Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Winter is approaching but have no fear!

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Let BMW of Minnetonka take great care of your tires. Stop in and see our Winter Tire Storage! Right now, receive a free set of tire totes with your purchase!

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Busting the Myths of Driving a Manual Transmission

Stick_shift

 

The few who do learn manual shifting usually don't pick up the skills from a driving school; rather, they got schooled by their bored Uncle Joe or their theoretically more experienced best friend — who started driving a manual transmission just last summer. This gets you by, but if performed incorrectly you can still cause costly damage to your car over time.

Case in point: Julie Sun, an Edmunds employee, who owns a 2002 Audi A4 and who has been driving a stick-shift car for ages. She recently discovered that, because of incorrect clutch and shift habits, she now has to pay $2,000 for a new clutch and flywheel.

Fortunately, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief Karl Brauer was kind enough to take young Julie out in his Ford GT and teach her the myths of the stick shift to avoid future grief and service payments.

Myth #1: It's OK to constantly "ride" the clutch. If there's a philosophical way to think about how to treat your clutch, this could be it: Whenever the clutch pedal isn't all the way up or all the way down, you're putting wear on your clutch. Picture a big red light mounted on your dashboard. Whenever the clutch pedal isn't fully depressed or fully released the light is on, and your goal is to keep the light off.

That's a general way you might think about how to drive a manual transmission vehicle. In truth it's OK to spend a second or two in the process of pressing or releasing the clutch pedal (you certainly don't want to treat it like a light switch), but in general the less time spent in this transitional period the better.

Myth #2: Use the clutch to hold your car in place on steep hills. If you're stopped on a slight incline you must use the brake to keep the car from rolling backward. If you're worried about rolling back between the time you release the brake pedal and engage the clutch you can "cheat" by pulling the emergency brake. Don't fully apply the E-brake unless you're on a really steep hill. Instead, just use enough E-brake to keep the car from rolling backward. Then engage the clutch when traffic allows and pull away from the stop, being sure to release the E-brake as soon as you start moving forward. The most important rule, however, is never use the clutch to hold your car in place while waiting on an incline. Doing this will burn out that imaginary red light on the dash — as well as really burn out the clutch.

Myth #3: Use the clutch to save your brakes. The clutch can theoretically be used as a braking device when slowing down, but this is more trouble than it's worth. First, if you're using the clutch to slow a car to "save your brakes" you better be really good with the clutch. If you're not smooth in your downshifting you'll be putting extra wear on the clutch.

Anyone want to guess which components cost more to replace — brake pads or a clutch plate? You're better off just pushing the clutch pedal in and leaving it in, and/or shifting to neutral, when slowing down in a manual-shift vehicle — especially if you aren't extremely smooth at downshifting. If you are smooth at downshifting and you feel like going through the trouble, you can constantly downshift and release the clutch as you slow down. But even doing that action smoothly won't make your brakes last appreciably longer.

Myth #4: It's impossible to be perfectly smooth when engaging the clutch. Always try to learn exactly where the clutch pedal is when the clutch starts to engage. You can practice this in a parking lot, and once you are familiar with it you can use this knowledge to make every shift smoother. This will add confidence to your ability to stop and start on an incline, and it will make downshifting easier, because you can quickly let the clutch pedal go from the floor to the area in the pedal travel where the clutch actually starts to engage (it's different on every car). Once you get to that point quickly you can then modulate the speed at which the pedal is released to achieve a smooth engagement. This is how you can keep from rolling back on an incline without using the E-brake.

Myth #5: It's normal for the car to lurch when downshifting. When you do downshift (without coming to a complete stop) it's important to "rev-match." This means raising the engine's rpm as you release the clutch to more closely match your vehicle's engine speed to the rear-wheel speed. Again, this is only important on downshifting. As you accelerate and upshift you don't have to worry about rev-matching. By giving the engine just a bit of throttle when you downshift you can make the clutch engagement smoother, which reduces clutch wear and head bobbing on downshifts.

If you get really good at rev-matching you can even try heel-and-toe downshifting, which is what racers use to get the smoothest downshifts, and the best lap times, around a road course. Heel-and-toe shifting is actually a whole other article, but in short you must apply both the brake pedal and the gas pedal simultaneously, thus slowing the car down and rev-matching the engine to rear-wheel speed — all at the same time. This can be accomplished by carefully placing your right foot on the brake pedal and the gas pedal.

But for the sake of your clutch, and the safety of your fellow drivers, please don't try heel-and-toe shifting until you've fully mastered the basics mentioned above!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The infinite world of the web.

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Experts from BMW Group Research and Technology are developing in the research project webinos an open source platform for using mobile web applications across different devices.

