Morning Reads: Friday 18 January 2008

[mika]

Today’s Birthdays / Calendar

vicky.in
Bajaj to buy stake in Triumph


File this under practical politics.
usridernews.com
South Dakota bill would eliminate motorcycle mufflerrequirement.


thekneeslider.com
Honda CB1100F going into production
Darn…I was hoping for the RR


The following article features a neked motorcycle with lots of slick rubber and street fighter styling, parental discretion is advised.
motorblog.it
Honda CB 1000R XESS: official photos


harley-davidson.com
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY SERVES AS PRESENTING SPONSOR FOR THE 11TH ANNUAL YMCA MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BREAKFAST


onewheeldrive.net
Part 2 – The 1098GT
Sport touring on the 1098S – A life in 66.6 mile increments


dealernews.com
Recreation group wins forest service appeal


moto-station.com
Test BMW R1200 2008

fim.ch
Sidecar World Championship - 2008 calendar


motorcycledaily.com
Ten Kate could help Honda develop AMA Superbike

BMW Sauber F1
BMW Motorsport

Forumula1.com
BMW Sauber hampered by Valencia weather



fiawtcc.com
Stamps Celebrate Priaux’s World Titles


wrc.com
Ouninpohja out of 2008 Rally Finland


wrc.com
Record entry list for 2008 J-WRC and P-WRC


motoring.co.za
F1 drivers conceal safety concerns

You want to see how to make a J-turn in a place only 378 centimeters wide, driving a Renault Twingo that is 370 centimeters in diagonal? Check out this video and you will find out how Terry Grant did it!

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Via: TopSpeed.com

Stuff: Everything in place and a place for everything (including stuff)


dPS.com
Asking permission to photograph people

diyphotography.net
Where do you get you supplies fix?


M.R. Traveler


brianbucketmag.com
The Natchez Trace (North Half)


Possible lost Incan city found
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2008 International Rally
Gillette, Wyoming, July 17-20 2008


Mining The Website

Threads worth following:

Photo Assignment:
Here is a link to the PHOTO ASSIGNMENT INDEX, with links to the various excellent Photo Assignment threads

Latest project: “Old Cro” the R-evolution

Diary of a Barn Queen

Dakar 2008


Blogs:


2strokebuzz

Atlas Rider

Church of the Choppers

Guilty Truth

Knucklebuster

Kropotkin

K’telontour of the World

MotorCycle Tours Unicorn Adventures

Pitted chrome

Ride it like you stole it!

SheRidesABeemer

The New Caf?® (Racer) Society

The Oasis of My Soul



Today’sRoadFood.com


Woot

Todays Woot
The Blog

Packer News: Packers.com, jsonline.com - Packers Plus Online


Humor


Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City
Sluggy Freelance
The Onion
xkcd

BMW Website Review:


bmw-motorrad.co.za
Software upgrade to R1200 Boxer engines


Country Trax
BMW-Motorrad-ZA offroad motorcycle training school gets a new website

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Frank Gehry: Nice building. Then what?
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TED: Ideas worth spreading
TED Blog,Conferences, Themes, Talks and Speakers


BMW Yachtsport


BMW Golfsport


BMW Oracle Racing


BMW Sport website



BMW GroupPress Club:




BMW Canada announces new Double Clutch Gearbox for M3
01/17/2008

BMW M GmbH is proud to be the world's first car maker now offering a
seven-speed Double Clutch Gearbox specially conceived and designed for a high-speed power unit. Compared with all conventional systems available
so far, this new gearbox ensures an optimum gearshift and even more dynamic acceleration, and at the same time reduces fuel consumption by a significant margin.
________________________________________
The world's first Double Clutch Gearbox conceived and developed for a high-speed power unit; gearshift without interruption of power and traction; gearshift management with M-specific configuration; seven gears for optimum gear increments ensuring particularly dynamic acceleration; simultaneous debut in the BMW M3 Coup?®, BMW M3 Saloon, and BMW M3 Cabriolet.

Drivelogic with eleven electronically controlled driving programs in
M-specific set-up; five shift programs in the automatic mode, six shift programs in the manual mode including Launch Control for maximum acceleration from a standstill; efficiency-enhancing transmission control in the automatic mode; sequential gear selection in the manual mode.

Fourth, consistently enhanced generation of the automated manual gearbox in M-specific configuration; further enhancement of the car's dynamic driving characteristics and the motorsport-oriented driving experience; manual gear selection by sports selector lever or via paddles on the steering wheel; both control elements in M-specific configuration and set-up; Shift Lights.

Perfect interaction of the M Double-Clutch Gearbox with Drivelogic
and the V8 power unit in the new BMW M3; measurable and tangible improvement of acceleration; optional sporting downshift performance.

