Keyword: bmw

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  • BMW Customer Sues After Motorcycle Causes Persistent Erection

    04/29/2012 2:25:34 PM PDT · by zeestephen · 70 replies
    msn.now ^ | 29 April 2012
    The rider claims that BMW's custom "ridge-like" Corbin-Pacific seat, on which he sat for a total of four hours, gave him priapism which has made him unable to engage in sexual activity to this day.
  • BMW tries to run over Constable

    04/22/2012 5:31:26 PM PDT · by SoftwareEngineer · 9 replies
    The Tribune (of Chandigarh, Panjab) ^ | April 22, 2012 | Tribune News Service
    Chandigarh, April 22 Four youths attacked a constable attached with the security of UT SSP Naunihal Singh last night. Constable Bhim Singh had a miraculous escape as the four tried to run their BMW over him on the road separating Sectors 10 and 16. All the four were later arrested in an attempt to murder case. The accused include an Australia returned youth and a juvenile. The police has arrested Bhavjeet Singh, Sahil Saini, Vikram Sachdeva and a student of class XII, all residents of Kharar. Bhavjeet’s father Palwinder Singh owns the BMW. The police said the accused had returned...
  • A World without Oil: Companies Prepare for a Fossil-Free Future

    04/02/2012 4:44:48 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 25 replies
    Der Spiegel ^ | 04/02/2012 | DIETMAR HAWRANEK, ALEXANDER JUNG, ALEXANDER SMOLTCZYK AND FLORIAN ZERFASS
    Drivers may hate rising gas prices, but some companies are delighted as they watch the oil price soar. Firms like BMW and Airbus, which are leaders in fuel efficiency. actually benefit from expensive oil. They are just two of a growing number of companies that are already developing technologies for a post-fossil-fuel world. …A few cents more and a liter of super unleaded gasoline will cost German drivers €1.80 (around $9 a gallon). That means that someone driving a BMW 3 Series will have to pay over €110 ($150) to fill up the tank, with its 63 liter (17 gallon)...
  • BMW introduces new 6-cylinder in-line diesel with 3 turbochargers for new M Performance models

    01/26/2012 7:35:38 AM PST · by Jack of all Trades · 61 replies
    Greencarcongress ^ | 1/26/2012
    BMW has introduced a new range of M Performance Automobiles featuring a new 6-cylinder in-line diesel developed exclusively for those applications. The engines, which feature three turbochargers, deliver maximum output reaching 280 kW/381 hp and peak torque of 740 N·m (546 lb-ft). The new engine is applied in the BMW M550d xDrive Sedan, BMW M550d xDrive Touring, BMW X5 M50d and BMW X6 M50d. The vehicles are also equipped with an eight-speed sports automatic gearbox and the intelligent all-wheel-drive system BMW xDrive tuned to suit each model, as well as BMW EfficientDynamics technologies, including Auto Start-Stop and ECO PRO mode....
  • Secret document reveals why BMW drivers are asshats

    12/21/2011 12:23:43 AM PST · by Impala64ssa · 166 replies
    A leaked document has revealed that the asshattery of BMW drivers may be more than coincidence. Failing to use turn signals, cutting off other drivers, tailgating, flipping the bird and other affronts to road civility have become indelibly associated with the Bavarian Marque. Why? According to the document, it's all part of a totally illegal customer loyalty scheme. This template document, issued to all BMW dealers (click the image below to expand), comes to us from an anonymous informant known only as "The Whistleblower." It clearly outlines a list of driving behaviors, recorded on the black boxes that have been...
  • When South Carolina met BMW

    08/25/2011 4:12:55 PM PDT · by MontaniSemperLiberi · 2 replies
    Richmond Federal Reserve's Research Department ^ | June 2011 | B E T T Y J OYC E N A S H
    Last April, the Spartanburg BMW plant rolled out 23,059 vehicles — three-quarters of them for export. (The BMW Group’s U.S. sales went up by 10 percent in 2010 over 2009.) The plant’s latest and biggest addition was announced in 2008, amid recession, and completed in late 2010: The company invested $750 million and added 1,600 jobs to tool up for the next generation of crossover sport utility vehicles, which BMW calls sports “activity” vehicles. But back in 1992, when the plant was announced, people wondered whether South Carolina’s workforce could produce these prestige vehicles. Since the 1970s, the state’s manufacturing...
  • Starving Palestinians Update: Smuggled BMW goes for $100,000

