Real Life Photos for 2009 BMW Z4

Haven�t you guys missed the whole spy photos/rumors game with the new BMW Z4? Well, I certainly did, it was fun while it lasted and it made things really interesting over the course of the last months, especially since it was one of the most awaited BMW redesigns in the past few years.


Of course, we had a tete-a-tete (that was �head-to-head� in French) with the car in Detroit, we have seen it, analyzed it, reported our findings and much more. So today, with the help of our dear and close friend Palbay, we have some real life photos of the Z4, just sitting �quietly� in a parking lot somewhere near the BMW Plant in Spartanburg.


The vehicle is fully uncovered, but still with the BMW badges masked out. Not sure why though, any BMW owner would recognize it anyway, but�.that�s just another story.


So what�s there to say about the car? It still looks as impressive as it looked the first time we saw it, a typical roadster that will turn heads more than ever. Oh, have I mentioned that I absolutely totally dig these wheels?
Source: bmwblog



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Citroen Going Upscale - Rebirth of Classic Citroen DS line

Citroen will introduce the scheme on 4 February to celebrate the brand's 90th birthday. Citroen needs a jolt after suffering a sales decline of 7.2 per-cent last year. They sold 1.35 million units in 2008.

Citroen will unveil a plan to rebrand themselves as the next-best thing to being a premium brand. The plan includes bringing back the DS line, an update to the logo, and a new marketing scheme.


The company has been planning a reintroduction of the DS line since mid-2007. The DS was Citroen's flagship line from the 1950s through the 70s, and will now represent upper-tier vehicles. First up will be the Citroen DS3, set for delivery at the end of the year. �We will offer products within the Citroen brand that have added value and carry elements of the premium sector,� said styling director Jean-Pierre Ploue.


Also being freshened up is the chevron logo, which has not seen a change since 1985. A new marketing slogan, possibly "three years to impress the world," and global web site are also on the way. The plan was formed by an exec who is no longer with the company. His goal was to improve the company's image while reducing its focus on small cars.


A five-year schedule is also in place to overhaul the 3,300 dealership network. The look of the showrooms, stronger customer relations, and better maintenance and repairs are parts of the plan.
via:World Car Fans



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Geneva Debut : Aston Martin DBS Volante and Vantage V12

First up is the convertible version of the DBS. The iconic Bond-mobile, whose name may have finally been determined, will make for a stunning drop-top. Not unlike arch-rival Ferrari, which took the 430 Scuderia and crossed it with the F430 Spider to create the 16M Scuderia Spider, Aston will take the fixed-roof DBS and put it in a room together with the DB9 Volante, dim the lights, put on some Boys2Men and let nature run its course.


Aston Martin doesn't have a huge product range. In fact, until the Rapide and One-77 come along, its line-up essentially boils down to two models: the Vantage and the DB9. And if reports coming straight from Switzerland are to be believed, the now-independent British sportscar company is descending on the Geneva Motor Show next month with new top-of-the-line variants of both.


Reportedly joining the DBS Volante/Roadster will be the production V12 Vantage RS. Forgot about that one? It's easy when Aston keeps serving up delectable new flagship supercars, so we'll scribble the recipe down for you again: take one V8 Vantage and the 600-hp V12 engine from the DBRS9 race car. Add louvers, spoilers, carbon fiber and alcantara. Shake (don't stir). Production should be very limited, and performance should be blistering. Stay tuned.
via autoblog



Other article:
Aston Martin Unveils V12 Vantage RS
Aston Martin Celebrates End of a 50-Year Era at Newport Pagnell

Mercedes-Benz image in the lead

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart/M�nchen, Germany, Feb 02, 2009

* Hat trick: Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles top the table three times

* Mercedes-Benz trucks: �Trucks you can trust� promise corroborated

* Unanimous vote for Mercedes-Benz vans

* Mercedes-Benz CharterWay honoured for the fourth time in a row as a unique commercial vehicle service provider

Mercedes-Benz is Germany's most popular commercial vehicle brand. This is the finding of an Emnid study commissioned by the weekly specialist magazine Verkehrs-Rundschau. In the "Verkehrs-Rundschau Image-Ranking 2009� the opinion research institute investigated for the fourth year the perception of the leading commercial vehicle brands. Mercedes-Benz took first place in three of the seven categories: Trucks, Vans and the category Hire/Leasing.


Customers and non-customers alike attribute to the truck with the star cutting-edge technology, the best equipment, the lowest fuel consumption and the greatest reliability. All of these aspects are expressed in the Mercedes-Benz performance promise "Trucks you can trust".

Mercedes-Benz vans left the competition trailing far behind them in the "Verkehrs-Rundschau-Image-Ranking 2009", just like last year. Of particular note is the rate of willingness to recommend, at 82.1 % absolutely outstanding.

For the fourth time in a row, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay took the top step on the podium for service provision. In the category Leasing and Hire the unique commercial vehicle service provider was honoured for the competence and engagement of its advisors.