Elaborate cooling of transmission fluid as the prerequisite for absolute reliability and endurance of the Double Clutch Gearbox with Drivelogic even on the race track, when subject to extreme loads and high outside temperatures.

Optimised comfort in driving manoeuvres at very low speed ensured by Low Speed Assistant; automatic activation of parking lock after switching off the engine.

Further reduction of fuel consumption and emissions compared
with manual gearshift and a conventional converter-type automatic transmission.

 

[mika]

Statement by Alain Laforest, BMW Group Canada, Regional Manager, Eastern Region.
01/17/2008

Statement by Alain Laforest, BMW Group Canada, Regional Manager, Eastern Region on the Occasion of the Montreal International Auto Show.
January 17, 2008

The Spoken French Word Applies

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us here today.

This is the most exciting year I can remember for the BMW Group in Canada. Today we are going to unveil 4 incredible new vehicles for you; three of which are brand new vehicles never offered before in North America.

Before we tell you all about these exciting new products, letÔÇÖs celebrate some of the growth in the Quebec market.

BMW and MINI sales in Montreal and Quebec were both up 14% for 2007 compared to the previous year. Considering the challenges the automotive industry faced in the second half of 2007, double digit growth is extremely impressive. Equally impressive is the fact that BMW Group Canada just celebrated our 17th consecutive year of sales growth ÔÇô an achievement unparallel in the automotive industry.

Because of the success we have enjoyed in Quebec, we are expanding our facilities to serve our customers better. We have two BMW retailers renovating to expand - BMW Laval will complete renovations this summer and Suprem Automobile in Sherbrook just finished. Two new BMW retail facilities are coming ÔÇô one in Blainville and one in the Montreal West Island. One new MINI retail facility just opened in Trois-Rivi?¿res and with it, BMW Trois-Rivi?¿res moved to a state of the art new facility. Last but not least, BMW Ville de Quebec is moving to a world class new facility at the end of this year.

With many new products coming down the road, we have many more growth opportunities for Quebec and Canada.

> The 1 Series Cabriolet will be available in late spring
> We are going to expand our line up of sports activity vehicles and launch an X1 and a MINI SAV.
> On the opposite end of the spectrum is a new vehicle positioned above the 7 Series based on the Concept CS that we presented at the Shanghai International Auto Show.

Speaking of the Concept CS, we have a BMW celebrity here today and he is a local Montreal success story.

Karim Habib is the budding young designer that designed the Concept CS. After being raised in Montreal and completing his engineering degree at McGill, Karim went to the renowned California Art Center College of Design where he was recruited by Chris Bangle to design for BMW in Munich.

> We recently announced another new vehicle concept, the Progressive Activity Sedan that will become a production vehicle.

> All these new vehicles and the ones we will show you today underscore the constant flow of new products that we believe will help us attract new customers and strengthen our position as the leading premium automotive company in Canada, and the world.

As I mentioned, three of the four products we will unveil today are completely new products that have never been offered before to customers. The BMW 1 Series Coup?®, the BMW X6 Sports Activity Coup?® and the MINI Clubman are new for BMW and the 2008 BMW M3 Coup?® is the return of our benchmark setting performance car that is now in its fourth generation.

Each one of these products, like all our products, fit into our environmental strategy called EfficientDynamics.

EfficientDynamics means we will always strive to improve the driving dynamics of our vehicles while also significantly lowering fuel consumption and emission levels.

In the long term, we believe liquid hydrogen is the future for sustainable driving. We currently have 100 Hydrogen 7 Series vehicles on the road in the US, Europe and Japan demonstrating that hydrogen vehicles are feasible and essentially only emit just water vapour. In the US you might see celebrities like Jay Leno driving one.

In the medium term ÔÇô 2009 to be precise - we will offer BMW hybrids. The BMW X6 Sports Activity Coup?® that you will see here in a few moments will be the first BMW hybrid. Our two-mode Active Hybrid will offer increased fuel efficiency while still offering the performance that the X6 will become renowned for.

In the short term, we will bring our high performance, fuel efficient clean diesels to Canadians. We are pleased to announce for the first time this week that we will bring BMW a 335d Sedan and BMW X5 3.0sd AdvanceDiesel vehicles with BluePerformance to Canada this fall. We selected these models because we want to offer fuel efficient clean diesel performance to as many individuals as possible and these are our most popular models.

BMWÔÇÖs new high performance diesel engines produce approximately 25 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions and are approximately 25 per cent more fuel efficient than their gasoline counterparts, while also delivering the Ultimate Driving Experience.