In today’s modern society, we are constantly online. A world without social networks would be almost inconceivable, while using apps has become an intrinsic part of our digital lifestyles. Every device now enables the use of web services, whether it’s a smartphone, the home PC, the television or an in-car head unit. However, these devices are not yet able to communicate between one another to exchange information in that way. And this is precisely where the EU-funded project webinos comes in, by aiming to develop and standardise an open source web-based and browser-based application platform to enable the unrestricted and combined usage of heterogeneous CE devices. 30 partners from the automotive, IT and telecommunications industries, as well as several research institutes, have united forces with this common goal. The research project, which is being funded by the European Commission as part of its 7th Framework Programme, was launched in September 2010 and runs until August 2013. An initial automotive prototype will be on show at the “Communication World” IT trade fair in Munich on 9–10 October 2012.

 

Cloud computing as a role model.

Cloud computing provided the inspiration for the webinos project. The World Wide Web already provides an impressive example of how documents and information can be successfully exchanged across the boundaries between different devices with the help of open source standards. Webinos applies the same approach to applications. By creating purpose-designed web browser add-ons and defining suitable communication standards, webinos demonstrates how the browser can increasingly evolve into a shared web application platform. The research work is focusing on the development of both communication mechanisms between the devices as well as the necessary browser interfaces for web applications.

 

The webinos technology.

To enable secure data exchange, webinos relies on the concept of “personal zones”. A personal zone comprises all of a user’s devices, and centres around a personal zone hub that works like a kind of telephone exchange. The hub knows what the individual devices are, which applications are installed on which device, and also which services they each support. Users can configure and adapt their personal zone on a special website. Special privacy settings are designed to ensure that applications are only able to make use of enabled data and services.

A web browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome can be used to execute webinos-enabled applications. Web applications can access the services within a personal zone by means of a special browser add-on. The new interface builds on the trend first started with HTML5 of using the browser as an application platform.

In the research project webinos 22 different service components have been developed for accessing device functions. These cover both universal functions and the specifics of the smartphone, PC, TV and vehicle devices addressed in webinos. For the in-vehicle integration the Vehicle API (that allows access to the vehicle-specific data), the Geolocation API (that can be used to obtain data on speed and GPS location) and the Device Orientation API (that comprises data on both lateral and linear acceleration) are the most relevant components. The Geolocation API and the Device Orientation API are both standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). A wealth of data can be made available with the help of just these three packages. This makes it possible to access parking sensor information, average speed and fuel consumption readings, as well as light and windscreen wiper settings, and also relay information on the current gear. Customers could use webinos enabled applications to call up their vehicle’s current fuel level on their smartphone or TV, for instance. Conversely, the technology also makes it possible for them to access their smartphone’s or PC’s media library from the comfort of their car.

 

First automotive prototype showcases browser-based onboard computer and networked trip planner.

In the research prototype on show at the Communication World fair, the complete onboard computer display appears in the browser with HTML5 and the webinos add-ons. Thanks to the new interfaces in webinos, the Park Distance Control function can also be visualised in the browser.

Users are able to manage their personal points of interest for a trip with the help of the “webinos travel” web applications. The trip can be planned on the smartphone, tablet or home PC. On the day of departure, the planned stop-off points are then ready to be selected in the vehicle, or can be sent from the smartphone directly to the navigation system as the journey’s destination. If it is not possible to drive all the way to the destination, the latter will be transmitted to the web application on the smartphone for Last Mile navigation on foot.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Government to warn motorists tens of thousands may have counterfeit air bags

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Car owners whose air bags have been replaced in the past three years may have had dangerous counterfeit bags installed, the Obama administration warned Wednesday.

Only 0.1 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet is believed to be affected, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. But industry officials briefed by the government said tens of thousands of car owners may be driving vehicles with counterfeit air bags. NHTSA testing has shown most of the counterfeit bags don't inflate or fail to inflate properly. In at least one case, a counterfeit bag fired shards of metal shrapnel on impact, the agency said.

NHTSA is asking car owners to check a government website, www.Safercar.gov, for information on how to contact a call center established by auto manufacturers to learn if their vehicle model is among those for which counterfeit air bags are known to have been made.

 

No deaths or injuries have been tied to the counterfeit bags, NHTSA said. But it's unclear whether police accident investigators would be able to identify a counterfeit bag from a genuine one, industry officials said.

NHTSA has compiled a list of dozens of vehicle makes and models for which counterfeit air bags may be available, but the agency cautioned that the full scope of the problem isn't clear yet and the list is expected to "evolve over time."

If a car is on the list and has had its air bags replaced during the past three years by a repair shop other than a new car dealership, NHTSA is asking owners to bring the vehicle into a dealership to be inspected at their own expense to determine whether the replaced air bags are counterfeit. Fees for checking out air bags could run $100 or more, industry officials said. Some types of cars have as many as eight air bags.

