Autoblog

Marketing campaigns are always in search of a new hook, and BMW's gotten creative to help keep the 1-Series on boil. Readers of the March 24th edition of Autoweek were treated to a smattering of tiny-Roundel factoids at the bottom of the mag's pages. Some of them might be true, while others seem entirely made up. The hard facts are naturally spot-on, but subjective impressions like back seat comfort, desirability, and a link to the 2002 are all tenuous at best. The effort is charming in its cleverness, even if we're not entirely sold on the idea that we're going to regret it if we neglect to buy a 1-Series.

[Source: AutoInsane.com]

click above for more high-res pics of the BMW 135i

If you're still frothing at the mouth for anything having to do with the new BMW 1-Series coupe, some new photos have found their way onto the internet. It's still a 3-series that was left in the dryer too long, but the new shots show the car off in its best possible light. There's been a lot of talk about the 135 being a return to the roots of what propelled BMW to such greatness, with alphanumerics like E30 M3 and 2002tii flying about. The 135i certainly holds its own stylistically, even if it is not possessed of the same delicacy of line as its forebears. The 135i appears hefty, like a block of dense marble carved by a skilled artisan, and when you get right down to it, that's what it is. We've babbled enough, check out the gallery. Thanks for the tip, Horatiu!

[Source: edbmw]

A new entry-level car from a premium European brand will be washing up on our shores when the BMW 1-Series arrives carrying a price tag slightly under $30,000. Much the same way as Volvo's looking to its bobbed-tail C30 to recruit younger buyers into the fold while offering an appropriately flavored confection of a car, the 1-Series has the task of winning customers who would love a Roundel on the hood, but can't swing the 3-series. Having done the truncated poop deck on the E36 318ti, BMW decided to go with a traditional three-box profile this time around.

Where former entry-level efforts from premium European brands have not inspired drivers, the 1-Series has everyone buzzing. While the 135i gets the 335's delectable 300-HP drivetrain, good for a 5.1 second run to 60 mph, even the "entry level" 128i will have plenty of snort. The 128i will make do with 230 horses, giving up a second in the accelerative dash, yet taking it about $5,000 easier on your checkbook. We expect that BMW has learned from its 318ti experience, and the interior will not be a cheapened affair when compared to the 3-series, but will carry the same high quality materials, super comfortable seats, and impossibly tight fits. It's getting to be so you can't swing a cat without hitting a slightly-sub-30K vehicle with a spiffy emblem on the rump. We like that.

[Source: Auto News - sub req.]

They go on vacation, they never write, they never call, bupkis is what they send as communiques from the front. Our three erstwhile podcast participants, John, Damon and Alex, have pulled it together this week after far too long a hiatus. We proudly bring you Autoblog Podcast #70. Forty minutes and fifty-five seconds of crispity-crunchity Autoblog punditry. John admits to shabby Alero repair right off the bat, but things quickly move on to how perfect the Audi S8 is. You weren't going to use that $110,000 on anything like philanthropy, anyway, so pony up for the Panda Bear upholstery, you'll be glad you did. You could use your S8 to jet-set to Altamont and catch the 24 Hours of LeMons when it comes back around. Damon was there live blogging it this time, but we're going to be campaigning an Autoblog car in October. We hope.

Turning our gaze to the Roundel, BMW has officially officialized the 1-series coupe. With real snort under the hood of even the base model, it appears that this car may have found some of the DNA that the 2002tii left kicking around. Will the styling be off-putting? Will it poach MINI buyers? Is the price too high to attract new people to the brand? Stay tuned. The breathlessly awaited and endlessly promoted Transformers movie finally hit screens, and Autoblog was there. Alex plays film critic and offers a solid analysis (Let's not get carried away, Dan - AN) which boils down to: awesome, until the people start talking. Oh yeah, it's full of not-so-subtle advertisements and product placement, too. Who cares? It's TRANSFORMERS! We should warn you - if you want to avoid the spoiling about the film, skip from 17m 10s to 28m 35s, and you'll be good to go.