To see the benefits of our advanced EfficientDynamics engineering, you donÔÇÖt have to wait until for the short, medium or long-term because in the last 20 years, BMW Group Canada has voluntarily reduced fleet average fuel consumption of passenger cars by 25%, reducing carbon dioxide emissions commensurately. We have achieved this because we incorporate EfficientDynamics into each and every vehicle we develop.

You might wonder how a BMW M3 fits into our environmental strategy?

Well, when we developed the new, fourth generation, performance-oriented M3 Coup?®, EfficientDynamics did play a substantial role.

The BMW M3 Coup?® that is based on the BMW 3 Series Coup?® and is the first production M3 vehicle with an eight-cylinder power unit. The new V8 engine replaces the previous generationÔÇÖs six-cylinder engine. Conventional wisdom would suggest that a larger engine would be heavier, but thanks to the aluminium-silicon alloy cylinder crankcase, the new V8 power unit is, in fact, 15 kilograms lighter than the previous six-cylinder version.

The M3ÔÇÖs new carbon-fibre roof weighs in at approximately five kilograms less than a conventional steel roof. The BMW M3 is the first production car in its segment with a carbon-fibre roof which reduces the carÔÇÖs weight by 40 pounds and enhances its agility by lowering the carÔÇÖs centre of gravity. These EfficientDynamics innovations allow the new M3 to deliver considerably more power with less fuel.

The brand-new V8 displaces 4.0 litres and develops a maximum output of 414 hp at 8,300 rpm, maximum torque 295 lb-ft at 3,900 rpm, maximum engine speed 8,400 rpm and offers optimum torque and thrust throughout the entire speed range. The BMW M3ÔÇÖs V8 engine features individual throttle butterflies, double-VANOS variable camshaft control and the engine is 15 kg/33 lb lighter than the six-cylinder of the former model. The M3 accelerates from 0ÔÇô100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds.

This is highest-performing M3 ever offered by our BMW M division. The amazing part is that the V8ÔÇÖs horsepower output is 24% more than the six-cylinder, yet the new engine weighs 7% less and consumes 8% less fuel than its predecessor. This, again, underlines our commitment to Efficient Dynamics.

The M3 Coup?® will be available in the Canadian market in the first quarter of 2008, but you will get a sneak preview of it here in just a few minutes.

In 1999, BMW created the X5 Sports Activity Vehicle and it has set the benchmark ever since. Quebec is our biggest X5 market in Canada and now we present a brand new concept and we expect Quebec to fall in love again 

The BMW X6. The worldÔÇÖs first Sports Activity Coup?®. It is an all new model that offers a unique interpretation of a large BMW Coup?® with the sportiness of a Coup?® and the features of an X model. You will see that BMW X6 has a powerful presence and sleek coup?® proportions. The BMW X6 comes standard with a new generation of BMWÔÇÖs intelligent xDrive all-wheel drive technology featuring Dynamic Performance Control. Dynamic Performance Control optimizes the directional stability of a vehicle instantaneously and precisely by directing torque between the rear wheels.

The new Sports Activity Coup?® has two engine variants: BMW X6 xDrive50i and BMW X6 xDrive35i. The BMW X6 xDrive50i, has the top-of-the-range power unit that is a newly developed V8 gasoline engine with Twin Turbo technology and direct gasoline injection (high precision injection). The V8 is the most efficient engine in its class, with a capacity of 4,395 cc, max output of 400 hp and max torque 442 lb-ft. The BMW X6 xDrive35i is powered by a 3.0 litre straight-six gasoline engine with twin turbo and direct injection (high precision injection) with 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. The BMW X6 will be available in Canada in the second quarter of 2008.

With the new X6 Sports Activity Coup?®, BMW also introduces a new model nomenclature reflecting the most distinguishing vehicle characteristics already in the vehicle name. xDrive ÔÇô BMWÔÇÖs unique intelligent All-Wheel-Drive-System ÔÇô now becomes a core element of the naming not only for the new BMW X6, but also for upcoming All-Wheel-Drive BMW models.

As with other BMW models, the numbers behind the ÔÇ£xDriveÔÇØ lettering, like X6 xDrive 50i represent the modelÔÇÖs relative power. This creates clearly differentiated power levels within each displacement class ÔÇôthe higher the number, the more powerful the engine.

We are pleased to announce that the MINI family has grown, and the MINI has literally grown too. The MINI Clubman is a completely unique five-door model that will be added to the MINI line-up in February 2008.

Based on a ÔÇ£shooting brakeÔÇØ concept, the Clubman features a lengthened body and roofline, two rear-opening splitdoors and a Clubdoor on the right side. The 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman debuts with an MSRP of $26,400, while the MINI Cooper S Clubman will have an MSRP of $31,500.

