BMW Car News

August 12, 2010

Luxury Car Manufacturers Become Official Sponsor For England 2018 World Cup Bid

Filed under: luxury — lloyd @ 12:38 pm

JaguarBackTheBid

Luxury car makers Jaguar Land Rover have announced that they will be the official sponsors/supporters of England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

As part of being apart of the bid the company will be supplying four Range Rovers, one Discovery 4 and four Jaguar XJs for when the FIFA inspectors arrive in England next week. The vehicles will also be used as part of the domestic transport when the bid travels around the country to inspect would be host stadiums.

Jonathan Gregory, Director of Partnerships for bid said:

"Jaguar Land Rover are a fantastic addition to our sponsor family, the brands are synonymous with design, quality and excellence. They are dedicated to providing first class vehicles for our bid and we are really looking forward to working with them."

The news comes on the back of BMW announcing that they will be sponsoring the US Olympic team for the 2012 games to be held in London.

The number of official sponsors for the World Cup bid has now increased to 11 as Heathrow Airport also announced that they will be ‘Backing The Bid’.

The bid has five big name ‘top-level’ sponsors who are – Morrisons,  British Airways, BT, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Umbro.

Managing Director of Jaguar UK, Geoff Cousins said:

“All Jaguar and Land Rovers are designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK and as such we are proud to be supporting the England World Cup bid.”

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August 9, 2010

Parking Proximity Sensors

Filed under: luxury — lloyd @ 9:41 am

Parking Proximity Sensors are a relatively recent addition to vehicles and still only really come as an additional extra.

They have been designed to alert drivers to unseen obstacles when they are parking and also how close they are to an object such as a wall.

The sensors work by using an ultrasonic proximity sensor similar to the ones used in radars, and work by sending a low level sound wave which is then rebounded back when it hits an object. The sensors computer then measures the time taken for the pulse to return, conferring the information to the driver usually by a series of  ‘beeps’ which change pitch in accordance to the distance.

Some systems use a visual detection system where a camera will give the driver a view from behind them and a signal bar on the screen will indicate distance. these are also usually used in conjunction with the audio system.

The video below gives a good technical evaluation of how the sensors work and where they are positioned within the vehicle.

Parking sensors can sometimes require replacing or refitting as they can become redundant if knocked out of position, unless covered by a warranty this can be expensive as it involves an electrical refit. Spare parts taken from breakers maybe an option if you want to save money .

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August 5, 2010

BMW Wary Despite Profit Rise

Filed under: Uncategorized — lloyd @ 10:07 am

BMW have warned that economic uncertainty could have a visible impact on their sales figures for the second half of the year.

The world’s top-selling luxury car maker has said it expected a rise in earnings throughout 2010 but countries decisions to cut their fiscal deficits would now need to be accounted for.

The announcement by the German manufacturers cam as they reported a net profit for the second quarter of around $1.1bn, selling close to 700,000 vehicles including subsidies’ MINI and Rolls-Royce. This is up 13% on last year.

The sales forecast for this year is 1.4m units, 10% more than 2009 but still slightly under the all time record of 1.5m in 2007.

Experts have in the past criticised BMW’s business model by suggesting that they rely to heavily on the Chinese market but Norbert Reithofer said:

“We are aiming at a balanced business performance . . . We want to grow on all continents, in large and small markets alike.”

To support this the company will be launching news models that they would only really sell in Europe and the US which would decrease the share of sales China has, but dampen earnings for the year.

If you are interested in leasing a BMW why not have  a look at Leasbam for BMW Leasing who will search dealers local and nationwide to find the best price for you.

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August 4, 2010

BMW Take Control Of Fan’s Facebook Page

Filed under: news — lloyd @ 12:05 pm

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BMW has taken over a Facebook page that was created by a fan, this is the companies first official foray into social networking.

By taking control of an already existing page the German manufacturer has also acquired the 1 million plus ‘fans’ already subscribed to the page.

This tactic has been used previously be Coca-Cola who opted to take control of a pre-existing page rather than start from scratch.

BMW are joining the growing list of corporations that are managing their social networking and media distribution in-house rather than through a contracted agency.

Experts in Social Media have said that the trend does benefit both the company and users but for the ‘virtual community’ to grow they need to avoid taking complete control of the fan-made groups.

Tino Kuehnel, Social Media Consultant at BMW said:

“We got in touch with the fan first and carried on that contact until we were able to tell him exactly what we planned to do with the page. This meant we received really good co-operation,”

Interested in joining the BMW family? Why not lease, it avoids paying the sometimes scary window price and gives you a lot of flexibility on changing models. Also if you are a business user you can claim back certain aspects.

Take a look at leasebam for BMW car lease who will search BMW dealers to find the best price for you, all without you leaving your computer screen.

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August 2, 2010

Car Parts Dealers Face Jail Over ‘Mini’ Name.

Filed under: news — lloyd @ 9:06 am

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Two car parts trader have been warned they face jail unless they stop trading under the name ‘Mini’

Mini owners BMW took exception to the dealers selling Mini memorabilia and accessories.

The High Court handed the pair a three month suspended sentence on the terms they stop using the word mini, which has been owned by BMW since 1994.

The two salesman started selling Mini badges and customised extras for the original models before opening two separate shops.

A previous cease order had been issues by a judge back in 2008 but the pair continued to trade under the Mini name.

After apologising in court for the defiance, Mark Roscoe who was defending said:

“The business complained of is operated more as a hobby.”

But Guy Tritton representing BMW commented that there had been a “complete failure” by the pair to comply with the original 2008 order from the courts.

Need spare parts for your Mini why not take a look at CarSpareFinder, who will search breakers nationwide to find your parts at the best price. All without you having to leave your computer screen.

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