Fantastic car

2009 BMW SIMPLE and CLEVER Concept

BMW Simple Concept 2009 - Front Angle View

The BMW Simple is 110 centimeters wide and its configuration for two people sitting one behind the other. Plus it boasts the dynamic driving style typical of a two-wheeler, allowing you to lean right into corners as desired. The designation “simple” is an acronym of the project name “A sustainable and innovative mobility product for low energy consumption”. All that is needed to power this lightweight vehicle with a kerb weight of approx. 450 kg is a 36 kW combustion engine. The BMW Simple weighs 450 kg and is powered by a kW combustion engine. It can get from 0 to 100 km/h in around 10 seconds and has a drag coefficient of 0.18. Using the electric motor and the combustion engine, the Simple would need just 6 kWh (equivalent to 0.7 litres of petrol) or two litres over 100 km.

BMW Simple Concept 2009 - Front Side View

2009 BMW Simple Concept - Cockpit View

2009 BMW Simple Concept - Interior View

CLEVER is the acronym for “Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport” and refers to a research project aimed at producing a low-emission, practical city vehicle. The BMW CLEVER is around 3 metres long, 1 metre wide and 1.4 metres tall, weighs in at under 400 kilograms and offers no more than a square metre of frontal area to the airstream. The researchers opted for a fully developed single-cylinder engine with 230 cc displacement and output of 12.5 kW, powered by natural gas from two compressed-gas cylinders. The BMW CLEVER accelerates from standstill to 60 km/h in around 7 seconds, going on to a top speed of approx. 100 km/h. The two gas cylinders each contain 1.7 kilograms of CNG to provide a range of about 200 kilometres.

2009 BMW Simple Concept - Rear Angle View

BMW Clever Concept 2009 - Front Angle View

2009 BMW Clever Concept - Front Side View

Talking about BMW 1 Series

BMW 1 Series 116d Sport

BMW 1 Series 116d Sport

IN these days of financial crises and overwhelming environmental concerns, down-sizing continues to gain momentum.

Not so long ago, BMW was happily continuing down the road doing what luxury car makers do best, providing well built, executive motors for the discerning buyer.

While it took the Bavarian car giant until 2004 to enable customers to sample the capabilities of a smaller BMW, the arrival of the 1 Series did prove to have been well worth the wait. More than 110,000 have been sold in Britian since the September 2004 launch.

To satisfy owners who enjoy a multitude of fixtures and fittings, this baby BMW series comes with five generous levels of trim and specification, standard, ES, Sport, SE and M Sport, and driven here is the 1 Series five-door 116d.

This boasts Sport trim which includes the likes of manual air con, electrically operated windows and door mirrors, leather steering wheel with multi function controls, six-speaker sound system with single CD and MP3 compatibility and on board computer.

The cabin offers plenty of leg, shoulder and elbow room within a driving environment which proves very user friendly. However, the rear of the cabin is just adequate rather than extensive, the rear seating space, leg and headroom being far from generous when considering larger sized adults.

The luggage bay is fairly accommodating, delivering some 330 litres of stowage space with all seats taken while, with the 60/40 split rear seats folded, the cargo area extends to 1,150 litres.

In addition, there are a number of places in which to store your bits and bobs while six airbags, with front passenger airbag deactivation, tyre puncture warning system, child seat ISOFIX and a thoughtfully placed incorrect fuelling protection system all add to the safety features manifest.

The strikingly well sculpted 1 Series still has the ability to turn heads after five years on the road and with double signature headlamps, wide front wheel arches, a long bonnet leading to a steeply raked windscreen and a wheel at each corner set up all indicate that here is a fine handling machine.

At the hub of a BMW is always the power plant and, earlier this year, the German car giant introduced its latest contender for financial and environmentally efficient honours, the 116d.

Despite its 116 billing, this power source is actually a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine which produces 116bhp. Paired with a slick switching six-speed manual gearbox, the car proved capable of a very spritely 10.3 seconds for the 0-62mph dash, en route to a maximum speed of 124mph.