The 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman shares the same 1.6 litre four-cylinder gasoline engine with twin-scroll turbocharger and direct fuel injection as the 2008 MINI Cooper S. Generating a maximum output of 172 horsepower at 5500 rpm and maximum torque of 192 lb-ft with the overboost function, the MINI Cooper S Clubman inherits all of the performance characteristics of its sibling 2008 Cooper S, which was chosen as the 2008 Sports/Performance Car of the Year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

The MINI Cooper Clubman will be equipped with a four-cylinder gasoline engine with fully variable valve management based on the BMW GroupÔÇÖs VALVETRONIC technology, which also debuted in the new MINI Cooper. With a capacity of 1,598 cc, the Cooper Clubman will have a maximum output of 118 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and maximum torque of 114 lb-ft at 4,250 rpm.

The MINI Cooper Clubman with a six speed manual transmission, like the MINI Cooper hatchback, qualifies for the federal governmentÔÇÖs $1,000 ecoAUTO rebate due to its impressive fuel economy rating of 5.3 l/100km (highway).

Last but not least, we are introducing a new smaller BMW to our model range ÔÇô The BMW 1 Series. The BMW 1 Series will debut in spring 2008 with the BMW 1 Series Coup?®. This is a brand new series entering North America.

The first variants, the new 1 Series Coup?® will enter the Premium Compact segment with strikingly sleek, dynamic and compact dimensions combined with typical BMW class-leading performance, agility, safety and comfort.

With this new smaller BMW we will attract individuals to the brand sooner and at younger ages and as our customers know ÔÇô once you have been behind the wheel of a BMW and experienced what BMW performance offers ÔÇô its hard to go back.

The 1 Series Coup?® is available in two engine variants: BMW 128i and 135i Coup?®s.
The BMW 128i Coup?® is powered by BMWÔÇÖs latest generation 3.0-litre inline 6-cyinder Valvetronic engine generating 230 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque. The BMW 135i Coup?® is equipped with BMWÔÇÖs remarkable twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine with high-precision injection, twin low-mass turbochargers and air-to-air intercooler. This remarkable engine produces 300 horsepower and an incredible 300 lb-ft of torque, providing the BMW 135i Coup?® with breathtaking performance and fuel efficiency.

The 1 Series Coup?® is an incredible car that we know will do very well here because we have had tremendous feedback so far.

In closing, I donÔÇÖt think there is anything more I need to add to demonstrate that this is an exciting year for BMW and MINI ÔÇô if you donÔÇÖt believe me, these cars speak for themselves.

Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for your time and now the moment we have all been waiting for. I am proud to present to you:


The new MINI Clubman
The new BMW 1 Series Coup?®
The new BMW X6 Sports Activity Coup?®
And the new BMW M3 Coup?®









BMW GROUP RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN: All-New BMW X6 Named "Best Production Truck" At Eyes On Design Awards At 2008 North American International Auto Show
01/17/2008

All-New BMW X6 Named "Best Production Truck" At Eyes On Design Awards At 2008 North American International Auto Show
Woodcliff Lake, NJ - January 16, 2007... Just two days after its worldwide debut, the BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe was named "Best Production Truck" at the EyesOn Design Awards at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Held each year, the EyesOn Design Awards recognize major design achievement in the automobile industry, and recipients are selected from among all new concept and production vehicles making their debut at the Detroit show.

"We are excited to receive this prestigious award; to be acknowledged by such an esteemed panel of judges - each design masters in his own right - is an honor. As the world's first Sports Activity Coupe, the X6 is a truly innovative automobile design, as is demonstrated in the powerful presence of the vehicle," said Anders Warming, Head of Exterior Design for BMW, who accepted the award on behalf of the BMW Group. "BMW will continue to seek dynamic design concepts that push the envelope, create new market sectors and bring the automobile industry in directions it's never been before."

The BMW X6's design combines the sporting elegance of a large BMW coupe with the powerful presence of a BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, offering unique features and performance ability in a combination unmatched by any other vehicle. It offers all the DNA of a genuine BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, interpreted however, in a brand-new, extremely sporting style. Indeed, the design language of this new model is the authentic visualization of the outstanding driving characteristics offered by the BMW X6, mainly through intelligent BMW xDrive all-wheel-drive technology and Dynamic Performance Control.

Various design features typical of BMW also stand out in the vehicle's details, ranging from the BMW kidney grille to the dual round headlights optically "cut off" at the top and the powerful contour line along the side, all the way to the horizontal lines at the rear emphasizing the sheer width of the vehicle.

The EyesOn Design Awards support the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology's mission to assist and educate the visually impaired, help preserve vision by public and professional education and support research related to the eye.

Bike Candy:

motoblog.it: Britten V1000


THE END