The chiding war of words between BMW and Audi has been extended, with BMW firing the latest round across their competitor's bow. The new commercial features children in a classroom, with one small BMW fan taking over his teacher's lecture.

A strict teacher has been telling her class that efficency and dynamics in a vehicle is not necessarily a contradiction [...]

The ActiveHybrid 5 is (officially now) the newest concept from BMW's Efficient Dynamics division, and ED has shaken things up a bit in the power train department. Instead of going with a V8-based mild hybrid setup a la the 7-Series and X6 hybrids, BMW decided to try the system out with their award-winning TwinPower Turbo'd 6-cylinder with Start/Stop tech running the show.

The system is fairly straightforward: up front is the engine, followed by the electric motor which is connected via an automatic clutch, and the 8-speed automatic transmission is the caboose [...]

Continuing its ‘Joy’ Campaign, BMW tonight will air a new commercial centered around the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept. Called the “BMW Joy is Futureproof,” the commercial shows how the company has integrated some part of the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept in its current lineup.

As reported this weekend, BMW’s ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ campaign has taken a vacation while the German automaker focuses on “recent trends in consumer mindsets” of driving efficiently.

Refresher: Power for the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics comes from a 163-hp 1.5L 3-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and two electric-motors [...]

BMW has released the first official details about the facelifted 2011 X5.

Set to debut at the New York Auto Show, the X5 features new bumpers, additional body-color accents, revised wheels, new headlights, relocated fog lights, and redesigned taillights.

Inside, the only change appears to be the addition of a new iDrive system with a 6.5-inch display (an 8.8-inch display will be optional). Despite the lack of updates, BMW added some new optional equipment [...]

Perhaps in response to Jeremy Clarkson rubbishing the BMW X6, in particular its ability as an off-road vehicle, BMW has produced two videos on the snow driving capabilities of both the X5 and X6. The “M” versions of the cars are driven through the Passo Valparola in Italy’s Dolomites mountain range, in a kind of off-road instruction video.

You can see the BMW X6M and X5M drifting and then in hillside driving (in the second video after the jump) [...]

Here's your chance to get a look at the North America-only BMW 335is Coupe in motion at the media presentation that took place at the Estoril race track in Portugal. If you follow the jump, you'll find two videos, one that includes a walk around the sporty coupe that nests between the 2011 335i and the M3, and the other with some driving impressions from the circuit.

The newest model in the facelifted 3-Series range packs an upgraded, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six with 320HP and 332 lb-ft of torque (370 lb-ft with overboost) mated to either six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearboxes.

The high-performance 335is Coupe will go on sale in the United States in June at an MSRP of $50,525, or about $7,000 more than the 2011 335i Coupe that's powered by a new single-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six with 300HP.


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This week, BMW held a press event for its 2011MY 5-Series saloon in Lisbon, Portugal giving journalists their first taste of the all-new premium sedan before it goes on sale in Europe this March and shortly after in other key markets around the world. If you follow the jump, you can watch videos of both the new 535i and 530d from the Lisbon presentation as well as a short film on sedan's new parallel-park assist system.

As a reminder, the 2011 5-Series is based on a newly developed vehicle architecture also featured in the 5-Series GT as well as the 7 Series luxury sedan.

The 530d is powered by a 3.0-liter turbo diesel with 245hp and 540Nm of peak torque (398 lb-ft) that propels the car from standstill to 100km/h (62mph) in 6.3 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h (155mph).

BMW claims that the 530d returns a combined fuel economy in the EU cycle of 6.3lt/100km or 37.3 mpg US.

The new 535i gets a new 3.0-liter straight-six with a single, twin-scroll turbocharger pushing out 306HP and 400Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque for a zero to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 6.0 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h or 155mph.

The petrol model returns a combined fuel economy of 8.5lt/100km or 27.7mpg US.

In Europe, the new 5-Series will also be available with two more diesels, a 184HP 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit (520d) and a 204HP 3.0-liter inline six (525d) as well as three more petrol engines, a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter straight six with 204HP (523i) and 258HP (528i) and a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 with 407HP (550i)>

All versions of the new 5 Series saloon are available as an option with BMW's new eight-speed automatic transmission.



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Here’s the final instalment in the BMW 5-Series GT production videos, where we see the 5-Series desert testing and high-speed driving before its official debut. To see the previous production videos, including the original design and initial testing, see the first instalment of the 5-Series GT production.

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The BMW 5-Series GT was first presented to the European market at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor show. It is now available in the US, and these videos show the design and production phases of the new 5-Series Gran Turismo [...]

The BMW Concept ActiveE will be released at the Detroit auto show in January. Based on the 1-Series coupe, it is equipped with an electric engine with 170 hp and lithium ion batteries [...]

BMW has released a short teaser film of its new Concept ActiveE, a fully-electric version of its 1-Series Coupe that will begin trial runs with selected private and fleet drivers in the very near future. The prototype model, which will make its world premiere in Detroit next month, is powered by a an electric motor with 170HP that drives the rear wheels [...]

Winter has come to the northern hemisphere, which means high-speed Nurburgring testing is now almost nil. Cold testing however, is only just beginning [...]

AC Schnitzer, the well-known BMW tuning house, has earned the bragging rights for having the world's fastest street-legal diesel car. The German firm's BMW 335d-based ACS3 3.5d Coupe reached a top speed of 288.7 km/h or 180 mph at the 13 kilometer-long Nardo test track in southern Italy breaking the previous record set in 2006 by an additional 8.7 km/h.
The tuner did not release technical details on the specific model, but we assume that it features the standard 310HP upgrade to the twin-turbocharged straight-six diesel engine.


Together with the record breaking ACS3 3.5d Coupe, AC Schnitzer also tested the ACS4 3.5 turbo, which is based on the BMW Z4 sDrive 35i, at Nardo [...]

BMW and Mini have entered into an agreement with Mercedes-Benz USA by which the latter will be responsible for the former two companies’ vehicles being imported through the port of Baltimore.

BMW and Mini will use the Mercedes-Benz vehicle preparation center to inspect, process, and repair their pre-delivered vehicles starting in March. President of BMW of North America, Jim O’Donnell said that he anticipates approximately 50,000 vehicles headed for the central region, to pas through Mercedes’ center, reports Automotive News.



Currently, the preparation is done at BMW’s factory in South Carolina, but that plant will no longer be practical once the new X3 starts to be built there next year.

Ernest Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA has also lent mention to the possibility of the two companies doing business together in the future.

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A pair of prototype models of the next BMW 6-Series Convertible have been spied on film. The folks over at Bimmerpost that posted the video support that, like the new Z4, the 2011 6-Series Convertible will most likely be equipped with an electric folding hardtop and that for now, the Bavarians are concealing the roof with a faux canvas top.

Unless someone goes and fiddles around with the top, there's no way of being 100 per cent certain, but looking at the creases on the roof, we'd say that these test cars appear to feature a classic fabric top.

In any case, the new 6-Series Convertible will continue to be a four-seater while we suspect that the styling will follow the cautious evolution of the firm's latest models like the Z4, 5-Series and 7-Series, with BMW's designers toning down the flame surfacing and eliminating the so-called Bungle butt.

Under the hood, the new 6er's engines will be sourced from the 2011 5-Series that was revealed last week [...]