We wrap up with a couple of quick ones: iPhones top the list of status baubles for teenagers, and cars are way down. At least if they don't have a car, they won't be using the iPhone while they should be driving. It sounds to us like a serious issue with priorities, though. Speaking of coveted items, a forum member managed to snag some very nice spy shots of the new Challenger in the wild. We can't wait for the 2009-2010 Musclecar Smackdown. Maybe it'll be just as short as it was nearly 40 years ago, hopefully not. Lastly, the Reader Ride is returning. We love featuring your cars, so be sure to look for the post about what to do.

See you next week!

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Click image for 37 hi-res shots

The leak-riddled embargo on BMW new entry-level 1-Series coupe finally lifts today. By now, you've already seen many of the photos, a video or two, and read the official press releases. To recap the basics, here's what's in store for the US model:

• On sale Spring 2008
• USA gets 2 cars: 128i and 135i
• 128i: 3.0L I6 w/ 230 hp and 200lb-ft
• 135i: 3.0L twin-turbo I6 w/ 300 hp and 300 lb-ft
• 135i mfr.performance stats: 0-62 in 5.3 sec, 155 mph top speed

The rest of the rundown can be found in the BMW press release after the jump. So, is this the modern 2002 BMW would certainly like it to be? Weigh in with your comments. Whatever you want to call it, it looks like it's going to be a fun little car. Hopefully, the pricing's in line with its intent. If only we were getting that hot 2.0L diesel, too...

The gallery has now been updated with all the official shots in high res.

[Source: BMW]

We like video games as much as anybody, and gaming combined with some international competition is even better. We also like BMWs, so when we found that the folks from Bavaria had a flash-based racing game with BMWs racing against Mustangs and Challengers through the streets of Europe, we had to give it a shot. The coolest aspect of the game is that you can gauge your score against the best the Internet has to offer.

For a free game that acts as a fun marketing tool, BMW did a pretty good job here. Sure, there is way too much talking going on in between rounds, and full-color backdrops and roads would be vastly preferred vs the monochrome dust bowl that we get in the game. One aspect of the game that we particularly like is the better you do in the races, the more money you accumulate, and you can use that money at the BMW store to obtain upgrades for your Bimmer. You start off with a 1-Series hatch (we wish we could do that in the US), and once you've accumulated $9,000, you can upgrade to the 3.0L inline six.

From there you can upgrade to a Z4 and finally an X3. We haven't finished the race yet, and we're definitely not among the top qualifiers, but we're not giving up. Overall, the game can be frustrating, but somehow we got hooked anyway. It's hard to write posts when you have a race to win.

We reported to you back in January that the BMW 1-Series was on its way to the US in 2008 and that the mini-Bimmer would come in several two-door configurations. After Brenda Priddy and friends caught the 1-Series in an all-out photo shoot in the American Southwest, we're more convinced than ever that the 1-Series will hit US shores, and soon.

The 1-Series' price will likely be slotted in between the MINI Cooper and the 3-Series, with some speculation that indicates that the 300 HP, twin-turbo 3.0L may find its way under hood. That kind of power coming packed into a small, RWD vehicle from Bavaria is almost guaranteed to be a fantastic drive. To keep the BMW cachet in the US alive and well, we doubt the normally-aspirated four-cylinder model sold in Europe will come here anytime soon. That is, until BMW develops a new turbo-four.

[Source: Edmunds]

Well, it's definitely a BMW. Check the dude on the bike in the background. His "was ist das?" expression is priceless. The proportions of the car are scaled quite well, and in the pics, you don't really get the sense that this is the "baby Bimmer."

There's a bit of camo at the rear - the C-pillar is covered up, but if you look closely, you'll see that it won't be going into production emulating an '80 Regal's roofline. It's harder to get a sense of what the taillights are going to do, but they look to be fairly simple affairs. Overall, the 1-series offers a dandy profile coupled to the familial face. It'll be a nasty little thing if the rumors of the 300hp twin-turbo six prove to be true. What we wouldn't give for a modern-day 1600 or 2002Tii.

[Source: Winding Road]