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The 10 Worst Things You Can Do to Your Car

Like the human body, ignoring even the smallest signs of trouble in your car's performance can lead to trouble down the road.
And some missed signals cost more than others.
A new report by CarMD.com, which is based on  survey o f professional mechanics,  details exactly which maintenance mistakes they say cause the most damage.

Here are the top 10: 
1.  Putting off recommended / scheduled maintenance
2. Ignoring the “check engine” light
3. Not changing the oil, or not having it changed on time
4. Not checking tire pressure
5. Neglecting coolant, brake, transmission and other fluid services
6. Continuing to drive when the vehicle is overheating
7. Not changing fuel and air filters
8. Having unqualified shops service your vehicle
9. Using generic aftermarket parts instead of original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-quality parts
10. Trying to service your own high-tech vehicle

The best example of the snowball effect of missed car repairs is the air filter. It costs about 20 bucks to replace, but if left alone, a dirty filter can bust oxygen (02) sensors in cars, which cost as much as $250 to replace. And when the sensor fails, you'll first see your gas mileage plunge, then possibly wind up with a $1,000 bill to replace your  catalytic converter.
No. 3 deserves special attention, as well. Technicians say ignoring oil changes is the "single most damaging  car maintenance item that their customers neglect that they wish they could change," according to CarMD.
The trouble with dirty oil is that it doesn't jive well with the high-tech engines in today's modern vehicles, according to  Art Jacobsen, CarMD vice president, and can lead to engine failure if left ignored for too long.
The old go-to rule for oil changes was to refresh every 3,000 miles. But most experts agree drivers should go by the schedule their car's manufacturer dictates instead.

"Frequent oil changes do not necessarily mean better performance or longer engine life," CalRecycle Director Caroll Mortensen told The Auto Channel.

Source:Business Insider

Exclusive Interview: Karim Habib, Head of Design BMW, explains the BMW 4 Series Coupe design

At the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, BMW debuted the 4 Series Concept Coupe. To tell us more about the design of the new car and share some insights into the design process of the beautiful midsize coupe, we sat down with Karim Habib, BMW’s Head of Design.

Q: Behind us we have the new concept BMW 4 Series Coupe. Can you tell us what sets this Coupe apart from its 3 Series brother and tell us about the overall design theme of the 4 Series Coupe?

Karim Habib: The 4 Series Concept Coupe that we’re showing is our next endeavor into the Coupe territory, in this market segment. The important things with respect to the 3 Series or to the 3 Series Coupe of today is that the actual car is lower, wider, longer, has wider tracks than the 3 Series Coupe today and the 3 Series F30 that’s on road today as well. So all in all I think the package gives you a sportier, more dynamic, more elegant and more luxurious car, and with more presence – therefore a much better package.

Q: You talk about presence and when we see the car here alive, it does have a very dynamic presence that will be even more accentuated on the road, in its natural element. If we take a look at the car – I noticed some new design features for the first time for BMW, such as the closed kidney grille and some of the aerodynamic work with the mirrors and the side gills. Can you tell us more about these?

Karim Habib: Sure. You pointed exactly to some of the stuff that we want to show in a show car – that it has to do with Efficient Dynamics. You know that’s very important to us, obviously, and we as designers want to use that company philosophy as an opportunity, as a challenge to do stuff, whether it’s in details or in proportions, stuff that may be new solutions to designers.

And the kidneys are closed, but if you notice as well, we’ve played with the materials – you have a sort of a lighter aluminum material and a darker anthracite color and you also see the aluminum finish not only on the frontal surface, but also on the sides. Yes, it’s closed, but it also offers a little bit more surprises when you go around the car, so you can see the depth of it and the materials that change when you go around the car.

Q: We know that not only the driving pleasure and Efficient Dynamics are important to BMW. Are there any highlights we see on this Concept 4 Series Coupe that will influence BMW design language in the future?

Karim Habib: Like we talked about the kidney – how we treat the detail quality and the kidneys are something you would see maybe in the future – not exactly in this form, but it is a way for us to show how we do see details at BMW. Regarding the mirrors – yes, it’s something we do for the show car – we try to illustrate detail work a bit more amplified, but we’ re also thinking of how to design a mirror that is as lean as possible. Also the aerodynamic features that the mirrors can bring – as the mirror can actually be challenging aerodynamic. And with the aero blade we tried to show that you can use a mirror not only design wise to make something special, but also in terms of acoustic and aerodynamic efficiency, it also brings art.

Q: Overall, we know BMW for making dynamic, sporty coupes. What is your particular favorite angle to view this car?

