds like a fair fight, no?

BMW M3 vs Mercedes C63 AMG vs Audi RS4 in Spain – Top Gear – BBC

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.

NSX Unleashed: 2011 Acura NSX Finally Hits the Nürburgring

FOR MORE ABOUT THE ACURA NSX SPY VIDEO: www.edmunds.com The latest prototype of the 2011 Acura NSX has finally hit the Nürburgring and it’s looking — and sounding — better than ever. Unlike the previous prototypes — which were nothing more than cobbled-together test mules built from the S2000 platform — this NSX has bodywork that looks close to production specification. Although the design of the original concept didn’t get favorable reviews, it appears as though Acura has stuck with similar styling for the production car. Instead of going for an all-out sports car, Acura is aiming for high-end gts instead. Think Aston Martin DB9, not Nissan GT-R. As a result, Acura has abandoned its former midengine concept and adopted a traditional front-engine 2+2 layout. The company is after prestige, not just speed. That said, the 2011 Acura NSX is still expected to offer supercar performance. According to our sources in Japan, Takeo Fukui, Honda’s CEO, has tasked his R&D team with building an NSX that’s faster around the Nürburgring than both the 2009 Nissan GT-R and the upcoming Lexus LF-A. Sounds optimistic, but according to our shooters Honda is already close to its goal. One hand timed lap came in at 7:37, just 8 seconds longer than the GT-R’s fastest lap. Not bad considering that this was Honda’s first trip to the Nürburgring with this prototype. Credit the nsx’s formidable new power plant, a 5.5-liter V10 with as much as 550 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The engine …

2010 BMW Z4 Roadster – a mood elevator that only goes up

Cooped up in a waiting room for what seemed like hours with dozens of people milling in and out, and listening to the constant buzz of mindless conversation mixed with an occasional baby’s wail was claustrophobic.

We arrived for this mismanaged appointment under cool, drizzly skies in our 2010 BMW Z4 roadster, comfortably cocooned with steel top overhead — no claustrophobia present.

When we finally emerged from the torture of waiting two hours beyond our appointment time, the sky had cleared and the temperature had risen to a delightful convertible top-down 75-degrees.

Twenty seconds after a push of the dashboard button, we were sans the roof and taking the long way to the office. A rich reward for our interminable wait. The new Z4 is a mood elevator no matter the circumstances. And the long way back in the open air with 300 energetic horses up front was just the ticket for an attitude adjustment.

This roadster is a humdinger, a blast to drive and a blast to be seen in with its gorgeous roadster styling that turns heads. To us it’s BMW’s best Z effort since its inception 14 years ago. It’s the best looking vehicle in BMW’s ever-growing fleet of “ultimate driving machines.”

The Z flows nicely from front to back. Styling does not look contrived as in the previous rendition, but a complete statement of comfortable coolness. And the sharp flowing lines work just as well with the top up or the top down. The top blends well with the overall styling, and to BMW’s credit designers managed to avoid the bubble-butt look of so many hardtop convertibles.

The Z4 was particularly eye catching in our test car painted in a sparkling silver metallic; it looked dazzling. More than once we got the roll-your-window-down sign at a stoplight. “Hey, man I love your car,” one guy in a big Suburban hollered to us.

The interior is equally stylish in a traditional BMW way. Our test car came with the $2,050 Ivory Extended Leather Package that gives the two-seater a definite upscale look.

Exceptional performance and typical cutting-edge BMW handling make this new Z a complete package.

The Z4 has gone upscale with a combination of sophistication, luxury and performance. And that means the price has gone up accordingly. It may be worth the money, but owners of older model Z4s may be put off when they decide it’s time to purchase a new car.

There are two trim lines — differentiated mainly by engine choice — with base prices of $46,575 for the sDrive30i and $52,475 for the sDrive35i. The BMW is well equipped in the base configuration, but be forewarned for most people that’s just a starting point. There are some very delectable option packages and optional stand-alone equipment that will be hard to pass up.

The sDrive30i comes with a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter inline 6 that makes 255 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard and a six-speed automatic optional. We didn’t drive that engine, but we figure it will be satisfying for most people.

