Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Buy this Munro report, get a free BMW i3

Here's an offer we've never heard of: if you buy the Master- or OEM-level version of a detailed production and cost report on the BMW i3, the engineering firm that produced the report will give you a 'free' i3. Munro & Associates is the company behind the study and the offer, its comprehensive breakdown of the production realities involved in the i3 including a video of the disassembly process of the range-extended hybrid and a detailed analysis of every part therein - everything from fuse boxes to crossbar beams, headlights and the battery pack. You've only got a day to take advantage, though - the report has to be purchased by the time CEO Sandy Munro gives his talk, "Deconstructing the BMW I3: Groundbreaking Technology and the Composite Car," in Detroit Wednesday morning. The price of said report? That's "TBD," so head to the Munro site if you're tempted by the idea of a new car that comes with a trunk full of paperwork. We just hope they're not selling the i3 that they tear down. The press release below has more information. Munro to Give Away 2014 BMW i3 with Every Purchase of the Consulting Firm's Master Teardown Report When Purchased at Two Upcoming Detroit Events DETROIT, Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Visitors to the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) during Preview Week often go home with a lot of swag and trinkets, but how about a $50,000 BMW i3? This year, a local engineering firm, Munro & Associates, is giving away a BMW i3 electric car with every purchase of the Master-/OEM-level version of its benchmarking study of this unique vehicle when purchased during NAIAS or the Plastics in Automotive Conference. The study, the most extensive of its kind, details the production and costs of every system in this carbon-fiber electric vehicle, which CEO Sandy Munro calls the most advanced vehicle on the planet. WHO: Munro & Associates, the global leader in manufacturing, costing and benchmarking. Using its proprietary advanced design, quality and costing software, Munro developed comprehensive reports on key vehicle systems and – for the first time – will offer the reports for general distribution. WHAT: A FREE 2014 BMW i3 for anyone who purchases the Master-/OEM-level report during Preview Week of NAIAS or during Sandy Munro's presentation at the Plastics in Automotive Conference.

2016 Technology of the Year Finalist: 2016 BMW 7 Series

BMW remade the legendary 7 Series around technology for 2016. Yes, the sixth generation of BMW's iconic flagship remains a luxury leader, but its sophisticated new features expand the 7's traditional strengths to a new generation that relies on smartphones. The 7 Series' extensive tech is most evident inside, where the driver and passengers have new interactions with the car. A feature called gesture control allows the driver to turn up the volume, accept or decline phone calls, or turn off the home screen using hand movements (see the video below). The sedan also has a digital instrument cluster, LCD touchscreen keyfob, wireless charging feature for phones, and a pinch-to-zoom function that makes iDrive simpler to use. Life is especially good in the backseat, where a seven-inch Touch Command Tablet allows the passenger to control comfort, lighting, and infotainment tasks. There's also WiFi, a gorgeous panoramic Sky Lounge LED roof, and 10-inch screens mounted into the seatbacks. Creature comforts and connectivity aside, BMW literally redid the 7 Series to the core. The new body structure, called Carbon Core, helps the sedan cut weight by up to 190 pounds compared with its predecessor while improving stiffness and rigidity. Meanwhile, the big sedan now offers four-wheel steering, improved aerodynamics, and it will get a plug-in hybrid version next year. It's still a 7 Series, and that means it has all of the luxury can you imagine. The car will massage you, perfume the air, and ionize the cabin. Naturally, it has a potent twin-turbo V8 pushing out 445 horsepower. This is what you've come to expect from BMW. But with the new 7 Series, the venerable automaker moves toward the modern tech-savvy consumer, and that's why Bavaria's most decadent sedan is a finalist for our Technology of the Year award.

2014 BMW M235i

We know a number of BMW owners who reside in the Munich brand's core demographic - upper-five- and six-figure professionals who like to keep their automotive brand credentials as highly respected among their peers as their alma maters or the letters after their names. Before heading to Las Vegas to drive the new M235i, we asked four of those owners, "What did you think of the E30 3 Series?" Although phrased differently, every one of them had the same answer: "What's that?"
You can counter that we just happened to query a tiny and ignorant sample size, and it's possible that you're right. Nevertheless, in every case,we were speaking to BMW's core demographic, the increasing legion of buyers who have fostered another year of record growth and are responsible for BMW retaining its global luxury title for nine straight years. Question that, and we'll refer you to BMW's marketing department, its several hundred PowerPoint slides and several thousand pages of research that prove the point.
That second-generation E30 3 Series built a name, a brand and an entire segment by defining BMW-ness as superlative driving dynamics meets luxury - shortened to the phrase, "The Ultimate Driving Machine." Thirty years later, just being a part of BMW-ness and luxury is enough for the majority of buyers. The superlative handling, that's optional, and 150 hairy guys meet every Tuesday to keep the old religion going, light torches, sing dirges to the siren long gone and bang on their keyboards about the apostasies of modern buyers.