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Retro Spin: 1988 BMW M5

25 Years After Launch, Original M5 Still Stirs The Soul "How would you like to drive a 1988 M5 up Highway 1?" That wasn't a call I was expecting, especially in the late summer of 2010. As far as I was concerned, any car from the 1980s still on the road was sure to be showing a few hundred thousand miles, springs coming through the seats and air conditioning blowing warm. We all have a short list of favorite vehicles that most will never see, let alone drive. However, BMW North America was on the other end of the phone, and the vehicle we were discussing had been pulled out of a ... Read More

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: Playboy reveals its 2013 Cars of the Year
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    Vaunted men's magazine Playboy knows that its readers are nearly as interested in cars as they are in the female anatomy... sorry, we thought we could write that with a straight face. Anyway, the buff-book does occasionally fill some of its spreads with sexy metal, to accent all the rest of the sexiness. To wit, the magazine has unveiled its feature on ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    First Drive: 2013 BMW M5 6MT [w/video]
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    When Truth Crushes Our Enthusiast Souls American automotive enthusiasts are a crazy bunch. While the rest of the world embraces quick, innovative and efficient dual-clutch automated gearboxes, a good portion of Yankee gearheads still scream for old-school manual transmissions. Despite all of the inadequacies with driver-directed gear changes, car nuts ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    BMW recalling 2013 M5, M6 models over potential catastrophic engine failures
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    Catastrophic engine failure... not exactly what you want to hear no matter what you're driving, but especially so when you've just purchased a brand-new 2013 BMW M5 or M6. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "a manufacturing process error" could cause the oil pump's driveshaft to separate from its rotor, leading "to a sudden ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Report: BMW issues stop sale on M5 and M6 models over faulty oil pump
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    According to the M-obsessed boys and girls at M5Post.com, BMW has issued an immediate stop sale on new M5 and M6 (both coupe and convertible) models. The problem stems from the engine oil pump; if the pump doesn't supply the correct amount of oil to the engine's moving parts, "severe engine damage" is the likely result. That's not good at all. BMW is ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Video: Motor Trend pits BMW M5 against Porsche Panamera GTS
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    It's not like we needed it, but the latest episode of Motor Trend's "Head 2 Head" is more proof that those who spend six-figures buy whatever they want (or more likely, they buy three or four of them), not necessarily what wins the spec war or a drag race. Jonny Lieberman took two German thunder chariots, the BMW M5 and Porsche Panamera GTS, to the ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Report: 2013 BMW M5 may have more horsepower than reported
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    With the 2013 BMW M5 finally going on sale in the U.S., we definitely saw this coming. BimmerBoost recently got a hold of engine dyno run for the new M5, and is reporting that the car's twin-turbo V8 is "severely" underrated. Officially, the M5's 4.4-liter V8 is rated at 560 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, but the dyno graph reveals numbers at ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: BMW says M5 sedan, M6 Coupe finally in U.S. showrooms
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    For those of you looking to snag a brand-new BMW M5 or M6, good news has arrived. The German super sedan and two-door have finally rolled in to U.S. dealerships. (Given how long we've been talking about these cars, you could be forgiven for thinking they've been on sale in the States for ages.) The M6 coupe and M5 sedan join the M6 convertible, which ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Official: BMW outlines plans at Pebble, teases new Zagato concept
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    The pageant of global automotive finery that is Pebble Beach weekend is under way, and among the many automakers with big plans is BMW. Its prize pony will be the unveiling of the BMW Zagato concept (click the photo above to enlarge) – a different BMW-Zagato collaboration than what was revealed at Villa d'Este earlier this year (see gallery below). ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Video: The BMW M5 "Bullet" commercial that's too good to miss
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    Want to watch something strangely beautiful? We suggest the BMW M5 footage crafted by BMW of Canada in the video below. No scantily clad women, no overtly gratuitous tire smoke – just a 560-horsepower super sedan doing its best impression of a bullet. Shortly after getting "shot" out of a makeshift barrel, the M5 hurdles its way at something we ...

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    MISC 1988 BMW M5
    Report: Next BMW M5 to drop manual transmission option
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    There is something very right about a rear-wheel-drive sports sedan with over 500 horsepower and a manual transmission, and yet few vehicles check those boxes quite like the BMW M5. Unfortunately, most M5 buyers prefer to leave their left foot out of the gear-shifting equation, which is leading BMW to lose the manual tranny option altogether in favor of a ...

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