• navigation systems

    Google Search Coming To 2009 BMW 1- and 3-Series

    Stateside buyers of BMW’s 1- and 3-Series vehicles will now have the option to add “BMW Search Powered By Google Maps” to their BMW Assist and Navigation system-equipped vehicles. Basically, this means they’ll be able to search for addresses and phone numbers directly from their navigation system using Google Maps. The advantages of such a system are obvious, allowing drivers a quick and easy method to find contact details and directions on the fly. But, as with all BMW options, BMW Search is actually way more complicated than that. The press release follows the jump; see if you can understand it. More »

    10:00 AM on Wed Sep 17 2008
    By Wes Siler
    1,033 views, 9 comments

    Most discussed Sloop_John_B: Meh, no thanks. I still stick with the devices that I can use between multiple cars. Thus, I can choose more »

  • jalopnik reviews

    2009 BMW 135i, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2009 BMW 135i:
    You like the idea of a driver’s car, but you don’t really like driving that much. You heard the 135i was the car to drive this fall. You’re a life-long BMW fan and you have a penchant for blinders. You’re a badge snob. You’re all of the above and you really don’t have an eye for a deal.

    Why you shouldn't buy this car:
    You want a four-seat coupe that drives like a sports car. You have a collection of old BMWs and want the modern equivalent to use as a daily driver. You’re one ticket away from losing your license. Your garage floor is only rated to hold 3383 LB. You’re spending your own money.

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    Feature

    1:30 PM on Fri Sep 12 2008
    By Wes Siler
    5,783 views, 117 comments

    Most discussed long_live_the_E36: Poseurs: No? This seems perfect for poseurs. more »

  • jalopnik reviews

    2009 BMW 135i, Part Two

    Exterior Design: ****
    Easily the best-looking Bangle BMW, the 2009 BMW 135i excels in proportion, if not in detail. Straight from the front, there’s little indication of the 135i’s purpose, but from there back it’s classic BMW two-door updated for the 21st century.

    Interior Design:***
    Restraint and simplicity do the 135i’s interior many favors. Still, it would have been nice to see an even simpler approach taken without sacrificing the quality. Leather-clad Recaro sport seats would have been a good starting point. The 1-series European economy car roots show in the cheap secondary plastics used on the center console and dash. Not something we’d want in a $46,000 car.

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    Feature

    4:00 PM on Thu Sep 11 2008
    By Wes Siler
    5,643 views, 82 comments

    Most discussed Mad_Science: It baffles me that the same company that delivered so well on the Mini could screw this one up. Minis get more »

  • bmw

    BMW Turbo Four-Banger In Development

    Confirming speculation, BMWNA CEO Jim O’Donnell has stated in an interview with Business Week that BMW is indeed developing a new turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine. Of course, when we'll see it on our shores all depends on who gets elected President. Wait, what? Said O'Donnell, "It will deliver stronger performance in terms of acceleration than the current 6-cylinder, it will deliver lower emissions and will give you better fuel economy; so it is a win, win, win situation. This will be a high tech 4-cylinder engine; obviously turbo charged. We can’t really confirm or deny when it is going to come into the US, or if it is going to come into the US, until after the election and the government makes it clear what is going to be the platform that manufacturers have got to work to." More »

    2:00 PM on Thu Sep 11 2008
    By Mark Arnold
    1,684 views, 32 comments

    Most discussed Matt B: huh? who do we have to elect to get a 1 series tii? i will cast my vote more »

  • jalopnik reviews

    2009 BMW 135i, Part One

    Perhaps more than any other car in its range, the 2009 BMW 135i carries the weight of customer expectation on its shoulders. Supposedly the antithesis to the soft, the bloated and overcomplicated cars dominating BMW’s range for the majority of this decade, people want the 135i to herald a return to the simple, well-engineered driver’s cars the company became famous for. And with a 300 HP twin-turbo inline-six mounted longitudinally in a small rear wheel drive coupe, on paper at least, it looks like the 135i could be that car.

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    Feature

    4:00 PM on Wed Sep 10 2008
    By Wes Siler
    11,521 views, 147 comments

    Most discussed TheTooth: @layabout: I'll scrap the analogy for you. What I was trying to say is that while the cars they more »

  • bmw 135i

    $55,000 "Projekt1" BMW 135i Takes Gold In Dealer-Installed Optioning

    If Classic BMW of Plano, Texas endeavored to build the most optioned BMW 135i ever, we think they were successful with this tii lookalike. We were only able to up-option a 1-series to $52,550 but the clever mechanics at Classic are just better at this than we are. Starting with an already loaded 1-series with an MSRP of $42,900, the Texas tinkerers successfully added $12,372.42 in a "Performance Package" consisting of more carbon fiber and custom paint than we knew existed. It's expensive, but at least it's all covered under warrenty. The car is for sale on eBay so maybe you can snake the price down further away from M3 territory. A description from the dealer of how they made it work below the jump.