On the road this eye catching rear-wheel-drive hatchback showed off its strong performance capabilities with great aplomb. While perhaps some may question the firmness of the ride, there is some superb torsional control to enjoy.

Highly effective stability and traction control systems deliver stacks of grip while corner and dynamic brake controls with electronic brakeforce distribution also contribute to effectively maintaining total control over the proceedings, along with some sharply responsive power steering and well balanced handling.

While it may perhaps be a tad expensive for some, the 1 Series 1600's performance derives great benefit from the BMW EfficientDynamics intelligent energy management system responsible for the fuel saving and lower CO2 emissions which have contributed to the car being considered to be the Bavarian car maker's most efficient and least polluting vehicle to date, with a claimed 64.2mpg return over the combined driving cycle and CO2 emissions of just 118g/km.

Add to the equation Band B Vehicle Excise Duty of £35 a year plus the lowest diesel benefit in kind rating of 13% and the BMW 1 Series 116d becomes a very attractive proposition that should make sound economic sense in these trying times.

Very fantastic brand cars in the world - BMW

First BMW Premium Selection Centre

The newly built showroom is a two-floor, 28,000 square feet building which houses a café, touch-up centres and PDI bays. This state-of-the-art facility allows customers to select a car of their choice in comfort and convenience.

A press conference was held on 4 December 2008 to officiate the opening. Geoffrey Briscoe, BMW Malaysia’s Managing Director and Vijayaratnam Tharutmartnam, BMW Head of Corporate Affairs were present.

On 5 December 2008, Auto Bavaria BMW Premium Selection organized a cocktail night to symbolize the opening of the showroom. The night started with a welcoming speech from Mathias Heimann, Managing director of Auto Bavaria followed by Thirumurugan Shanmugam, Manager of Pre-Owned Selections.

Over a 100 guests celebrated the opening of the BMW Premium Selection showroom enjoyed dinner while entertained by a live jazz band.

BMW Premium Selection offers the widest range of premium quality pre-owned BMWs in Malaysia. BMW Premium Selection not only carries top quality cars but cars that are selected based on exceptionally high standards. All vehicles must have an approved and documented vehicle history as part of the criteria, undergo a strict 72-point check, are technically and visually refurbished, and have less than five years or less than 100,000km mileage. Further premium services such as a 12-month warranty and Roadside assistance are included in the programme.

To find out more about the BMW Premium Selection programme, please call 03-5569 6688 or log on to www.autobavaria.com

Category model bmw at Malaysia

BMW Malaysia adds 4 new models to it’s line-up this year, the BMW 325i Sports Sedan variant, the BMW 323i Coupe, the amazing BMW 335i Coupe, as well as the BMW Z4 M Coupe. All of the new cars are fully imported except for the BMW 325i Sports Sedan which recently began CKD production.

The locally assembled BMW 325i comes with a Sports package, which includes an M Aerodynamics kit, 18″ Star Spoke M Light Alloy Wheels with runflat tyres, M Sports Suspension as well as an M Leather Steering Wheel. Also first in it’s class is a navigation system – yes, the 325i Sports comes with sat nav in the form of I-Drive.

Making it’s debut in the local market is the new E92 3 Coupe in 323i and wickedly fast 335i form. Some say the 335i outperforms the E46 BMW M3 in certain areas, as the car features BMW’s new twin turbocharged inline-6 engine which has virtually no turbo lag at all. Read more about the 335i Coupe in a previous test drive report. The new member of the Malaysian M family is the BMW Z4 M Coupe, featuring a tweaked 3.2 inline-6 from the E46 BMW M3 with a 6-speed manual.

The 4 new models will are now available in all BMW authorised dealership showrooms, and the following are the prices:

BMW 325i Sports – RM 306,800
BMW 323i Coupe – RM 338,000
BMW 335i Coupe – RM 468,000
BMW Z4M Coupe – RM 569,000