To compile the "Verkehrs-Rundschau Image-Ranking", the opinion research institute TNS Emnid polled in autumn 2008 a total of 400 fleet managers in transport, freight, industry and trade about the image of the most important commercial vehicle providers and about products and services for the commercial vehicle fleet.

A good image is a basic precondition for a purchase decision. According to the Verkehrs-Rundschau study, over 75 % of those questioned would never or only exceptionally purchase commercial vehicles, products or services from a provider with a poor image.

Copyright � 2009, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Daimler Heritage: TOPICS FOR MARCH 2009

Preview March 2009

PREVIEW OF ANNIVERSARIES 2009

23 March 1909 � 100 years ago:
Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH was founded in Bissingen, a predecessor of Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH, and thus manufacturer of vehicles for the Maybach brand.

March 1979 � 30 years ago:
As part of its �long-term production order� (LPO), the board of management at Daimler-Benz AG decided to shift van production from Bremen to D�sseldorf and to produce the soon-to-be-launched Mercedes-Benz 190 passenger car in several variants at Bremen.

9�19 March 1989 � 20 years ago:
The new SL series from Mercedes-Benz (R 129) celebrated its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The 300 SL, 300 SL-24 and 500 SL were all exhibited.

15 March 1994 � 15 years ago:
Mercedes-Benz exhibited its new dynamic handling control system (FDR) in Arjeplog, Sweden. This was to be launched on the market a year later as the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), developed in collaboration with Bosch.


Other notable events:

14 March 1909 � 100 years ago: Benz & Cie. applied for a patent for its pre-chamber principle for diesel engines (DRP 230517). The inventor was the engineer Prosper L�Orange.

18 March 1919 � 90 years ago: Benz & Cie. registered Patent No. DRP 397142, a �combustion engine with ignition chamber�. This �funnel patent�, as it was known, gave rise to the first high-speed diesel engine, the first unit capable of producing the power output needed for motor vehicles.

8�18 March 1934 � 75 years ago: Two new Mercedes-Benz cars made their debut at the Berlin Motor Show: the rear-engined 130 (W 23), and the 500 K (W 29) with a 8-cylinder supercharged engine.

March 1949 � 60 years ago: The first series-built Unimog was produced at the Gebr�der Boehringer engineering works. The concept was taken over by Daimler-Benz in 1950 where it has been continuously developed ever since.

March 1954 � 55 years ago: Daimler-Benz AG set up an assembly plant in India as part of a joint venture with Tata.

March 1954 � 55 years ago: The Mercedes-Benz 220 a (W 180) made its debut. The new premium class �Ponton� model was the first car to feature the single-joint swing axle for greater comfort and driving safety.

March 1959 � 50 years ago: A Mercedes-Benz 190 D won an American fuel economy competition over 5,122 miles. The journey cost just six tenths of a cent per mile.

5 March 1959 � 50 years ago: The new basic truck types from Mercedes-Benz, the L 322, L 337 and L 327 export model were presented to the international press in Stuttgart. This marked the start of phasing out the long-nosed trucks at Daimler-Benz in favour of the short-nosed design.

12�22 March 1964 � 45 years ago: Mercedes-Benz exhibited a revised commercial vehicle sales programme at the Geneva Motor Show. The most important innovations were the OM 352 and OM 346 diesel engines with direct fuel injection.

Copyright � 2009, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

fastfivecars TRIVIA: Elegance on four wheels: Mercedes-Benz 500 K

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart/Berlin, Germany, Feb 02, 2004

March 1934: Two new � and very different � Mercedes models were displayed at the Berlin Motor Show in March 1934. One was the 130, Mercedes-Benz's first production car with a rear-mounted four-cylinder engine which developed 26 hp from a displacement of 1.3 liters. The other was the 500 K, an imposing, elegant sports car with supercharged eight-cylinder engine; with the supercharger engaged, it developed 160 hp from a displacement of 5,018 cc.


The 500 K was the successor to the 380 presented only one year earlier, and a descendant of the tremendously powerful, supercharged S, SS, SSK and SSKL sports cars � genuine muscle cars, as we would call them today, and virtually invincible in motor sport.

The first 500 K � "K" for Kompressor = supercharger, to distinguish it from the 500 sedan without supercharger � had been designed as an elegant two- or four-seater sports car with roadster and cabriolet bodies tailored at the Daimler-Benz plant in Sindelfingen. With this model, the company bid farewell to the Roaring Twenties and the Big Four mentioned earlier. The latter had still had extremely firm chassis with rigid axles and leaf springs, i.e. hardly any damping at all, and their bodies were plain and above all functional, not to say uncomfortable.

The new supercharged Mercedes sports car appealed to well-heeled buyers because it was not only powerful but also more elegant, more comfortable and easier to handle than its predecessors � features welcomed in particular by the growing number of lady drivers.

Daimler-Benz had laid the foundations for this type of car as early as 1933 by introducing the 380, the first Mercedes-Benz sports car with swing axle. It was the first car that pampered its occupants with independent wheel suspension; the latter featured a sensational world first, a double-wishbone front axle that combined with the double-joint swing axle introduced in the 170 as early as 1931.

