BMW offers a comprehensive suite of premium vehicle maintenance services for absolutely no cost: buy a BMW now and pay no maintenance costs for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Share on FacebookNo, it isn’t actually a back seat driver, or if it is, it is the most helpful one you’ll meet. Introducing another one of BMW’s technological breakthroughs – the future Green Driving Assistant. It is a feature in the Navigation System that will map out your route and determine the most fuel efficient or “green route” available. The route might cost you a few minutes extra in the car, but the saved fuel makes it worthwhile. Says BMW, “What’s an extra ten minutes’ journey time when you can save three liters of fuel?”
The Green Driver will alert you if, when and where you’ll need to top off during the journey. The Filling Station Assist is a subfunction of the Green Driver and will show you the available gas stations along the green route. The system even defaults to your preferred fuel company, showing you the detour necessary to reach the desired gas station.
The Green Driver adapts to your style of driving within 500 km to accurately calculate fuel consumption and to determine when the gas stops should be made.
“The performance of the new 5 Series in these tough tests reflects BMW’s long held belief in a holistic approach to vehicle safety ” – Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America. |
The all-new BMW 5 Series was one of only two vehicles to receive an overall five-star rating in the first crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the new, more stringent New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).
New criteria for the NCAP rating system include: more stringent side-impact tests, use of crash-test dummies of varying size (now also simulating a small adult female as well as a medium-size adult male), collection of more data, introduction of a single overall rating score and the highlighting of high-tech crash avoidance systems like electronic stability control, lane departure warning and forward collision warning.
“The performance of the new 5 Series in these tough new tests reflects BMW’s long-held belief in a holistic approach to vehicle safety that places equal emphasis on active and passive safety,” said Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America. “That’s why we were the first to introduce the Head Protection System in 1997 and why we made Dynamic Stability Control, our electronic stability control system, standard on every BMW sold in the US beginning with the 2000 model year.”
The all-new 2011 BMW 5 Series is available with Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection, and Active Cruise Control with a Stop & Go feature. It is also available with Night Vision with Pedestrian Detection, a BMW first.
Every 2011 BMW 5 Series is equipped with BMW Assist which includes an enhanced Automatic Collision Notification system. This system, developed jointly with the William Lehman Trauma Center, not only contacts the emergency call center automatically in the event of a collision, but will also transmit data that will alert emergency responders to the probability of severe injury in order to help them better prepare.
Another important safety feature for drivers in colder climates is the availability of BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive, which is now available for the 535i and 550i Sedans as well as the 535i and 550i Gran Turismo.
Interested in the new 5 Series? Check out Kuni BMW’s current inventory
Introduced at the Paris Auto Show is yet another one of BMW’s breakthrough concepts, and something that will make every BMW owner’s life a little easier. It is an app you can download on your iPhone, iTouch or iPad that acts as a remote to control BMW Assist. With this app you can perform helpful functions even while away from your car. Some of these functions include unlocking/locking, Climate Control, Remote Light Flash (car lights up for identification purposes), Google Local Search (iPhone map/directions transfer to the vehicle’s Navigation System), and Vehicle Finder (a map that shows your vehicle’s current location for locating your parked car).
In other words…
With this remote, you can activate your car’s AC on a hot day before you ever reach the car. Or for the other extreme, your heated seats can be toasty before you sit down on a cold winter’s day.
You don’t have to hike back to your car to ascertain you locked it, because with a tap on your iPhone you can be assured it is locked.
When you are in a parking lot the size of Texas, you can locate your car’s exact location.
Will the app also drive your BMW to pick you up? Not yet…
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The BMW 6 Series Coupe Concept is the third generation 6 Series, debuting this October at the Paris Auto Show. Named a concept car, a very similar version of this car will be available for consumers as the next 6 Series. This car stands out as unique from the last 6 Series because it captures an elegance that the more muscular 6 Series does not have. It is similar in styling to the Gran Coupe Concept revealed earlier this year, with the major difference being that it is a 2-door rather than a 4-door.
It shares many features with the current 5-Series, including the L-shaped tail lights. A distinctive feature is the “shark-like” nose set on a beautifully contoured hood, and a forward-tilted kidney grille. Touches of chrome on the side windows are used to accentuate the classy look. The official figures are not available yet, but compared to the current 6 Series, BMW has promised a wider wheelbase with a similar length. These increased dimensions will give the cabin even more accommodation.
The fact that it is a coupe means that it caters to the driver. BMW Designer Van Hooydonk states,”It’s a coupe, a driver’s car. We think it should have a more driver-centric feel than our regular models.” The aesthetics of BMW’s interior only continue to rise to a higher and higher standard. For starters, the instrument panel is equipped with a 10.2-inch iDrive screen, and the sound system is phenomenal. Designed by Danish audio pros Bang & Olufsen, it is an audio system calibrated specifically for this car to achieve the perfect acoustics for both driver and passengers. Sixteen different speakers subtly placed around the cabin provide arguably the most advanced sound system ever created within a car.
The interior is not only functional, but also beautifully tailored. Top-quality leather trim with double stitching contrast nicely between the center console and the instrument panel. The instrument panel is the same stunning black featured in the 5 Series and 7 Series. Head-Up Display is another feature which provides the driver with important driving information projected on the windscreen easily viewable for the driver.
The engine line has yet to be revealed, although BMW promises an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
We are also promised a convertible version with a fabric roof available in 2011.
BMW is showcasing new cars and innovations at the Paris Auto Show in October. The new models include the BMW Concept 6 Series Coupe, the new X3, and the BMW 5 Series Touring (for European residents). The latest in entertainment technology is an iPad dock that can be attached to the back of the front seats, accessible for the rear seat passengers.
In addition, BMW’s new ConnectedDrive system is compatible with the Apple iOS4. With this compatibility, your BMW can become a mobile hotspot with the help of your iPhone, enabling your iPad to access the internet and its endless entertainment.
Another feature includes “hands-free tailgate opening”. A person standing behind the 5 Series can shake his foot and the trunk lid will open. This feature will be part of the optional Comfort Access Package offered on all 5 Series’ saloons by fall of 2011.
BMW is adding the option of an iPad dock for rear seat passengers. Combined with BMW’s compatibility with the Apple iOS4, a BMW owner can use his/her iPhone to generate a mobile hotspot within the car.
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