    08/15/2011 9:49:58 AM PDT · by Nachum · 2 replies
    Jihad Watch ^ | 8/15/11 | Robert
    High-salaried Palestinian Authority officials are the smugglers' clientele. So in other words, they are paying for these cars with your UN relief money. "Smuggling in North Sinai Surges as the Police Vanish," by David D. Kirkpatrick in the New York Times, August 14 (thanks to Bill): RAFAH, Egypt — The smuggler’s car lot is so brazenly out in the open, it is hard to tell that the business is actually illegal. A Bedouin car smuggler in Rafah, Egypt, can expect to make at least $2,000 per vehicle, after paying suppliers and bribes. Cars are driven from the chaos in Libya...
  • BMW layoffs exemplify the evisceration of the middle class

    07/03/2011 6:38:04 AM PDT · by Cincinatus' Wife · 132 replies
    Los Angeles Times ^ | July 3, 2011 | Michale Hilzik
    Every working American should be dismayed by — and afraid of — what BMW is doing. By all accounts, BMW's parts distribution warehouse in Ontario was one of the jewels of the company's system. Supplying dealer service departments throughout Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, it received gold medals from BMW for its efficiency and employed several of the top-ranked workers in the country. In the roughly 40 years its workers had been represented by the Teamsters union, there had never been a labor stoppage. Times being what they are, when a Teamsters committee came to the plant in early June...
  • BMW North America CEO: Electric vehicles "won't work for most people"

    04/26/2011 12:13:47 PM PDT · by AKSurprise · 48 replies
    Autoblog Green ^ | 04/25/2011 | Eric Loveday
    BMW North America chairman and chief executive officer, Jim O'Donnell, told the Detroit News that he's "far more optimistic" about diesel vehicles boosting the automaker's U.S. market share than electric vehicles (EVs) and added that the U.S. government should cancel its $7,500 tax credit for electrified autos: "I believe in a free economy. I think we should abolish all tax credits. What they are doing is putting a bet on technology, which is not appropriate. As a taxpayer, I am not sure this is the right way to go." But that's not all that O'Donnell had to say. The CEO...
  • Ashley Turton Crashed Under the Influence

    02/11/2011 3:54:25 PM PST · by Gabrial · 132 replies
    Politico ^ | 2/11/10 | John Bresnahan
    Ashley Turton, a former Democratic aide whose death last month shocked friends and colleagues on Capitol Hill, was under the influence of alcohol when she crashed her car into the family garage early on the morning of Jan. 10, an autopsy found. According to a statement released Friday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia, Turton died from the “inhalation of products of combustion and thermal burns” caused by a fire after her car crashed into the garage of the Turton’s Capitol Hill home. Turton, a mother of three, was also under the influence...
  • Autopsy: Lobbyist was drunk at time of fatal accident in garage

    02/11/2011 5:43:14 PM PST · by Free ThinkerNY · 68 replies
    The Hill ^ | Feb. 11, 2011 | Jordy Yager
    Ashley Turton, a former senior aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), was intoxicated when she died in an accident last month, according to an autopsy report. Turton, who was working as an energy lobbyist at the time of the accident, died from the “inhalation of products of combustion and thermal burns,” according to Beverly Fields of the D.C. Chief Medical Examiner’s office. “Acute alcohol intoxication” was a contributing factor in her death, Fields said. Turton was found dead inside of her burned SUV, which apparently caught fire in the early morning hours inside of her garage on Capitol Hill. Turton...
  • Report: Car Headlights Suspect in Death of White House Adviser's Wife

    02/09/2011 2:54:05 AM PST · by crosslink · 531 replies
    Fox news ^ | Feb 9 2011 | Fox news
    <p>Several sources familiar with the ongoing investigation tell WTOP fire and police investigators believe the radiator in Turton's 2008 BMW X5 was punctured when it rolled into a workbench. The halogen headlights, which emit a bluish light and illuminate the road better than conventional headlights, stayed on after the radiator was punctured.</p>
  • Former employee takes hostages at BMW's French headquarters (Developing)

