Attention BMW fans...

You'll want to buy the January issue of CAR magazine.... or at least look at the online preview below.

Great issue for Bimmerheads: New F10 M5 "scoop", a closeup on the new 5 series, 135 Coupe vs e30 M3, X6 active Hybrid test and an extensive article on BMW's North American ALMS program. Check it out by clicking the box below.


(Car Magazine)


end of post

Axis Says: Rally cars should be RWD only!

We said it 247 times already, we'll say it again: want WRC to come back to life? Bring back RWD production rally cars. Take a look at this BMW 135i at the 2008 the Rallye du Var, elegant, no? Why should we be stuck watching 4wd spec cars nobody is excited about?.

Same driver in 1992 at the Rally Corsica



After the jump a selection of thrilling rwd rally action clips!

Legendary Fiat 131 Abarth in action



Mercedes 190 driven by Guiness Book "world's longest drift" record holder Uwe Nittel


One of many rally e30M3's








Home.

Oberpfaffelbachen.

You may have seen this or, more likely, you may have seen clips on news shows with journalists asking the burning questions like "...but if you don't tell people this is fake...".

Right... well, Axis readers are not morons but they do have a sense of humor....

... viral marketing of not, this "documentary" is great, very funny on many levels. If there is a Bucktoothed Bavarians in Lederhosen anti-defamation league (BUBAL), they will finally get to use their letterhead!

Glacial shift?

My, my things have changed.... At first I had to double check the date and indeed it's not dated April 1: an official BMW press release touting an endorsement from a ....BLOG??

   

Manufacturers generally hate the internet and especially blogs, which get blamed usually, for having their own opinion about products.   So that BMW touts the endorsement of the 135i as the Autospies.com "Car of the Year" from a blog I know was referred to as "autolies.com" in the past, must surely signal a glacial shift!

So hats off to autospies and maybe also to those at big auto who are chipping away at the old! 

Axis of Oversteer BMW 135i mini review. from Axis on Vimeo.

ALL-NEW BMW 135i NAMED 2008 AUTOSPIES.COM CAR OF THE YEAR
03/31/2008

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - March 31, 2008... The all-new BMW 135i was named today by AutoSpies.com -- one of the world's leading automotive news sources and auto enthusiast forums -- as the 2008 AutoSpies.com Car of the Year. The BMW 1 Series draws its inspiration from BMW's iconic 2002 models of some 40 years ago, representing the core BMW philosophies of pure performance and premium design.
"The new BMW 135i has smashed the traditional paradigm of premium small cars trading performance for a lower sticker price," said Donald Buffamanti, Founder of AutoSpies.com. "The sizzling 135i, in sleek coupe or convertible guise, is a no excuses pocket rocketship that does its spiritual brother, the beloved BMW 2002 proud."

The powerful 135i Coupe and Convertible feature BMW's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine that produces 300 horsepower and an incredible 300 lb-ft of torque from as low as 1,400 rpm. With its direct piezo gasoline injectors, twin low-mass turbochargers and air-to-air intercooling, optimum performance and economy is achieved with no loss in engine response.

"BMW is honored to have the 135i named as the 2008 AutoSpies.com Car of the Year," said Tom Purves, President and CEO of BMWNA. "The feedback for the 1 Series has been positively tremendous and as 2008 is 'Year One of the One,' it is all-the-more special to be receiving this honor for the 135i right out of the gate."

In the eyes of AutoSpies.com editors, the BMW 135i sends everyone back to the drawing board and is a champion for its combination of styling, performance and bang for the buck. According to the editors, no other vehicle has the total package and cachet that the BMW 135i provides for the price in the premium automotive segment.

About AutoSpies.com
AutoSpies.com was founded by Donald Buffamanti, former SVP of MP3.com, and former technical advisor to the President of Apple Computer Canada; Chip Grueter, Internet Entrepreneur; and Greg Flores, co-founder of MP3.com. The spy chiefs have built a social network of thousands of industry employees, analysts, dealers and car fanatics who routinely leak information-spy photos, next generation product plans, unpublished rebates, and performance failures-to their news network.

