BMW has rolled out a new feature that will let riders stay connected, by adding 4G LTE WiFi connectivity to its cars. BMW owners will be able to buy an optional hotspot that connects with the car and can use its antenna to provide blazing-fast wireless Internet speeds. → Read More
Because our resident automotive enthusiast Matt Burns up and decided to go camping this week, I was lucky enough to attend BMW’s sneak preview event in NYC today where I got a first look at two new eco-friendly vehicles: the BMW i3 and i8. Referred to as mega-city vehicles (or MCVs if you will), both are built with the urban driver in mind, capitalizing on green features and stability. The… → Read More
Earlier today we ventured to downtown New York for a demo of a BMW equipped with MOG’s music streaming app. MOG has been working with Mini and BMW on this app for a while. The BMW version is slated to launch in mid-October and it works with BMW’s new ConnectedDrive technology, available in 2011 and beyond models. MOG’s music library contains 12 million songs. → Read More
http://player.ooyala.com/player.swf?embedCode=lrZ3NlMjqM7CJJj9PV5x5ngX9HG5TeI4&version=2 Mini’s rolling out a slick new in-vehicle system and we recently got a hands-on demo. Mini Connected features much of what you’d expect for a modern infotainment system including a tight integration with iOS devices but there are some nifty new tricks. Everyone wants RSS feeds in their car… → Read More
Take a quick look at where BMWs are conceived. The video doesn’t show much, but clearly gets across the message that BMW is committed to making the world’s best cars. Crafting prototypes out of solid aluminum says commitment. Nuts. → Read More
BMW announced today the all-new BMW 6 Series Coupé with a Bang and Olufsen sound system with 16 loudspeakers driven by 1,200 watts of power. There are seven tweeters that come paired with mid-range speakers for consistent sound. The other two speakers are the two massive subwoofers mounted to the car body under the front seats. This method ensures there aren’t any vibrations or rattles from the… → Read More
Auto maker BMW recently established a New York-based venture capital firm dubbed BMW i Ventures that it seeded with $100 million to seek out partnerships that might facilitate BMW-i product adoption in urban markets. BMW-i is a BMW sub-brand solely focused on developing and producing sustainable mobility vehicles.
Its first investment was made public this week: BMW pumped $5 million into … → Read More
The Paris Motor show is going on now. The usual car unveilings are a given, but also the shows are becoming a place for automakers to showcase and release exciting new tech. Take BMW for example, they are known around the globe for making the “ultimate driving machines.” Now, they are entering the realm of being the ultimate connectivity machine. → Read More
I always wonder what is really meant when people say that BMW, or Ferrari, or whoever, colluded with this or that consumer tech company to create a product. Obviously they didn’t get the lead designer for the 5 series to work on these from the ground up, but at the same time they didn’t hire the guy who created the seat-recline mechanism.
I’m guessing they get a few sketches from the art… → Read More
You’ve probably heard about the BMW Mini E lease program — 500 or so of the little buggers were let into the wild to be given real-life, long-term testing by regular people. It seems like the program was a success, because BMW is doing it again, this time with their Active-E (Activeeee!) concept, a more practical car for most people, but also mighty expensive. → Read More
Remember that time you left your phone in the car on a cold night when you went to dinner, and when you got back to it, the battery was nearly dead because it had gotten so cold? Yeah, that would be happening a lot if you had an electric car that didn’t take temperature into account.