    11/08/2010 7:14:55 AM PST · by Cheap_Hessian · 4 replies
    RFI (AFP) ^ | November 8, 2010
    An irate former employee has taken hostages at a the headquarters of BMW in France, in Montigny-Le-Bretonneux.
  • BMW drivers are angriest on road

    10/23/2010 4:31:58 PM PDT · by Daffynition · 73 replies
    The Telegraph ^ | 12 Oct 2010
    Motorists who own the flashy German built cars are more likely to tailgate, flick the finger and speed than anyone else on the road, a poll revealed. More than half of all drivers said they had suffered a 'bad experience' at the hands of a BMW driver. Much-maligned white van men came second in the poll, followed by Audi drivers and those who own Fords and Land Rovers. Other motorists to make the top ten included Vauxhall drivers who were seventh. Drivers of Range Rovers, Volkswagen and Mercedes complete the top ten. The study of 3,000 motorists also showed 17...
  • New BMWs To Sport Apple Interface, iPad And iPod Out Integration

    09/21/2010 3:41:26 PM PDT · by stripes1776 · 20 replies
    CrunchGear ^ | September 20, 2010 | Kyle Thibaut
    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 machines....Well now it’s official, BMW will have it out this year, and it’s also going to support the iPad—but they call it “Original BMW Accessories – BMW Carrier for Apple iPad Office Mode.” (How official!) What’s cool about this is that...
  • Luxury Drivers, Beware (Front Wheel Drive vs. Rear Wheel Drive)

    03/26/2010 7:34:53 AM PDT · by Responsibility2nd · 37 replies · 1,433+ views
    Wall Street Journal ^ | 03/24/2010 | Joseph B. White
    When BMW AG Chairman Norbert Reithofer declared last week that his company would start making front-wheel-drive BMWs, there were screams from Stuttgart to Sacramento. BMW, after all, had built the Ultimate Driving Machine franchise on rear-wheel-drive cars. Now Mr. Reithofer appears to be chipping away at what made luxury cars so luxurious. Auto enthusiasts—including many automotive designers and engineering executives, as well as wealthy car buyers—generally prefer cars to have the driving wheels in the back. It makes a difference in the way a car handles and steers. That difference is instantly recognizable but hard to define. A rear-drive car...
  • Bellevue man arrested for driving 135 mph on 520 bridge

    03/25/2010 10:36:02 AM PDT · by skeptoid · 30 replies · 705+ views
    Vladislav O. Orlovskii, 24, of Bellevue, was booked into King County Jail on Saturday, March 20 for suspicions of DUI and reckless driving after a trooper spotted his vehicle traveling over 135 mph in the eastbound lanes of SR-520 across the floating bridge between Seattle and Medina.
  • Fastest road-legal diesel car - AC Schnitzer (BMW) sets world record

    12/17/2009 5:50:45 AM PST · by Red Badger · 27 replies · 1,022+ views
    www.worldrecordsacademy.org ^ | 12-17-2009 | Staff
    NARDO, Italy -- BMW tuning company AC Schnitzer has build the Schnitzer ACS 3.5d coupe, which recorded a top speed of 288.7kph (179.2mph) on the famous Nardo Ring in Southern Italy - setting the new world record for the Fastest road-legal diesel car. The Fastest road-legal diesel car uses a twin-turbocharged 282bhp three-litre diesel with 428lb-ft that has been tuned to produced 310bhp and 501lb-ft. (enlarge photo) The Fastest road-legal diesel car capable of reaching 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds, and it also gets racing suspension, two racing exhaust-pipes, front and rear spoilers and skirts, and 20" alloys with the power...
  • BMW's Diesel Plug-In Hybrid: 63 mpg, Faster Than an M3

