Next-generation M5 to feature twin-turbo V-8

In a move that seems to echo efficiency discussions in boardrooms everywhere, Edmunds.com's Inside Line has confirmed through BMW that the auto manufacturer will drop the existing V-10 engine in the M5 and replace it with a twin-turbocharged V-8.

This is the first time BMW will have reduced engine displacement in the M5; the first iteration featured a straight-six, while the E39 M5 was motivated by a 400-hp V-8. Currently, the rear-wheel drive über-car features a 5.0-liter V-10 that delivers 500 hp but just 17 mpg on average.

The smaller displacement engine and a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission should help assuage concerns regarding CO2 output and fuel consumption. However, the new engine will reportedly produce closer to 600 horsepower, a number that indicates BMW is aiming to improve efficiency in its lineup while actually increasing power. We can't imagine many buyers having a problem with that concept.

The newest M should be released as a 2012 model following an overall redesign for the 5 Series in 2011.

-- Alison Lakin

Lakin is a staff writer at DriverSide.com.

Photo: 2009 BMW M5, Photo Credit: Edmunds

BMW quits Formula 1. It is now the Sarah Palin of F1 and the future of KERS

BMW will bug out of Formula 1 racing at the end of the 2009 season, company officials announced today, to which we say – in a collective exhalation of stunned amazement -- Wha…? Perhaps a Scooby Doo-like “Huh-hhhh?" The premium German automaker, based in Munich, attempted to put the best face on the announcement, not unlike a certain former Alaskan governor. 

In a press conference today (full release after the jump), BMW AG board member Dr. Norbert Reithofer claimed the move was a “resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment. ...  Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability.”

 Uh-huh. Indeed, not retreat, but advancing in another direction.

 There’s a problem with this green smokescreen, of course, and that is that BMW had positioned its F1 effort as the spearhead of its advanced green technology initiative. I was just in BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen’s office in November and he explained to me, with a seemingly straight face, that the company’s hybrid research was being channeled through the F1 program’s KERS development. KERS stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems -- a means by which to recover energy lost under braking, capturing it either mechanically (with a flywheel) or electrochemically (with a battery). Theissen told me engineers from the road car division had been integrated into the F1 program precisely to aid technology transfer.

But what about the roughly 200 million Euros BMW kicks into the fire every year to go racing in F1? A little-known and largely unappreciated fact is, top-tier teams make money in F1 through sponsorship and merchandise. This decision was driven solely by the costs of losing to the Werks’ image.

Here’s my take: The KERS initiative has been a dismal failure and a distraction for the team, which has posted no wins and scored a mere eight championship points in 10 races. Although it’s impossible to know from the outside, it appears that the team’s results suffered at the hands of the corporation’s larger image/technology goals.

In any event, it’s one thing for Honda – which pulled out of F1 last year – to be a backmarker in the sport. It simply doesn’t make good financial sense for BMW. Win or go home. Also, the F1 well has been utterly poisoned by the fight between the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the sports governing body, and the Formula One Team Assn. (FOTA), whose members threatened to pull out this year unless they got a larger share of revenue from F1.

BMW has plenty of other racing programs to look after, including World Superbike, so Theissen will still be busy. I only hope that one day soon, BMW will return to Le Mans with a full-bore prototype program, to contest for the win against the magnificently resurgent Peugeot.

-- Dan Neil

Photo: BMW

Consumers perceive BMW as cool, Mercedes-Benz, most prestigious

BMW owners have just received some well-needed validation in “these tough economic times.” The brand was awarded three 2009 Brand Image Awards. Kelley Blue Book's market study tracks more than 12,000 car shoppers' brand perceptions each year and divides the findings into 10 categories.

The Bavarians won "Best Performance Brand," "Coolest Brand" and "Best Exterior Design Brand," which may have been a parting gift for the exiting chief of design, Chris Bangle. Kelley said BMW transcended the generation gap with cars that both parents and kids wanted.

Its Teutonic neighbor, Mercedes-Benz, went home with "Best Prestige Brand," leaving one to ponder the difference between "prestige" and "cool."

Ford won "Most Rugged Truck," and Cadillac won for "Best Interior Design" and "Best Comfort Brand." Ford’s record-setting truck sales for 27 years helped seal the deal, according to Kelley. Cadillac’s design resurgence caused KBB to point out how far it has come in just a few years. Japanese manufacturers won three awards total; Nissan for "Best Design -- Non Luxury," and Toyota picked up "Best Value" and "Most Family Friendly." KBB said, “Smart shopping never goes out of style, and Toyota has built a reputation for building some of the smartest buys on the road.”

Must have been those 45 years of Corollas.

-- Doug Stewart

For more info - www.kbb.com/2009brandimageawards

Photo credit: BMW

BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo bumps you up to first class

To the alphabet soup of SUVs, SAVs, CUVs etc., BMW is adding PAS.

That stands for progressive activity sedan and describes -- at least according to BMW -- the new niche being carved out by its new Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo, which debuts next month at the Geneva Auto Show.

Despite the word "concept" in the name, the German automaker says it actually intends to build the car, although it provided no details on when it might be available in showrooms.

No pricing or technical information has yet been revealed either, but BMW says it will be priced somewhere between a 5 Series and 7 Series. In other words, in the $60,000-$70,000 neighborhood.