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    4:20 PM on Fri Aug 22 2008
    By Matt Hardigree
    3,744 views, 50 comments

    Most discussed Pete Gaines: @marcus56: A woody package would be redundant, as this car will obviously be purchased by a prick. more »

  • jalopnik reviews

    2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2008 BMW 128i Convertible: You just found out that the Botox you had injected straight into your eyelid didn't leak into your brain thereby ending an existence that has, up to now, been mostly pointless. No longer. Your new life is going to have meaning, you're going to shun materialism and embrace the world. To celebrate this epiphany you're going to buy a blue one, because blue is the color of tranquility.

    Why you shouldn't buy this car: You can't afford the kind of girls that are attracted to men in little BMW convertibles. You're short and scrawny with girlishly long hair and the sight of those skinny arms next to that thick steering wheel and pudgy body just makes you look that much more like an Abigail Breslin body double. You like the simple things in life and you don't have $50,000 to blow on a car that can't carry your laser tag gear. You want a capable sports car that's fast, fun and simple.

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    Feature

    12:00 PM on Fri May 30 2008
    By Matt Hardigree
    3,699 views, 42 comments

    Latest by GTBruiser: Quite possibly one of the best reviews I've ever read. BMW should rename this car the 128y. more »

  • jalopnik reviews

    2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part Two

    Exterior Design:***
    The 2008 BMW 128i Convertible manages to put its best face forward, with wide headlights that add a new dimension to the brand's rigid look and set the 1-Series apart from the big brother 3. In profile, you'll have to buy into the flame surfacing and its fear of straight lines, which shouldn't be too hard as this is a fairly conservative take on the Bangle theme. Things fall apart in the end, literally, as the strong beltline bends angrily towards the shoulders with an over accented trunk too reminiscent of the 7-series. Attractive? Yes. Iconic? No.

    Interior Design: ***
    Once I accepted the rear seats serve only as a place to store shopping bags and coats, I found the little convertible to be a comfortable place to pass the time. The seats can be configured in so many ways that, if you can't find a happy seating position, you're probably freakishly deformed. Though everything is within easy reach the abundance of knobs, stalks, buttons and switches is distracting. They manage to put all of the navigation, communications, audio and climate settings under control of one knob but I need a special button on the end of a stalk to switch between average mileage and miles to empty?

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    Feature

    12:00 PM on Thu May 29 2008
    By Matt Hardigree
    3,042 views, 26 comments

    Latest by edgarj: When I saw the fully optioned price come out to nearly $50K, or roughly what I paid for my well more »

  • jalopnik reviews

    2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part One

    Piloting the 2008 BMW 1-series Convertible out into a crowded street, top down, I couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious. I'm not much for the attention drawn by convertibles, and this is a shiny, brand-new BMW convertible. No less than three minutes into my journey I'm stopped by someone on the street who yells "Hey, buddy." I'm guessing the gentleman wants to ask about the car so I try to assume the confident poise of someone who might actually buy this particular vehicle, only to have him point out that the fuel door is open. Thanks. At the next stoplight I quickly thumb a message to Mark Arnold, who is following me in another car: I FEEL LIKE A DBAG. According to Mark, I also look like one. But it would be worth looking ridiculous for a vehicle that's supposed to be the spiritual successor to the venerable E30, a car that made no compromises on its way to becoming the ultimate driving machine.

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    Feature

    12:00 PM on Wed May 28 2008
    By Matt Hardigree
    4,457 views, 54 comments

    Latest by rennsport964: BMW used to appeal to car enthusiasts. Somewhere in the late 90s it took a left turn and changed its more »

  • bmw 1-series hatchback

    BMW 1-Series Hatchback Spotted With Manufacturer Plates

    We've got to give credit to Phil, a BMW 1-series hatchback is something that those keen of eye might have missed driving around here on US soil and, even if some would have noticed it as an oddity, they might not have been so quick as to get such good photos of the thing. That it has New Jersey Manufacturer plates is no surprise, as most special Bimmers do. The question is, will the BMW 1-Series five-door, which is sold in Europe, join the 2009 BMW 1-Series already here in the states?

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    Spy Photos

    7:00 PM on Thu May 8 2008
    By Matt Hardigree
    6,139 views, 69 comments

    Latest by blue-coupe: Who do I write the check out to? more »