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Click above for a hi-res gallery of cars at the Transport Museum at Ystafell

Tucked away in a green, waterfall-riven valley between Akureyri and Husavik, Iceland is the hamlet of Ystafell (who-stuh-fel is the closest we can get to proper pronunciation). Akureyri has some of the best nightlife in Iceland, while Husavik has whales and a museum dedicated to things unmentionable on a family site. That leaves the Transport Museum at Ystafell practically unnoticed, which is a shame, because features two barns full of unlikely vehicles, each with an authentic Icelandic story. Follow the jump for the tale of our recent visit, and check out the gallery of hi-res photos below.

Gallery: Transport Museum Ystafell

Continue reading The cars of Ystafell: vintage Icelandic metal

The cars of Ystafell: vintage Icelandic metal originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>icelandmuseummuseumstransport museumtransport museum ystafellTransportMuseumTransportMuseumYstafelltravelystafellFri, 19 Sep 2008 19:28:00 EST<![CDATA[BMW Welt: If St. Peter bought a bimmer, he'd take delivery here]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/03/bmw-welt-if-st-peter-bought-a-bimmer-hed-take-delivery-here/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/03/bmw-welt-if-st-peter-bought-a-bimmer-hed-take-delivery-here/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/03/bmw-welt-if-st-peter-bought-a-bimmer-hed-take-delivery-here/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Mercedes has been offering factory delivery of its cars since the fifties, and today more than 80,000 folks are handed their new Mercedes fobs right at the plant. One of the top tourist attractions in Germany is VW's Autostadt, which gets more than a million visitors per year. Now BMW has joined the factory delivery crowd with its BMW Welt, built next to the BMW campus at a cost in excess of $275 million.

Looking like a breakaway chunk from the Guggenheim in Bilbao, it contains a gallery showcasing the roundel's complete line, a conference center, a kiddie center, and exhibits. BMW expects 800,000 visitors per year. Of those, 45,000 of them will be coming to collect their new ultimate driving machine. After a tour of the BMW factory, in a separate building, new owners will collect their cars, which will be waiting for them on a revolving turntable... atop a plinth... bathed in the spotlight. Indeed, it will be a dramatic way to collect your 1-Series.

The creation of such a building was inspired by marketing. With relative tadpoles in the auto business muscling their way into the top tier, one of the last battlegrounds for distinction is age. With the BMW Welt, the company that was winning races before Toyota had made its first car wants to show that old girls still have a lot of fight left in them. Porsche is expected to join the party next year with its own specially designed factory delivery monument.

[Source: New York Times]

BMW Welt: If St. Peter bought a bimmer, he'd take delivery here originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bmwbmw weltBmwWeltfactoriesmuseumsFri, 03 Aug 2007 09:33:00 EST