Since 2001, the AutoSpies.com team has taken it from a vision to one of the largest and most respected car sites on the World Wide Web, getting visits and interaction from millions of readers per month. AutoSpies.com is one of the highest ranked auto information sites on Google, Yahoo, MSN and other major search engines. AutoSpies.com is also featured on a weekly television segment on FOX6 News in San Diego.

Baby M vs Baby Snapper

Tiff Needell and Jason Plato are back in top form for this segment of Fifth Gear pitting a BMW 135i vs a Cayman. Lots of screwing around and having fun, the final in car segment with the two of them sniping at each other is fantastic. Imagine getting paid to do that? Someone should tell Tiff the 135 does not really have a limited slip differential though.

The 135 looked a little hard to slide and I'm surprised, it sure was easy to swing when we drove it last year.

This One's a hooligan, Axis BMW 135i mini review

"Didn't I see this review before?" Yes, it's not deja vú all over again, we had a chance to drive a 135i a couple of months ago but after writing the following quick impression were asked to play nice and not scoop anyone,  we did....because we ARE nice!  But now it's officially out in the US so,  without further ado....

Ok, a slightly pudgier hooligan than we wished for but certainly a machine that will both tempt and amuse.

We had a chance to play a little with a 135i last night and and we enjoyed the littlest BMW very much. The interior design is the best from BMW in quite a while, simple and very appropriate for the car. Our example had a (*) interior with aluminum accents, an extra fat steering wheel with perforated leather. The transmission was the optional 6 speed steptronic which oddly enough might not be a bad choice with this engine. The push-pull paddles are a counter-intuitive in my book but the transmission shifts quickly enough not to fall off boost when driving aggressively. That's something which you might have to be quite handy to accomplish with a stick shift. Stop light racers will love the steptronic on the 135!

The car just begs for you to act in multiple socially irresponsible ways, you will find yourself looking for drifting opportunities, you will find yourself staring at that red light, right foot itching for the floor. There is just something about the car that WILL bring the hooligan in you out to play.

Of course at some point someone said "Bitte, zis car might be a teensy bit of a handful" which it will be in slippery conditions with DSC turned off. Enter the understeer from hell, the car comes with 215 front tires and 245 rears....go into a corner too fast and it will simply wash out and go straight. So a classic slow in, fast out car and to help accomplish that you have the first new brake system on a BMW in years, you by now know that the 135i comes with a 6 piston front calliper of very generous dimensions. The brakes feel lightly different than the traditional BMW ones, a bit more firm with less pedal travel without being super short like on a Porsche for example. Only time on the track will tell how they stand up to abuse.

Finally interior room is quite big in the front, very adequate in the back (though we were debating if you could fit 18" track wheels and tires back there), the trunk is spacious and the ride over potholes quite polite.

Given that one will be able to get stupid amounts of power with simple chip type mods, this car will become the staple of tuners and with some simple suspension and wheel modification it will be huge fun at your next track day. You don't have to be a genius to predict this car will be a huge success.

We were left only wanting for a lighter version of this car, maybe even with a magnesium block four cylinder Turbo...now THAT would be in the spirit of the 2002 Turbo Tii!

(*) I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you!


Axis of Oversteer BMW 135i mini review. from Axis on Vimeo.

BMW ready to have fun again?

The 135Tii concept looks appropriately Fast and Furious for the Tokyo Motor Show.
Let's see when the details are revealed if it's more than a boy racer body kit and seats which will never make the US market anyway...

verdict: promising.

Who asked?

And can someone tell me what the question was was?

We had the "tease" video on the other day, here are pictures of the X6, BMW's new 5000lbs "sports car".

Oh look...composite multi-piston brakes, that's sporty,... right?

Thankfully there is the 135i coupé coming down the road, hopefully with an engine capable of handling track day duties.



photos: BMW, autoblog

Track-tards rejoice, BMW goes BBK!

Here is the press release for the just announced 2008 1 series. The 135i will come with six piston front brakes and 2 piston rears.
Track-tards rejoice!

The full press release is HERE