    11/27/2009 8:18:12 AM PST · by thackney · 61 replies · 2,844+ views
    Gearlog ^ | November 23, 2009 | Bill Howard
    BMW's EfficientDynamics Vision concept car combines the best of all worlds with incredible fuel efficiency, breaktaking performance, and sensational looks. It's powered by a three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, lithium polymer batteries, and electric motors front and rear. The BMW Vision gets a U.S. unveiling next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Dec. 4-13. The only bad news: The BMW Vision is more vision than production-ready concept car. What you'd most likely see on sale would be the key components such as the drivetrain and battery technology transplanted to a more mainstream body. On a stopover from Europe en route to...
  • BMW profit skids 74% (no enduring recovery)

    11/03/2009 3:05:42 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 33 replies · 999+ views
    Market Watch ^ | 11/03/09 | Polya Lesova
    BMW profit skids 74% By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- BMW Tuesday reported a 74% decline in third-quarter net profit, as the recession deterred buyers of luxury cars. Third-quarter net profit dropped 74% to 78 million euros ($115 million) from the same period a year ago. Revenue fell by 6.6% to 11.76 billion euros. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a profit of 39 million euros on sales of 11.97 billion euros.
  • BMW confirm shock Formula One exit! (WOW! F1 fans)

    07/29/2009 9:17:24 AM PDT · by God luvs America · 25 replies · 915+ views
    BMW confirmed this morning that they are to leave Formula One at the end of the season stating that the resources ‘freed up’ from its exit from the sport will be deployed in other areas. The German car maker took over the Sauber team in 2006 and has since gone on to record one victory. “Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “But I can understand why this decision was...
  • BMW's Profits Tumble Nearly 90%

    03/25/2009 2:22:38 PM PDT · by Steelfish · 6 replies · 431+ views
    BBC ^ | March 25, 2009
    BMW's profits tumble nearly 90% BMW makes the Mini car in Oxford BMW's net profits tumbled nearly 90% to 330m euros ($423m; £306m) last year, as the global economy weakened and reduced demand for cars. Earnings were hit by 2.4bn euros of exceptional costs linked to bad debts, personnel costs and provisions to cover risks on used car markets. Separately, the European Investment Bank made a 400m euros loan to BMW as part of a wider industry package. The EIB approved 3bn euros in loans to the European auto industry. The money will go to German, Italian, French and Swedish...
  • Swiss gigolo Helg Sgarbi admits blackmail

    03/09/2009 7:34:04 AM PDT · by pissant · 38 replies · 1,748+ views
    Telegraph UK ^ | 3/9/09 | Nick Squires
    Swiss con man Helg Sgarbi has been sentenced to six years in jail after admitting sleeping with and blackmailing a succession of rich women out of millions of pounds including BMW heiress Susanne Klatten. The 44-year-old wined and dined a string of rich wives and widows, including Germany's wealthiest woman Mrs Klatten, winning their confidence and then asking for money.
  • The playboy, the BMW heir and sexual blackmail claim

    03/09/2009 2:24:47 AM PDT · by PghBaldy · 5 replies · 806+ views
    The Guardian ^ | March 9 | Kate Connolly
    The case of a Swiss playboy who allegedly seduced Germany's richest woman, defrauded her of millions of euros and tried to blackmail her out of millions more by revealing details of their sexual encounters, is to be laid bare today in a Munich courtroom where he is due to go on trial. In a case that has become known as "the gigolo versus the billionaire", Helg Sgarbi, 44, could face up to 15 years in jail if he is convicted of the crimes against Susanne Klatten, the heir of BMW and the 55th richest person in the world, and five...
  • Luxury Cars Targets Of Meltdown Rage[Coming Soon To A Dealership Near You]

    02/28/2009 6:25:36 PM PST · by Steelfish · 19 replies · 1,849+ views
    Times of India ^ | February 28, 2009
    Luxury cars targets of meltdown rage 1 Mar 2009 When Berlin resident Simone Klostermann returned from vacation and couldn’t find her Mercedes SLK, she thought it had been towed. Police told her the $45,000 car had been torched. “They’d squirted something flammable into the car’s engine block in the gap between the windshield and the hood,” said Klostermann. The 34-year-old’s experience isn’t unique in the German capital. At least 29 vehicles were destroyed in arson attacks this year, most of them luxury cars, according to police. The number is already about 30% of the total for 2008. The latest to...
  • Warning To 223,000 Mini Drivers After Cars Suffer Sudden Failure In Power Steering

