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BMW calling in 76k vehicles over airbag issues

Vehicles these days are typically fitted with a mat in the front passenger seat that determines whether that airbag needs to be activated in the event of a collision and how it should deploy. But that system doesn't always work, as Mercedes recently found in its SL-Class roadster and as Suzuki did before it with the Grand Vitara and SX4 crossovers. Now a crop of BMW vehicles have befallen the same issue, prompting the Bavarian automaker to cooperate with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a recall for the vehicles in question.
The problem affects precisely 76,565 vehicles, including certain the 3 Series (sedan and wagon), 5 Series, 7 Series and X5 crossover families spanning the 2006 and 2007 model years and fitted with a certain type of seat. However, since the parts to repair the problematic components are not currently available, as you can see from the recall notice below, it won't be until March 2014 when local dealers will be able to resolve the issue.

Color me electric: a nine-year-old designs a crayon-colored Mini wrap

Perhaps one is never too young to help design the look of a car … with the help of a box of crayons. DonÂ’t tell nine-year-old Oliver Gorrod, who lives in Oxfordshire in England, that it canÂ’t be done. Young Oliver has finished first in a contest sponsored by MINI Electric in the U.K. and crayon-maker Crayola to create an exterior color wrap for the EV that “champions nature.” “I like the idea of all cars being electric, as they are better for the environment, animals and the planet. My car is designed as camouflage, so it blends into natural environments,” said the young man, who was among hundreds of entrants aged from four to 10 years from the U.K. Oliver wins the honor of his design being featured as a vinyl wrap for a car (he only wins the wrap) and a bundle of Crayola art materials for himself and his school. Oliver will also get an invite to visit MINI Plant Oxford for a private tour. “The creativity of the designs were fantastic," said Federico Izzo, director for MINI UK & Ireland. "We are excited to bring OliverÂ’s design to life and hope he will continue to innovate and dream big in the future.” Added Jade Childs of Crayola, “We are delighted to share Crayola art materials with Oliver and his class as part of the competition prize, and we hope they will continue to be inspired and express themselves as they explore, discover, play, pretend, and dream.” Design/Style Green BMW MINI Green Culture Hatchback Electric

BMW patents strange three-cylinder pushrod engines, perhaps for cruiser motorcycle

For decades BMW's motorcycles were easily identified by the two opposed cylinders sticking out of each side of the bike. While you can still find this layout on some of its products, these days the company also uses a variety of other layouts, depending on the model line. Based on European patents, there might even be a Bimmer in the ranks eventually with an absolutely bizarre-looking W3 configuration. BMW actually has two separate patents on these W3 designs, and both of them have the goal of cramming three cylinders into the space of a traditional V-twin. The first splays the cylinder out into a fan shape with pushrods operating the valves. The description submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization describes the solution as, "The embodiment according to the invention represents an as of yet unknown type of W-3 reciprocating piston internal combustion engine having cylinder angles which can be largely freely sized." The other solution is more of a modification to the traditional V-twin. Two of the cylinders share a crankpin, but the third has its own and is positioned inside the angle of the V. It's a very odd-looking engine. With BMW's assertion that these designs are meant to fit in place of a traditional V-twin, Jalopnik speculates that they could be for a future cruiser from the company, and that would make sense. While brand offers a line of sport tourers with the K1600 line, it doesn't have something more classic to take on the likes of the Ducati Diavel. Creating such a weird engine would probably grab early interest from riders.