Karim Habib: To me it’s the proportions. The proportion is not only something we do as designers, but it’s something we do as engineers and designers. And this is what I actually find more rewarding in a way, because it’s working with the engineers to create something that’s quite unique. And the proportions of this car – as I’ve mentioned it’s lower, it’s wider, longer, – about 30 mm longer that the 3 Series Coupe today but 15 mm more wheelbase – so it also creates a better stance, the wheels are more at the corner, more space inside.

-Courtesy of BMW Blog

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BMW's California design studio designs bobsled for U.S. national team

Usually, BMW doesn’t want its vehicles to slide freely on ice. But that’s exactly the goal of its latest project – developing a two-man bobsled for the U.S. men’s bobsled team.
The sled raced for the first time at the FIBT World Cup in Igls, Austria, on Saturday but didn’t put the U.S. on the winner’s podium. The Swiss won. The U.S. teams running the BMW sled finished 14th out of 30 entrants.
Another U.S. team running a different sled came close to a podium finish in fifth place.
Still, the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation wasn’t disappointed with how the sled – which was designed at a BMW design studio in Newbury Park – performed.
“Our top driver raced in this sled without making any training runs,” Darrin Steele, chief executive of the federation, told The Times’ Highway 1 blog.
The team wanted to get the new sled on the ice as soon as it arrived in Europe so that it can start gathering data and making tweaks in preparation for next season and the upcoming Winter Olympics in Russia. The best way to do that is to get the sled into competition at the highest levels as quickly as possible, Steele said.
That’s why the federation handed the controls to driver Steven Holcomb, a gold medalist in the four-man race in the Vancouver Olympics.
With BMW’s help, the federation hopes to produce a two-man sled that could help the U.S. win its first Olympic gold medal in the event since 1936.
BMW is using strong but lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber used in its electric vehicle development program, in the sled and is working to optimize its aerodynamics to design the new sled. The automaker said the new sled has “a significantly lighter body shell with a low and centralized center of gravity.”

The automaker is designing a sled that is “sleeker, lighter and we hope faster: essentially a BMW on ice,” said Michael Scully, creative director of BMW Group DesignworksUSA.
The sled will next race this weekend in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Source: LA Times

BMW Z4

Discerning drivers will appreciate the 2013 BMW 135! Luxury, power and finesse propel this vehicle ahead of the pack.

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Official: 2013 BMW Z4 Roadster

BMW has releaed their newly upgraded BMW Z4 Roadster. The updated model is set to arrive in BMW showrooms in time for spring 2013. New exterior features, detailed interior refinements, the new Hyper Orange design package, as well as availability of the full range of BMW ConnectedDrive are part of the new offering.
The BMW Z4 will continue to be available in the US with one four-cylinder and two inline-six powerplants. Other regions get the sDrive18i, which comes with a four-cylinder, 2.0 liter turbocharged gasoline engine producing 154hp and 177lb-ft of torque. As standard, the engine is connected to a six-speed manual but for more money it can be linked to an optional eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The BMW sDrive28i features BMW’s TwinPower Turbo 2.0 liter four cylinder engine, which produces 240 horsepower and 260lb-ft of torque. It powers the BMW Roadster from 0–6 mph in 5.5 seconds with the six-speed manual (5.6 with the eight-speed automatic). The BMW Z4 sDrive35i features BMW’s N54 TwinPower Turbo 3.0 liter inline-six, producing 300hp and 300lb-ft of torque. It goes 0–60mph in five seconds flat with the seven-speed DCT (5.1 with the six-speed manual). The top-range Z4 sDrive35is features a higher-output version of BMW’s N54 engine producing 335hp and 332lb-ft of torque and the seven-speed DCT. The top model goes from 0-60mph in just 4.8 seconds.
The standard Xenon headlights of the new BMW Z4 have a new slim design and extend well into the front wheel arches. The side indicators have a newly designed, tapered surround. Other new details are new paint finishes, Hyper Orange Design package, a new alloy wheel and the M Sport package. The range of light-alloy wheels includes a newly designed V-Spoke 18-inch wheels combined with staggered front and rear tire sizes.

New interior additions to standard specification include high-gloss black surrounds for the central air vents and the iDrive control system’s folding Control Display, which comes as part of the optional navigation system. Elsewhere, Fineline Anthracite wood has been added to the selection of interior trim strips available as an option for the new BMW Z4. The BMW Z4 sDrive28i, BMW Z4 sDrive35i and BMW Z4 sDrive35is are offered with Kansas leather trim.
The range of driver assistance systems and mobility services from BMW ConnectedDrive has been expanded. If the navigation system is specified, the ConnectedDrive Services options allow use of internet-based information and entertainment services inside the car. This system must be fitted to enable access to the BMW Online portal and apps using the Control Display and iDrive Controller. The Real Time Traffic Information function is also on hand, supplying the driver with congestion warnings and diversion recommendations in real time.