In this ground-breaking design, wheel location, springing and damping were for the first time separated from each other, creating a new level of precision in straightline stability. In its essence, this front axle, fitted like the rear axle with coil springs, has remained the design model for generations of automobiles throughout the world to this day, and it also featured in the 500 K, of course.

It was the customers' craving for power, however, that prompted the replacement of the 380, not exactly a lame duck with its supercharged 140 hp, by the 500 K only one year later. The newcomer's engine generated 160 hp with the supercharger engaged; even without the supercharger in action, it still had an impressive output of 100 hp at 3400 rpm. Depending on fuel quality, which varied greatly in those days, the compression ratio was between 1:5.5 and 1:6.5. The fuel was apportioned to the cylinders by a Mercedes-Benz double updraught carburetor. The driver engaged the double-vane Roots supercharger by depressing the accelerator pedal beyond a pressure point.

With the exception of first gear, both the standard four-speed and the optional five-speed transmissions were synchronized. A single-plate dry clutch linked the engine with the powertrain which transmitted engine power to the rear wheels. The car rolled along on wire-spoke wheels which were as elegant as they were robust.
All these features combined to permit a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour � a dream for sports cars in that day and age. The penalty was paid in the form of fuel consumption: between 27 and 30 liters were blown through the carburetor on 100 kilometers. The 110-liter tank in the rear gave the car a decent radius of action.
To meet the individual wishes of the demanding customers, three chassis variants were available for the 500 K: two long versions with a 3,290 millimeter wheelbase, differing in terms of powertrain and bodywork layout, and a short version with 2,980 millimeters.

The long variant, the so-called normal chassis with the radiator directly above the front axle, served as the backbone for the four-seater cabriolets "B" (with four side windows) and "C" (with two side windows) and, at a later stage, also for touring cars and sedans.

The roadsters, the two-seater cabriolet "A" (with two side windows) and the ultra-modern, streamlined Motorway Courier, the first car with curved side windows and classified by the manufacturer as a sports sedan, were set up on a chassis on which radiator, engine, cockpit and all rearward modules were moved 185 millimeters back from the front axle. This configuration was a concession to the zeitgeist, a small trick that created the visual impression of a particularly long front-end and, therefore, the desired sporting appeal.

The most ravishing model of this species was the two-seater 500 K special roadster launched in 1936, a masterpiece in terms of its styling, with inimitably powerful and elegant lines. It has been filling onlookers with enthusiasm to this day, reflecting, as it does, the spirit of its day and age as well as the design perfection of the 500 K models. Its price tag � 28,000 Reichsmark � was 6,000 marks above the average price of "simpler" models. People were able to buy a generously furnished house for that money.

The short-wheelbase chassis was used only for a few two-seaters with special bodies. On these models, the radiator was back right above the front axle, and the models carried the designations 500 K sports roadster, sports cabriolet and sports coupe.
The 500 K's chassis complete with helical-spindle steering had been adopted � though in further refined form � from the preceding 380: the new double-wishbone axle with coil springs at the front and the double-joint swing axle - complemented by double coil springs and additional transverse balancing spring � at the rear. The vacuum-boosted service brake acted hydraulically on all four wheels, the mechanical parking brake on the rear wheels. The chassis weighed as much as 1,700 kilograms; the complete car tipped the scales at 2,300 kilograms and the permissible gross weight was around 2,700 kilograms.

No matter what version of the 500 K you look at, the elegance of its body sends people into raptures even today: every single one had been given its own, unparalleled personality by the ingenious coachbuilders in Sindelfingen. Only few customers opted for bodywork tailored by independent bodybuilders to their own wishes (the price lists quoted the chassis as individual items), especially since the Sindelfingers rose above themselves in accommodating the customers' special wishes, for instance for individual fender versions, rear-end designs or interior appointments. Within two years, 342 units of the 500 K were produced.

In response to the virtually insatiable craving for performance on the part of well-heeled customers all over the world, the 500 K was replaced in 1936 by the 540 K with supercharged 180 hp engine. This model was sold to 319 motoring enthusiasts.
The history of supercharged Mercedes-Benz cars goes back to World War II and has its roots in aeroengine production. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft had introduced mechanical air compressors which supercharged the engines and thereby compensated for the power loss of aeroengines at higher altitudes, ensuring their stable performance.

The first Mercedes models with supercharged engines were displayed at the Berlin Motor Show in 1921 � between bicycles with auxiliary engines and mini-cars. They caused quite a stir among automotive experts. With the supercharger, an engine booster had been introduced which, from 1926, catapulted Mercedes passenger, sports and racing cars into a new dimension of performance.






Copyright � 2009, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Boehler Concept BS3

The Audi S3 has a standard capacity of 265 hp and 350 Nm torque thanks O. CT Tuning has been a BS3 with 328 hp and 425 Nm max torque.


The Swiss Boehler Color Concepts is responsible for the exterior of this opgepepte S3, they have the name given to BS3. The Boehler BS3 is almost a second faster from 0 to 100 (default 5.7 seconds) and achieves a top speed of 265 km / h (standard 250 km / h).


Source: autoblog.nl