And so the testers of BMW Mini Es are finding out in cold weather: range seems to be reduced by half in 23°… → Read More
Ford and Microsoft have found great success partnering together on Sync and the rest of the automotive industry have finally taken notice. We’ve taken Sync for a ride or two and know that it works as advertised. We even took a 2010 Mustang for a spin over the weekend and even without the full-fledged Nav system with touchscreen, Sync worked great. BTW- Ford kicked some ass on the new Mustang. → Read More
One lucky Californian dude is cruising in style after he took delivery of the very first production electric Mini. The Mini-E is available for lease on a very limited basis reminiscent of the GM EV-1 from the ’90s. Except this time around, the plug-in electric car will only be in customers hands for one short year instead of three. Presumably, the 500 cars will be sent back to Mini for testing and… → Read More
BMW is out to improve its vehicles efficiencies and has turned to NASA for help. The car company plans on equipping thermoelectric generators on upcoming models to power secondary systems and therefore improving gasoline economy. Now, this update to BMW’s Efficient Dynamics isn’t a huge leap forward, but rather an evolutionary step towards the space age. Some satellites employ similar… → Read More
Thermaltake and BMW have teamed up to create the “Level 10” PC case, which is on display at the CeBIT conference in Hanover, Germany this week. The case definitely looks interesting, with all the components outside the case yet inside their own compartments. It kind of looks like one of those apartment complexes in a warm climate where the elevators are indoors but the hallways to everyone’s… → Read More
Dare we call the current crop of GPS units dumb. While they can tell you how to get between A or B, they don’t really know you. BMW’s upcoming Intelligent Learning Navigation System, or ILENA for short, will get to know you and your spouse intimately. → Read More
Now, you could just go down a list and tick the options you want, but that wouldn’t really be posh enough for you, would it? You’re getting a Bimmer, and you want the experience to be luxurious and classy from start to finish. And that’s why they’re employing a Microsoft Surface to choose your options and check out your car’s features instead of a good old piece of… → Read More
BMW and NXP are set to demo a prototype key at the CARTES & IDentification show in Paris next month that will double as your credit card. While the concept is nothing new with the advent of those fancy little key fobs that let you pay for items with a simple swipe. We have something like that in NYC for the subways with one of the banks. It’s nice to know the automotive industry is… → Read More
BMW is jumping into the niche market of battery-powered automobiles with the Mini E. The car is set to be unveiled next month at the LA Auto Show, but all the details have been just been released. → Read More
Supposedly TiVo is using an online survey to test users’ responses to a new interface. That’s a screen shot from it up there. Most interesting to me, as a non-TiVo user, is that BMW ad along the top of the screen. It’s not intrusive at all, which is what makes it effective. It sort of hides right in there. Not for nothing, but it also reminds me of Aeon, the skin for XBMC. → Read More
The old saying “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” still applies today with racing technology. Ceravision ran a BMW, outfitted with the firms microwave-powered headlamps to demonstrate, not only the bulb’s extreme brightness, but also the lamps durability verse conventional electrode bulbs that tend to burn out under racing’s extreme conditions. → Read More
Am I the only chump that wonders why Google isn’t in more GPS units? I have found that the Google Maps on my Blackberry works far better for general searches ’round town, than my GPS so I find the fact that BMW is adding Google Maps-powered system to the 1 and 3 Series encouraging. This means that the service is working its way down market, previously being offered only in the 5, 6 and… → Read More
Ceravision has been producing a lamp system they call Ecolumination. Using microwaves to supply the energy, they focus the power into a small quartz or ceramic bulb. The company explains that because they are electrode-less, they last longer, while the technology provides high quality, energy efficient light. Last month they worked their technology into the headlights of a BMW racecar and took it… → Read More
When I first heard about AC Schnitzer’s new LCD-equipped gear shifter, I thought, wow, this would be useful as the LCD takes the guessing out of what gear the transmission is in. Then I realized, most people that drive a manual don’t think about what they’re doing. They just know what gear they’re in and what gear they’re planning to shift into. Are there really people out… → Read More
Nobody knows exactly when, how many will be available, their price, charge time, range, or pretty much anything about the electric vehicles BMW is planning on selling. But we do know that they plan on selling them, probably in about a year. Not really big news unless you were one of those people planning on investing in an electric car sometime in the middle of 2009. Oh wait, that’s me! → Read More
Testing on BMW’s Hydrogen 7 Mono-Fuel prototype by the U.S. DOE has concluded that the hydrogen-powered engine surpasses the most rigorous of emissions performance standards. The BMW finds itself beyond the super-ultra low-emission vehicle (SULEV) level. “The BMW Hydrogen 7′s emissions were only a fraction of SULEV level, making it one of the lowest emitting combustion engine… → Read More
AutoSpies has learned, by way of “reliable sources,” that the next BMW 7-Series will feature in-dash iPhone integration. As you can see in this supposed shot, the iPhone will cradle in the dash and presumably be controlled by buttons on the steering wheel and/or voice. While this rumor doesn’t seem too far-fetched, I’d suggest proceeding on the side of caution with it until… → Read More
Oh this is cool and I’m not just referring to the temperature of the hydrogen. This prototype BMW 7-series sedan was featured at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It can run on both gas and hydrogen and can switch between the two fuel sources in case you can’t find a hydrogen fueling station. It currently uses BMW’s 6-liter V-12, but BMW engineers say that with further development, a… → Read More
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