    02/18/2009 2:08:16 PM PST · by Steelfish · 17 replies · 931+ views
    DailyMail(U.K.) ^ | February 18, 2009
    Warning to 223,000 Mini drivers after cars suffer sudden failure in power steering By Daily Mail Reporter 18th February 2009 Angry drivers are urging Mini to recall almost a quarter of a million cars following a spate of sudden power steering failures. Many motorists have had frightening experiences and near-miss crashes after the system abruptly cut out, making controlling their vehicles extremely difficult. The fault is believed to be a problem in 223,000 Minis bought between 2001 and 2007. At risk: Models of Minis bought between 2001 and 2007 can display the fault Following an investigation by the BBC's Watchdog...
  • BMW To Cut 850 Jobs At Oxford Mini Plant: [Workers Booed and Threw Apples And Oranges At Managers]

    02/16/2009 10:07:39 AM PST · by Steelfish · 62 replies · 1,601+ views
    London Times ^ | February 16, 2009
    February 16, 2009 BMW to cut 850 jobs at Oxford Mini plant Marcus Leroux and Jenny Booth BMW, the German vehicle maker, today announced plans to lay off 850 weekend agency staff at its Mini factory in Cowley, near Oxford, as the slowdown in demand for cars worsens. Agency workers leaving Cowley this morning expressed their anger at being given just one hour’s notice of losing their job. The company made the announcements just as the staff affected were finishing their shift. "It’s a disgrace. I feel as though I’ve been used. We should have been given one month’s notice,...
  • 9 Million GM - 9 Million Toyota

    Jim DeMint should be cloned! BMW in SC is in the process of a $750 million dollar expansion. “This is a business problem, and it cannot be solved with a political solution.”-Sen. Jim DeMint
  • Toyota, BMW, Hyundai Workers' Senators Oppose Rescue

    11/17/2008 9:26:39 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 30 replies · 1,806+ views
    11/17/08 | Alison Fitzgerald and Jonathan D. Salant
    Toyota, BMW, Hyundai Workers' Senators Oppose Rescue
  • Hot News: BMW's Electric Car

    05/04/2008 8:32:36 PM PDT · by Flavius · 48 replies · 160+ views
    autospies ^ | 5/8/08 | na
    ot News: BMW's Electric Car BMW is poised to give the go-ahead to a tiny Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) that will help to revolutionise city-centre driving. The rear-engined city car could be called Isetta and will first arrive in American showrooms in 2012. The project was created because of new Californian regulations (soon to be copied by 12 other US states) which require big car makers to sell between a few hundred and a few thousand ZEVs every year from 2012.
  • BMW M1 Homage Concept Revealed!

    04/28/2008 6:25:16 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 32 replies · 94+ views
    inventorspot.com ^ | 04/27/2008 | Staff
    Back in the mid 1970's, BMW exploded into the Midship Engine realm with a sexy little car called the M1. It has since been laid to rest and been reflected upon with sadness and envy. Jump to 2008, and BMW has released a concept design that they are dubbing the "M1 Homage." First off, BMW has made it very clear that this is a "concept design" and there are no "official" plans for production. However, keep in mind that there have also been rumors circulating that BMW was going to make a return to the Midship engine genre of...
  • BMW 520d beats Prius in gas mileage

    04/03/2008 7:31:32 PM PDT · by paul in cape · 41 replies · 390+ views
    Autoblog.com ^ | Mar 23rd 2008 | Jonathon Ramsey
    Readers of London's Sunday Times kept telling the auto reporters that the official mileage numbers for the Prius were overstated by about 15 imperial mpg. Intrigued, the Times decided to test things out by running a Prius against a BMW 520d with regenerative braking from London to Geneva, a 460-mile trip. Then they added 100 miles of urban running to give the Prius a chance to recover ground on its proper turf. The verdict: the conventional diesel with Efficient Dynamics beat the full hybrid by 2.2 imperial mpg, or 1.8 US mpg. This means that an executive sedan with all...
  • Toyota Prius proves a gas guzzler in a race with the BMW 520d

