2014 BMW 328d Making Debut at New York Auto Show!

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Debuting at the 2013 New York International Auto Show is the new 2014 BMW 328d, a diesel variant of the 328i sedan. It will join the U.S. lineup, strengthening BMW’s position as one of the most efficient automakers. Powered by a TwinPower Turbo four-cylinder engine, the new 328d delivers 180 horsepower, which BMW says will get it from 0 to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds.

Not only is this car fast, it’s fuel-efficient, with gas mileage possibly exceeding 40 mpg; official U.S. EPA estimates won’t be available until it is closer to the debut. With the great performance seen in the 3 Series combined with the fuel efficiency of a diesel engine, the new 2014 BMW 328d has become a benchmark in its class.

Courtesy of Automotive.com 

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Tuesday Tip: Keep an old blanket handy!

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Protect your car’s roof from scratches with an old blanket before tying lumber, bicycles, or luggage to your roof rack.

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BMW Manufacturing Expands Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells!

BMW Manufacturing announced today the successful expansion of the company’s hydrogen fuel-cell material handling equipment across its 4.0 million square foot production facility. In 2010, BMW completed the installation of a hydrogen storage and distribution area near the plant’s Energy Center to power about 100 pieces of fuel cell material handling equipment. Since that time, the company has more than doubled its hydrogen-fuel cell fleet to approximately 230 units to service the entire plant’s production and logistics functions.

“BMW continues to complement its sustainable production model by adding alternative, efficient technology, said Josef Kerscher, President of BMW Manufacturing. “Successful implementation, and ultimately expansion, of our hydrogen fuel cell material handling fleet has provided a sustainable energy source that exceeds our expectations.”

The additional usage of the hydrogen fuel cell system was executed by adding two new higher-capacity compressors, new storage tubes and distribution piping, and eight new hydrogen dispensers. The expanded system will deliver at least 400kg of Hydrogen per day. BMW estimates that the expanded system will avoid 4.1 million kw/hours per year, up from 1.8 million kw hours/year for the initial hydrogen fuel cell system.

BMW also released a project update to the Landfill Gas-to-Hydrogen Pilot Project. The first phase of the study, that validated the economic and technical feasibility, began in July 2011. The project has now successfully moved to the second phase of methane-to-hydrogen conversion. The project team, led by South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA), is implementing and testing equipment that will monitor the hydrogen purity. To do this, BMW has installed a clean-up system that takes a stream of landfill gas (post-siloxane removal), removes the sulfur and trace contaminants and, ultimately, produces hydrogen via a Steam Methane Reformer (SMR).

“BMW is very pleased with the progress we have been able to achieve in the last 18 months, said Cleve Beaufort, BMW Group’s Energy Manager for the U.S. and Canada. “The objective of generating renewable hydrogen from methane is proving to be a possible option for BMW and will be transformational for the fuel cell industry.”

Throughout this project, SCRA has been a leading funding and implementation partner. The U.S. Department of Energy has also provided both technical and funding support for the project.

The final phase of this project is scheduled to begin in late 2013. At that time, BMW will conduct side-by-side trials of material handling equipment fueled by landfill gas derived hydrogen versus commercially sourced hydrogen.

For their efforts in on-site energy production, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently named BMW Manufacturing the second largest Green Power Partner. Green Power rankings recognize U.S. businesses and communities that are making investments in on-site power generation. BMW’s U.S. plant currently produces 38 percent of its electrical requirements on-site, mostly from its landfill gas-to-energy program.

Courtesy of BMW Newsroom

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BMW teams with Continental for fully autonomous cars by 2025!

International automotive parts supplier Continental announced this week that it is teaming up with BMW to produce autonomous vehicle technology through the end of 2014.

Continental has been hard at work on vehicle autonomy for many years. In fact, U.S.-based Continental representatives testified in front of the Michigan state board of transportation last week, urging local lawmakers to pass a bill legalizing autonomous vehicles in the state. Currently Continental is licensed to operate self-driving cars in Nevada.

According to the Continental press release, BMW aims to have partially automated vehicles on the road by 2016. By 2020, it aims to have highly automated cars piloting the public roads, with fully automated cars by 2025.

The BMW and Continental move is essential for BMW to keep up with its competitors. It would appear that although BMW is a bit behind the curve, the German luxury automaker stands to gain a great deal of knowledge from Continental. Continental pledges to invest over $1.3-million into vehicle autonomy in 2013 alone.

Once the BMW and Continental-created cars are ready for the roadways, they’ll be given to a select group of trained testers. Continental and BMW are keen to see how the self-driving cars perform when they encounter diverse driving scenarios such as interchanges, tollbooths, and road construction.

Courtesy of Digitaltrends.com