The counterfeit bags typically have been made to look like air bags made by automakers and usually include a manufacturer's logo. Government investigators believe many of the bags come from China, an industry official said.

The bags are marketed to auto body shops as the real deal, industry officials said. Auto dealerships that operate their own body shops are usually required by their franchise agreements to buy their parts, including air bags, directly from automakers and therefore are unlikely to have installed counterfeit bags, industry officials said.

But only 37 percent of auto dealers have their own body shops, according to information on the National Association of Automobile Dealers' website. Many consumers whose vehicles have been damaged are referred by their insurance companies to auto body shops that aren't affiliated with an automaker.

Consumers who bought replacement air bags online or who have purchased a used car that may have its airbags replaced in the past three years were also asked to check NHTSA's list.

Counterfeiting of a wide variety of auto parts has long been a well-known problem, industry officials said. But recent incidents have escalated concern by government officials. In August, federal agents confiscated nearly 1,600 counterfeit air bags and arrested a North Carolina auto mechanic, according to a report by the Charlotte Observer. The mechanic was tied by federal officials to another counterfeit air bag case last year in Tennessee, the report said.

Last February, Dai Zhensong, a Chinese citizen, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court in Chattanooga, Tenn., to 37 months in prison for trafficking in counterfeit air bags, according to a statement made at the time by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Zhensong was a part owner and manager of the international department of Guangzhou Auto Parts, which made a variety of auto parts, many of which were counterfeit, the statement said. In 2010, he traveled from China to Chattanooga to sell additional counterfeit air bags and other auto parts. The counterfeit air bags were manufactured by purchasing genuine auto air bags that were torn down and used to make molds to produce the counterfeit bags. Trademark emblems were purchased through Honda, Toyota, Audi, BMW and other dealerships located in China and affixed to the counterfeit air bags. The air bags were advertised on the Guangzhou Auto Parts website and sold for approximately $50 to $70 each, far below the value of an authentic air bag, the statement said.

BMW models that are affected are:

2007-2011 X5, E70, E60, E61
2008-2010 5-Series, 528i, 535i
2004-2007 5-Series. 525i, 530, 535, E60, E61
2007-2011 E90, E91, Not listed E92, E93
2007-2011 X5, E70
2004-2007 525i, 530, 535
2011-2012 X3

Source: FoxNews

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

BMW Wants To Teach You How To Drive Like A Pro

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BMW doesn’t just want you to drive its cars. It wants to teach you how to drive them like a professional. And in order to do attract students to its Performance Driving School, BMW has redesigned its site to provide an in-car, interactive experience.

“We were trying to really bring to life the exhilaration that the school offers,” says Marc Hartzman, creative director at Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners, the agency behind the redesign. “We let [the viewer] feel like what it’s like to sit in the front seat with these drivers.”

Prior to the redesign, the website for BMW’s driving school only featured still photographs and text, a decidedly static way to market high octane driving classes. Now, the site features a video aimed at showcasing the adrenaline rush and lessons students receive in BMW courses. Videos on the site give prospective students an inside look at a “hot lap” (when a student rides shotgun while a course instructor performs various driving maneuvers).

The shoot involved placing cameras inside the performance car to capture the instructor’s tips and attaching cameras to a lead car for exterior shots of the performance car. The exterior shots required that cars move at the same speed and maneuver the course in near unison.

“The sound effects kind of get your blood rushing and your heart pumping and evoking all those emotions we kind of want you to feel. But then along the way we provide a little substance,” Hartzman says.

kbs+ looked no further than Matt Mullins, the chief driving instructor for the school, to star in the videos. Mullins is a former NASCAR competitor and Hollywood stunt driver--he worked on Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights--who has taught drivers of all skill levels, including Martha Stewart and Secret Service officers.

Each of the five “mini-lesson” videos feature Mullins performing a specific driving skill--the quickest way to handle corners, proper vision, breaking and driving in wet conditions--in a BMW M5 and describing the techniques used to pull it off. Viewers watch Mullins maneuver the track and can opt to watch the mini-lessons on a pop-up screen as he demonstrates each one.

Learning to maneuver a car like Mullins is hardly cheap. One day at BMW’s M School--which teaches professional driving lessons--costs $1,450, and the two-day class costs $3,595.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

BMW 3 Series raises bar in unexpected ways

The BMW 3 Series has been around for nearly 40 years with an edge in performance that competitors strive to match.

A few, such as the Audi A4, are closing in, so you might think the 3’s 2012 makeover would have widened the gap. But instead, the sixth-generation BMW takes a whack at a few pet peeves I’ve had about the car over the years.

I tested the rear-drive 328i sedan, which starts at $35,795 -- $270 more than 2011 models. Some enthusiasts might grouse over the 4-cylinder twin-turbo engine that replaces the inline 6, but consider the huge gain in fuel economy.