    03/18/2008 7:59:57 AM PDT · by ZGuy · 143 replies · 3,665+ views
    TimesOnline ^ | 3/16/08
    The Toyota hybrid is hailed as an eco-paragon, so how does it fare against a big BMW? To find out our correspondents go on a run to Geneva. The Prius, like the iPod, is more than a piece of clever technology. It symbolises something bigger – a responsible attitude, a healthier way of living. Toyota has sold more than a million examples of the car since launching it in 1997 and it has attracted a worldwide following led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and much of the rest of Hollywood. It’s classified by the American government as the “most fuel-efficient...
  • BMW Cuts at Home, Builds Up US Factories

    03/09/2008 11:21:01 PM PDT · by Vince Ferrer · 45 replies · 1,420+ views
    AP ^ | March 9, 2008 | Page Ivey
    COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- On one side of the Atlantic Ocean, BMW says it will cut 7.5 percent of its work force over two years. On this side of the water, the company says it plans to increase production by more than 50 percent by 2012. "This is completely driven by the plunge in the dollar," said Greg Gardner with Oliver Wyman, publisher of the Harbour Report on automotive manufacturing activity. "It is untenable to produce at a much higher cost in Germany." The euro climbed to record heights Friday, reaching $1.5463 before falling back to $1.5335 in late trading...
  • Detroit '08 Preview: 2009 Hyundai Genesis shakes things up (Under $30K RWD Luxury Car)

    03/04/2008 5:53:32 PM PST · by 2ndDivisionVet · 14 replies · 403+ views
    AutoBlog ^ | January 8, 2008 | John Neff
    What you are looking at is the physical representation of Hyundai's will to succeed in the U.S., also known as the 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The Korean automaker's first attempt at a rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan will debut in Detroit next week and arrive on our shores later this year (we think) with a price tag that starts below $30,000. As is Hyundai's way, it will feature power, performance and amenities that belie its little price tag. First, the design. The Genesis sedan has clean lines and uncluttered surfaces that look detailed and, frankly, expensive. Yes, it's derivative. There's a bit of...
  • Five dead after car crashes off end of private airstrip

    01/26/2008 10:13:45 PM PST · by dayglored · 81 replies · 351+ views
    CNN.com ^ | Sat Jan 26, 2008 | (none given)
    (CNN) -- Five young men died Saturday when the car they were in drove off the end of a private airstrip near Ocala, Florida, became airborne for 200 feet and slammed into an oak tree, authorities said. "This had to be the worst vehicle crash that I have ever seen during my career," said Randy Robinson, a spokesman for the Emergency Medical Services Alliance with 27 years on the job. The 2008 BMW was split in two in the wreck, which happened at 3:45 a.m., said Lt. Mike Burroughs, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol Troop B. He told...
  • Driver tried to kill self, friend in graveyard fountain, police say

    12/17/2007 8:33:03 PM PST · by SmithL · 4 replies · 86+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12/17/7 | Henry K. Lee
    KENSINGTON - A Vallejo man tried to kill himself and a female companion by driving their car into a fountain at a Kensington cemetery, police said today. David Duane Lewis, 45, intentionally crashed the BMW into the fountain at the Sunset View Cemetery and Mortuary about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Kensington Police Chief Greg Harman said. El Cerrito police officers were then called to a nearby disturbance involving Lewis and his companion, Harman said. The officers concluded it was related to the crash at the cemetery, where the BMW was found submerged in the water, the police chief said. Lewis was...
  • Crash Claims 4th Victim (Killed by drunk illegals)

    10/31/2007 11:30:44 PM PDT · by BykrBayb · 64 replies · 296+ views
    6ABC ^ | October 31, 2007
    October 31, 2007 - A fourth person is dead because of a grinding crash Monday night in Newark. Delaware State Police investigators report the driver of the Honda, Matthew Wilson, 23, died Tuesday night because of his injuries. The sole survivor of the BMW, Hector Villa Gran-Merida, 18, is out of a coma, but still in critical condition. The driver of the BMW, Israel Palmero Merida, 17, did not have a drivers license. Police believe drunk driving and speeding led to the horrific crash that killed four people and critically injured one other in Newark, Delaware Monday night. Around 9:45...
  • O.C. Woman Booked In Bicyclist's Death