The look of the car, which is closer to a 7 Series than a 5 Series in size, is in the four-door coupe genre. But BMW says its utility features and large size put the car in its own category -- hence the PAS.

So the question remains, is this strange mixture of sedan, SUV and touring vehicle just what the doctor, lawyer, engineer or housewife of Orange County ordered?  BMW product and technology communications manager Tom Plucinsky says it is.

“This car is designed less for a specific market, but more for a customer who needs all the utility of an SUV, minivan or wagon, but would not want the association with those types of vehicles,” he said.

As for new and innovative features, the Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo has a few:

Cold War for car buffs

Got a bad case of auto-related Cold War nostalgia? The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has the cure.

As part of a new exhibit called Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures, LACMA is temporarily displaying three automotive artifacts that are sure to bring back memories of a time when capitalism and communism were going toe-to-toe around the globe.

The cars, a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1956 BMW Isetta and a 1972 East German Trabant will be on view through Feb. 8 in the museum entrance area.

For autophiles and ideologues of a certain age, nothing says “dictatorship of the proletariat” quite like a Trabant. Millions of these drab sedans were made between the late ‘50s and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the car’s lack of pizazz and performance (not to mention the years-long wait to get one) came to symbolize for many the shortcomings of state-run industry — a useful lesson, perhaps, for the Big Three as they look to Washington for help.

According to some sources, the Trabant name is derived from the Latin word for “companion,” although it is also the German word for “satellite.” (Either way, it recalls the name of the first successful satellite, which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 and dubbed “Sputnik,” Russian for “fellow traveler.”) More prosaically, "traben" is also the German verb for "trot."

Often referred to as the Trabi, the car’s design changed little over the years. East Germans would keep them for decades and, according to Wikipedia, used Trabis were often worth more than new ones because they were available right away.

Classic car buffs may be more interested in the Isetta, a little runabout produced by BMW in the 1950s and early 1960s. “Powered” by a one-cylinder, 13-horsepower modified motorcycle engine, the Isetta bears little resemblance to the high-performance machines BMW is known for today.

Based on an Italian design, the Isetta was an odd-looking egg — in fact, Germans called the car “the rolling egg” because of its ovoid shape.

The VW Beetle needs no introduction, of course. More than 24 million were built over three decades, and a Bug with a “Stop the War” bumper sticker is enough to induce flashbacks in some folks who survived the ‘60s. And lest anyone think that constancy of design (or lack of imagination) was a strictly Marxist-Leninist construct, its worth noting that the Beetle’s basic motif changed even less than the Trabant’s over the years.

The Beetle and the Isetta, by the way, are on loan from the Petersen Automotive Museum. The Trabant is owned by local artist Richard Jackson.

The Art of Two Germanys exhibit, which features around 300 paintings, sculptures, photographs and other artworks, runs through April 19. More information on the exhibit and several related programs is available at the LACMA website.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photos: Top: BMW Isetta (left) and Volkswagen Beetle (right); bottom: Trabant

Photo credit: LACMA

Doggone it: Car companies’ pet accessories to keep animals safe

The giant purse means well, sure. It's a practical way of keeping those tiny pups safe between shopping and brunch without the annoyance of a leash or of strangers stopping for a pat ... as long as you're not worried about shedding. And lest we forget, some of us have a best friend that weighs more than a Big Gulp.

Either way, all bets are off when the dog could roam free in the car. As one commenter said another time when Up to Speed broached the subject of in-car pet restraints, “I doubt anybody would want to get hit in the head by a dog of any size.”

Programs like Bark Buckle Up, which works with 15 auto manufacturers, teach the importance of pet safety, such as latching animals to seats for drives. And car companies have come to our aid with lines of pet accessories for both safety and messes.

New Mini convertible -- more dash for more cash

What happened to the roll hoops? This is the all-new 2009 Mini Cooper convertible. Here's what BMW, the car's maker, has to say about it: "Evolutionary development of the car's design ... cues clearly link the new convertible to the Mini family." Which is PR-speak for not having changed things very much. Except that a rollover protection bar has been cleverly concealed behind the rear seats and will pop up when the onboard computer senses things going seriously awry.

The car also has an "Openometer" that records time spent traveling with the electrohydraulically actuated top down. Thank goodness, as it's always a worry that manufacturers might start adding useless things to successive generations. Of slightly more importance is the engine. It's a 1.6-liter four that kicks out 118 horsepower in the basic Cooper (up from 115) and uses a turbocharger in the Cooper S version to produce 172 hp (up from 168).

Whereas more power and a tidier rear might be the good news, the price is something else. The Cooper version starts at $24,550 and the Cooper S at $27,450 (both figures include $650 destination and handling charges). Compare that with $19,837 and $22,942 respectively. Then again, the new model is stronger yet lighter (by 22 pounds) and has a little more cargo space. And aren't those wheels cool?

-- Colin Ryan

Photos: BMW/Mini

L.A. Auto Show: Price announced on new BMW diesels

The good people at BMW have just announced prices for the 335d sedan and the X5 xDrive 35d SUV. Both vehicles are making their North American debuts at the L.A. Auto Show this week. And that little lower-case d signifies something important. Diesel power.