The EPA puts the 2012 manual’s mileage at 23 in the city, 34 on the highway, compared with 18/28 for the previous generation. Torque and horsepower rise from 200 and 230, respectively, to 255 and 240. And BMW pegs zero-to-60 time at 5.7 seconds, compared with 6.3 for the previous manual.

Click here to see other new car reviews.

You can choose between a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission, both with a stop-and-go function that helps save gas by shutting down at stoplights.

Four driving modes -- EcoPro, Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus (which shuts down traction control) -- give you a wide range in performance.

My tester was equipped with the manual gearbox, which is smooth and easy to shift, but I do have one complaint. Another change for 2012 is a moderate gain in size, which adds more room all around while shedding 88 pounds.

That’s super, but to drop the clutch effectively I had to keep the seat farther forward than I like. Plus, you can’t adjust the steering wheel high enough to let you bend your knee into a more relaxed position when using cruise control.

As for exterior design, BMW sharpened creases along the sides and hood for a more aggressive look. Inside, however, the 328i really shines. Fit and finish and material quality are excellent. The Sport, Modern and Luxury models each offer a slightly different appearance.

The iDrive control system, much maligned in the past, has been refined for easier use. And there are tons of other techy features, though they quickly spiral the price past the $40,000 mark.

Heads-up display, parallel-park assist, surround/top view screen, blind-spot monitor, lane departure warning system, navigation with real-time traffic data, variable sports steering, ConnectedDrive Internet link and a foot-activated trunk opening system are among the options. Enthusiasts also may be swayed by the M sports and adaptive packages.

The 3 Series’ former gas-guzzling ways, along with its skimpy backseat, were a tradeoff to the Bimmer’s handling prowess in the past -- but no more.

Only the 328i and 335i sedans (starting at $43,295) received the makeover for 2012. Still to come are the coupe, wagon and convertible. Also new will be an even more fuel-efficient ActiveHybrid version of the 3.

Source: Biz Journal

BMW 3 Series raises bar in unexpected ways

Bmw3_280
The BMW 3 Series has been around for nearly 40 years with an edge in performance that competitors strive to match.

A few, such as the Audi A4, are closing in, so you might think the 3’s 2012 makeover would have widened the gap. But instead, the sixth-generation BMW takes a whack at a few pet peeves I’ve had about the car over the years.

I tested the rear-drive 328i sedan, which starts at $35,795 -- $270 more than 2011 models. Some enthusiasts might grouse over the 4-cylinder twin-turbo engine that replaces the inline 6, but consider the huge gain in fuel economy.

The EPA puts the 2012 manual’s mileage at 23 in the city, 34 on the highway, compared with 18/28 for the previous generation. Torque and horsepower rise from 200 and 230, respectively, to 255 and 240. And BMW pegs zero-to-60 time at 5.7 seconds, compared with 6.3 for the previous manual.

Click here to see other new car reviews.

You can choose between a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission, both with a stop-and-go function that helps save gas by shutting down at stoplights.

Four driving modes -- EcoPro, Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus (which shuts down traction control) -- give you a wide range in performance.

My tester was equipped with the manual gearbox, which is smooth and easy to shift, but I do have one complaint. Another change for 2012 is a moderate gain in size, which adds more room all around while shedding 88 pounds.

That’s super, but to drop the clutch effectively I had to keep the seat farther forward than I like. Plus, you can’t adjust the steering wheel high enough to let you bend your knee into a more relaxed position when using cruise control.

As for exterior design, BMW sharpened creases along the sides and hood for a more aggressive look. Inside, however, the 328i really shines. Fit and finish and material quality are excellent. The Sport, Modern and Luxury models each offer a slightly different appearance.

The iDrive control system, much maligned in the past, has been refined for easier use. And there are tons of other techy features, though they quickly spiral the price past the $40,000 mark.

Heads-up display, parallel-park assist, surround/top view screen, blind-spot monitor, lane departure warning system, navigation with real-time traffic data, variable sports steering, ConnectedDrive Internet link and a foot-activated trunk opening system are among the options. Enthusiasts also may be swayed by the M sports and adaptive packages.

The 3 Series’ former gas-guzzling ways, along with its skimpy backseat, were a tradeoff to the Bimmer’s handling prowess in the past -- but no more.

Only the 328i and 335i sedans (starting at $43,295) received the makeover for 2012. Still to come are the coupe, wagon and convertible. Also new will be an even more fuel-efficient ActiveHybrid version of the 3.

Source: Biz Journal

Monday, October 1, 2012

Looking for a new car at an affordable price?

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Then you’ll appreciate the 2013 BMW 335! Come test drive this beautiful car and see why it’s one of our most popular sedans!

Click here for more information