    10/15/2007 10:27:51 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 3 replies · 121+ views
    (CBS) ^ | Oct 15, 2007 9:18 am US/Pacific
    DANA POINT, Calif. A San Juan Capistrano woman whose blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when her BMW veered off a Dana Point road early Monday and fatally struck a man on a bicycle was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, authorities said. Michelle Stearns, 26, was arrested at the scene of the roughly 1:55 a.m. accident along Del Obispo Street near Quail Run, Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department said. Stearns was driving north on Del Obispo when she lost control of the car, went over the curb, hit a traffic sign and struck...
  • BMW's Quandt Family to Investigate Wealth Amassed in Third Reich

    10/13/2007 2:35:45 AM PDT · by Argentine-Firecracker · 31 replies · 450+ views
    Spiegel Online ^ | October 12, 2007 | Julia Bonstein, Dietmar Hawranek and Klaus Wiegrefe
    By Germany's wealthy and reclusive Quandt family, a major BMW shareholder, has gone on the defensive. For decades the family repressed its Nazi past, but a new documentary film provides new photos of old revelations that have prompted the Quandts to confront their own history of using slave laborers in factories during World War II.It is difficult to ignore the stories of former forced laborers during the Nazi era. Their memories are painful to listen to, even when they are presented calmly and without any finger-pointing. One former forced laborer telling his story today is Carl-Adolf Soerensen, a former Danish...
  • Boxy East German icon plans comeback (Bringing back the Trabant)

    09/07/2007 8:00:39 AM PDT · by jalisco555 · 39 replies · 5,359+ views
    Reuters ^ | 9/6/07 | Adam Williams
    BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall a German company plans to give the Trabant, a stinky two-cylinder car that became the symbol of communist East Germany, a new lease of life. The new Trabants will no longer have tiny engines, noxious fumes and plastic bodies but will retain the iconic design of the original -- like Volkswagen's new Beetle or the new Mini. The Trabant was the most common vehicle in the former East Germany and was produced without major changes for nearly 30 years. Known in the West as a "spark plug...
  • BMW CEO Fuming Over Chinese Knock-Off Of Popular X5 SUV. (Pics)

    08/28/2007 11:27:43 AM PDT · by LibWhacker · 130 replies · 4,912+ views
    CEOSMACK ^ | 8/28/07
    BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer is not happy. In a case which proves that nothing is immune to the sleight of hand of Chinese manufacturers and their ability and willingness to clone any product on earth, BMW has been forced to threaten legal action over a cheap knock-off version of their popular X5 SUV. The Chinese-made SUV which ironically enough is called CEO is almost identical in appearance to BMW’s X5…especially from the rear. “We have already taken steps against the marketing of the CEO (SUV) in Europe. Should this car be presented at the IAA, we will look into taking...
  • Ford eyes sale of Volvo, BMW interested.

    05/29/2007 8:18:37 AM PDT · by mr. mojo risin · 21 replies · 1,215+ views
    Reuters ^ | 5-28-2007 | Reuters
    STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Loss-making Ford Motor Co. is planning to sell Swedish car maker Volvo and German carmaker BMW could be a possible buyer, a Swedish newspaper said on Monday. The Goteborgs Posten daily reported on its website that a source within Ford said BMW has been studying a possible purchase of Volvo. The Financial Times also reported last Friday BMW was in informal talks to buy Volvo. "We cannot comment on speculation, this is a question for our owner," said a spokeswoman for Volvo cars. Ford bought Volvo in 1999 and it is now part of the U.S. company's...
  • BMW 'wants to buy Volvo'

    05/10/2007 9:42:25 AM PDT · by WesternCulture · 53 replies · 1,221+ views
    www.thelocal.se ^ | 05/10/2007 | TT/The Local
    German carmaker BMW wants to buy Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars from Ford, it has been reported. British car magazine Autocar, quoting sources in the car industry, wrote that BMW had hired a European investment bank to analyse Volvo. The magazine added that BMW had also looked at Italian company Alfa Romeo, currently owned by Fiat. Car industry analysts told Autocar that BMW wants to broaden its brand portfolio to strengthen future growth. It was also suggested that Volvo would improve BMW's environmental and safety profiles. But car industry analysts who spoke to Swedish news agency TT dismissed the idea of Volvo...
  • Special Delivery (How To Buy a BMW in Germany)