What we drove, the sDrive35i with BMW’s delightful twin-turbocharged inline 6 rated at 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, is a performance demon. Standard equipment is a six-speed manual, but we would opt for the seven-speed dual clutch automated manual transmission.

While we enjoy shifting for ourselves, we aren’t so enamored with a clutch that we would purposely avoid this outstanding automatic. It can be shifted by steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters if so desired.

There is no performance-tuned M edition this time around, and none is needed. The turbocharged six, with its low, menacing growl, posts times nearly equal to the previous M. Both Road & Track and Car and Driver magazines measured the sDrive35i in 4.8 seconds from 0 to 60. Quarter mile time is 13.3 seconds at 106.7 mph. Just hit the accelerator and power instantly arrives in steady doses. We found no hint of turbot lag when an immediate response was demanded.

One performance option we would purchase for $1,900 is the sport package that includes 18-inch wheels with performance tires, sports seats and most importantly Adaptive M Suspension. The suspension can be dialed to three settings — normal, sport and sport plus.

Under normal setting, the suspension is probably softer than any previous Z, but it’s great for long-distance cruising comfort. If you are in the mood for carving up some back-road twists and turns, set it to sport plus and the suspension firms up to typical BMW roadster standards.

Top-down cruising has never been easier. Hit and hold the power top button and the two-piece top folds into the trunk in about 20 seconds. Wind flow with the top down is minimal, one of the more serene open-air experiences we’ve had in recent times.

The top does eat up trunk space, but with the top up the Z4 trunk is rather spacious for a roadster. A luggage partition has to be pulled in place for the top to lower, cutting useable storage to 4.6 cubic feet. But push the partition out of the way with the top up, and space increases to a very useable 10.9 cubic feet.

BMW says two sets of golf clubs will fit, but unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to put that claim to the test.

The softer ride adds to the new refinement evident in the Z4. The spacious-for-a-roadster interior is relatively quiet thanks to the new metal top, with one exception — the intrusion of excessive road noise, especially on certain road surfaces, thanks to the high performance, low profile tires. But there is not enough noise to make us forsake the Z4.

The seats are comfortable, and the optional sports seats with adjustable bolsters add to the feel of the car’s driving dynamics.

Order up navigation and iDrive comes with it. Don’t give up the navigation because you don’t want to deal with the infamous iDrive. We just finished a 2,500-mile trek in a 7-Series with the new-generation iDrive and we found it surprisingly user friendly.

Our test car, an sDrive35i, came with numerous options bringing the bottom line to $63,245. In addition to the aforementioned Sport Package and ivory leather seats, our test car featured premium sound and a premium package that includes power seats and auto-dimming mirrors.

The new Z4 is an entertaining, handsome and refined luxury roadster. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Kia begins production at new $1 billion manufacturing plant at West Point, Georgia

WEST POINT, Ga. — In the midst of one of the most severe economic downturns since the Great Depression, the economies of this small town on Interstate 85 and surrounding communities near the Alabama state line about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta are booming.

That’s because nearly five years ago the Hyundai-Kia Group of South Korea decided to build a Kia manufacturing plant here.

The plant officially began production on Oct. 23 when the first 2011 Kia Sorento rolled off the line.

It is Kia’s first U.S. manufacturing plant, built at a cost of about $1 billion. The plant now employs 1,200 workers, which will rise to 2,500 as production increases. Another 7,500 workers are employed or will be employed by Kia suppliers, most of which are in a nine-county area around the plant.

Georgia Tech University has estimated that by 2012 as many as 20,000 jobs could be created.

Kia officials here this week said there were 43,000 applications within 30 days for the 1,200 initial jobs. Salaries for the non-union production jobs start from between $14 and $20 an hour. Salaries range up to about $27 an hour on the mechanical side.

The state of Georgia executed the Site Acquisition and Development Agreement in March 2006 for the construction on 2,259 acres along I-85. Kia officials said the close proximity of Birmingham, Ala., and the recently opened Hyundai plant there, played a big part in deciding on location. There will be some shared suppliers with the Birmingham plant, and Hyundai builds some engines in Birmingham that will be used in the Kia products.

At full capacity the West Point plant can manufacture 300,000 vehicles a year.

Next Page »