BMW Tops Mercedes in Luxury Sales

It was a December to remember for most luxury automobile sales operations in the United States, with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Porsche, Audi and others all reporting particularly strong finishes to an already good 2012.

The sales crown, and the bragging rights, went to the BMW Group, which includes Mini. It broke away from a tight sales race with Mercedes-Benz in the final month, selling 43,855 units in December, pushing the final 2012 tally to 347,583 vehicles, the automaker said, up 13.8 percent from 2011. That was BMW’s best year in the United States since 2007. Sales of BMW brand models alone rose 13.5 percent compared with 2011, to 281,460 vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz USA, which includes Sprinter Vans and Smart, reported its best sales year ever, with 305,072 vehicles sold, up 15.4 percent from 2011. About 31,370 vehicles were moved in December. Sales of Mercedes brand vehicles were 274,134 in 2012, up 11.8 percent.

Audi also enjoyed its best year in the United States, with sales of 139,310 vehicles, up 18.5 percent over 2011, with a record 14,841 sold in December.

Lexus also saw a big improvement in December, to finish with 132,741 units sold, a 31.2 percent increase over 2011. Acura sales were up 26.7 percent from 2011, Infiniti was up 21.8 percent and Porsche sales rose 21 percent.

While most luxury brands had a good year, the two American luxury brands were exceptions; sales fell 1.7 percent for Cadillac for the year, while Lincoln was off 4.1 percent.

The otherwise strong luxury car sales year augurs well for 2013, Ludwig Willisch, BMW North America’s chief executive, said in a press release, “making us strongly confident and optimistic as we enter 2013.”

Source: New York Times

Part 2. Review of the year. BMW 2012

Behind the Design: We Talk with the BMW 4 Series Coupe Concept’s Headlight/Taillight Designer

From the Nissan Sentra to the BMW 4 Series Coupe concept, LED lighting accents are everywhere, but few car designs are tied so closely to headlights as modern BMWs. At a recent event in Munich, we spoke with Hussein Al-Attar, the BMW designer in charge of the BMW 4 Series Coupe concept’s headlights and taillights, about what inspires him and the challenges he faced during the design process, which went from idea to reality in just a few months.

“There’s so much work that goes into [headlight/taillight design]. I think people don’t even recognize that there are designers only working on these details,” said Al-Attar, who participated in the 2004 Motor Trend/CIAS International Design Contest. “It’s a very complex object. It’s a very exciting process, what we’re doing.”

The BMW 4 Series Coupe concept debuts at the 2013 Detroit auto show and previews the production car we’ve spied before and expect to see later in 2013. With headlight and taillight design accents becoming an increasingly important design feature distinguishing one brand from another, BMW faces far more competition with “night design” elements than it did in 1999, when the refreshed 5 Series debuted with corona rings that set it apart from other premium sports sedans.

Today, BMWs have a kidney grille, Hofmeister kink, and L-shaped taillights, but those design details aren’t always visible at night. “[LED lighting] is something that shows you that it’s a BMW even if you can’t see the car,” Al-Attar says.

And while some still refer to such headlight and taillight accents as “light pollution,” Al-Attar appreciates the BMW-specific styling features. “This makes our job easier in the sense that we don’t have to go over the top but also difficult in keeping this heritage, and evolving it with design and technology.”

The BMW 4 Series Coupe concept uses basically the same LED lighting technology found on the 6 Series lineup, but moves from rounded lines to an open hexagon. Al-Attar notes that connecting the light-emitting element to the grille — which is completely closed, by the way — is a new touch. It looks better in person than the LEDs on the current 3 Series sedan and is likely to be retained for the production BMW 4 Series coupe.

“We had a very clear picture in mind from the beginning,” Al-Attar says about designing the 4 Series Coupe concept’s lights. “At the end it was really fine-tuning and talking about where to put the line” connecting the lights to the grille, a few millimeters higher or lower.

Taillights

The inspiration for the BMW 4 Series Coupe concept’s revised LED accents in the subtly upswept taillights didn’t come just from the automotive world.

“If you look at the dynamic of graffiti lettering or in calligraphy, you can see that the thickness within the same letter is different and this gives it a very dynamic, very emotional appearance and this is what we tried here,” Al-Attar said. “With LED technology, we have the possibility to be very three-dimensional.”

Until the 3 Series sedan gets refreshed and potentially adopts 4 Series coupe design cues, the showroom-ready variant of the BMW coupe concept seen here could continue to serve as a success story for the automaker. Of course, that depends on the 4 Series’ price and how many of the concept’s design details make it onto the production car.

 

Source: MotorTrend