    03/19/2007 4:05:56 AM PDT · by FormerACLUmember · 52 replies · 6,773+ views
    The Truth About Cars ^ | 3/18/07 | Jay Shoemaker
    This wasn’t the first time I’d opted for European delivery. In fact, after counting all the license plates I’d collected from these international adventures, I discovered I was on my eighth visit. Normally, when my wife learns I want to go to Stuttgart or Munich, she digs in her proverbial heels. So I had to package my automotive connection with a week in Paris. I made the arrangements to pick up a BMW 335 at the Munich factory. Here’s how the deal went down… My local BMW dealer booked my order, and then faxed my specifications and delivery date to...
  • Cars may not be essential anymore

    12/11/2006 6:50:33 AM PST · by LurkedLongEnough · 103 replies · 2,454+ views
    The News-Times [Danbury, CT] ^ | December 11, 2006 | Mark Langlois
    For all the nonsense about the love affair between Americans and their cars, people seem to spend a whole lot of time and effort to avoid climbing into a car. Super Stop & Shop's Peapod provides home delivery of groceries. That eliminates one's weekly trip to the grocery store. Get the grocery list online, pick the items, and the food appears in the insulated box outside your house. People can go to Match, Jdate, EHarmony and Match.com to start dating without even heading to a bar. What happened to joining the ski club? What happened to taking night classes? Tennis,...
  • Genuine Excerpts (Humor Break)

    11/15/2006 9:13:17 AM PST · by VA Voter · 30 replies · 1,646+ views
    email
    The following are all replies that Dallas TX women have written on Child Support Agency forms in the section for listing "father's details". These are genuine excerpts from the forms (truth be told??). 1. Regarding. the identity of the father of my twins, child "A" was fathered by Jim M. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of child "B", but I believe that he was conceived on the same night. 2. I am unsure, as to the identity of the father of my child as I was being sick out of a window when taken unexpectedly...
  • U.S. automakers still losing money despite restructuring plans

    10/25/2006 6:13:41 PM PDT · by Extremely Extreme Extremist · 42 replies · 815+ views
    WFRV.COM ^ | 25 OCTOBER 2006 | AP
    Wednesday October 25, 2006 By TOM KRISHER AP Business Writer DETROIT (AP) -- From July to September, GM, Ford and Chrysler racked up losses as large as the entire annual gross domestic product of Africa's Malawi. That's $7.5 billion. Despite the massive losses, company officials and some industry analysts say the Big Three can do little more than wait for drastic cost cuts to kick in and new products to take hold before they can staunch the bleeding. All three reported third-quarter losses this week, with General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group joining the misery Wednesday. A $1.5...
  • Electric Mini: 0-60 in 4 seconds: It has motors in its wheels

    09/01/2006 10:29:12 AM PDT · by Responsibility2nd · 101 replies · 2,130+ views
    Treehugger ^ | 08/30/2006 | Justin Thomas
    A British engineering firm has put together a high-performance hybrid version of BMW's Mini Cooper. The PML Mini QED has a top speed of 150 mph, a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. The car uses a small gasoline engine with four 160 horsepower electric motors — one on each wheel. The car has been designed to run for four hours of combined urban/extra urban driving, powered only by a battery and bank of ultra capacitors. The QED supports an all-electric range of 200-250 miles and has a total range of about 932 miles (1,500 km). For longer journeys at...
  • F1: HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX - Live on Speed Channel 7:30AM EST

    08/05/2006 1:17:30 PM PDT · by soccer_maniac · 18 replies · 896+ views
    Formula1.com ^ | 8-5-06 | Formula1.com
    Two-second penalties for both Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher set up a thrilling qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon. With the two key championship contenders eliminated before the top-ten shootout, the honours for pole position fell right at the very end to McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, whose last-gasp lap of 1m 19.599s came just as Felipe Massa looked to have bagged the first Formula One pole of his career. Also, Hungarian Grand Prix stewards have cancelled American Scott Speed’s three fastest qualifying times as punishment for impeding another driver during Saturday’s session. The move means the Toro...