Autoblog

You are looking at the new Klipsch® Palladium P-39F floorstanding speakers -- designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA. The speakers are a collaborative effort between Klipsch and BMW. Klipsch is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance loudspeakers, while BMW DesignworksUSA... well, they design things. In addition to spitting out automobiles like the 3 Series sedan and the Z4, they have applied their artistic wizardry to products including espresso machines, wind turbines, and commercial jets. This is one of their latest products, a pair of speakers sure to please the audiophiles among us.

The five-foot tall speakers, with flush-mounted cones and horns, are beautifully finished with a horizontal zebra-grain veneer. Each is mounted on a brushed aluminum base. According to the press release, "The new speaker design celebrates Klipsch's hallmark horn-loaded technology, which delivers high-efficiency sound with low distortion, controlled directivity, flat frequency response and wide dynamic range." (Translation: they look really cool, and sound really great.) Oh, the price for all of this audible prestige? They'll run you about $15,000/pair when they become available this summer.

Check out the full press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

Raw materials costs are a headache for automakers worldwide, but the skyrocketing price of precious metals could escalate that headache to a migraine.

The chief culprit is platinum, the preferred catalyst in automobile catalytic converters. According to Reuters, platinum futures hit $1,340 an ounce late last week, and the net impact for automakers is in the range of $100 to $200 per car - yet another hit to already razor-thin profit margins.

Although automakers hedge against materials costs, as they do against currency fluctuations, if the price of a commodity stays high for a prolonged period, the company's costs will inevitably rise.

Cheaper palladium (at a relatively modest $395.50 an ounce last Friday) is an alternative to platinum, but there are technical issues. Not only is palladium somewhat less "active" than platinum as a catalyst, it is also much more sensitive to "sulfur poisoning" (reaction of the catalyst with sulfur, limiting its effectiveness in the emissions control system), a serious problem for diesel emissions systems.

In Europe, where over half of all cars sold are diesels, this is a significant problem and diesel catalytic converters have been exclusively platinum for this reason. Only the advent of ultra low sulfur fuels has made the use of palladium feasible, and even so, the newest diesel catalysts only substitute palladium for part of the platinum catalyst.

[Sources: Reuters, Dieselnet.com]