Archives Item of the Week

1938 BMW brochure

Watch our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bmwccafoundation for more featured items or check the Foundation page monthly.  If you would like to contribute any BMW related item to our collection, please contact us, we would love to talk with you. 

New 1999 BMW V12 LMR Print

The latest print in our “American Legacy” series has just arrived. This is the 1999 BMW V12 LMR that won the 12 Hours of Sebring driven by J.J. Lehto, Jörg Müller, and Tom Kristensen. This is the 11th print in our series. Check it out at http://www.bmwccafoundationstore.com/index.php/recently-added-5-2013/v12-lmr-print.html You can find most of the other prints in our store as well.

Father’s Day Sale – Store-Wide!

Don’t buy your dad another tie for Father’s Day.  Buy him what he really wants. We have over 1,800 BMW related items in our store. From May 1st through June 7th, save 10% on all purchases at our online store!  Visit BMWCCAFoundationStore.com and enter the code BIMMERDAD in the “Apply Coupon” field when checking out. The discount will be applied after the code is entered.  Some of our great items are limited in quantities!

BMW CCA Foundation / Street Survival 10 Year Anniversary Slide Show

In 2012, the Foundation celebrated a milestone birthday of ten years.  Here is a look back at many of the BMW events we attended, like Oktoberfest, Vintage at the Vineyards, Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, and more.  Of course we have to remember we had over 500 Street Survival schools during that time.  You can also see part of our museum collection.  Please check out the slide show, maybe you will see your friend or yourself in it.  Thank you to everyone that has helped this organization grow in the past ten years.

Bill Auberlen stops by the BMW CCA Foundation office

While visiting Greenville, SC for an ALMS function, long time BMW racer, Bill Auberlen, stops by the BMW CCA Foundation office.  Bill has been racing for BMW since 1996.  Currently in 2012, he races the E92 M3 GT2 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the American LeMans Series as well as the E92 M3 for Turner Motorsport in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

Michael Mitchell gives a tour of the Library, Archives, and Museum to Bill.  As they walk through the 3,000 square foot building, Bill has an opportunity to see many of the treasures the Foundation has collected over the past 10 years.  Michael shows off a 1936 brochure for the 328 roadster while Bill looks on.  Before leaving, Bill autographs a wall in our front showroom.

BMW debuts i8 plug-in hybrid and i3 all-electric cars

There’s a lot of redefining going on at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, particularly among performance- and luxury-oriented auto makers as they fold fuel efficiency and sustainability into their designs.

The new direction BMW showcased Wednesday with the North American debut of its i8 plug-in hybrid and i3 all-electric concept cars combines the efficiency of a ho-hum commuter with the exhilaration of a sports car.

Both concepts will be going into production. The i3 will have the distinction of being the first premium electric vehicle to come to market in 2013. The i8 is scheduled to follow one year later.

Both cars use something called LifeDrive architecture, which divides the car into two so-called modules. One piece is the aluminum chassis, or Drive module, which holds the battery, drive system and crash devices in a lightweight, high-strength compartment. Packaging the heaviest part of the car — the battery — as part the vehicle’s structure helps lower the car’s center of gravity and improve handling.

The second piece of the puzzle is the Life module made from lightweight and strong carbon fiber, which holds the driver and passengers. Carbon fiber is as strong as steel but 50% lighter.

The all-wheel-drive i8, a version of which can be seen speeding and skidding in the new “Mission Impossible” film,  is skinned in carbon fiber. A twin-turbocharged, 3-cylinder 220-horsepower gas engine is positioned over the front axle and coupled with a 170-horsepower electric motor in the rear. The car can travel about 20 miles on electric power alone. Together, the engine and motor can reach a top speed of 155 miles per hour and make 390 horsepower. BMW anticipates the car will get 78 miles per gallon.

The i3, also wrapped in carbon fiber, uses a drivetrain that’s currently being proved in BMW’s soon-to-be-available-for-lease Active E electric car. The i3 will be able to travel up to 100 miles on a charge and reaches a top speed of 93 miles per hour. Its electric motor is positioned above the rear axle and makes 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque.

BMW will make both cars at its plant in Leipzig, Germany, which is powered with renewable energy, the company says.

…click here to read more.

BMW unwraps 2012 3 Series

Rather than wait for the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW took the cover off its 2012 BMW 3 Series today, showing off a car loaded with new cabin technology and boasting a new engine option. And there was one more thing, the announcement of a hybrid version.

As often happens with model updates, the 3 Series gets larger, increasing length by 3.6 inches. But the good news is that BMW also increased the front and rear track, at the same time lowering overall weight by 88 pounds. And BMW insists it maintained its traditional 50/50 weight distribution.

BMW to power Leipzig factory by wind energy

German auto giant BMW plans to build four wind turbines to power a factory with enough electricity to assemble hundreds of vehicles a day, auto newspaper Automobilwoche will report on Monday.

The wind farm should be able to produce the necessary energy by late 2013, the company said.

BMW said it wants its Leipzig factory to become an example of green energy production, one that could eventually be followed in assembly plants worldwide.

The Leipzig factory is forecast to produce about 200,000 vehicles in 2011 at a rate of 740 a day.

California’s tougher talking and texting-while-driving bill heads to Governor’s desk

A law that would toughen penalties for drivers caught texting or talking without a hands-free device on their cell phone has landed on the Governor’s desk.

The measure, SB 28, was authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), and grew out of what he thinks is the success of similar laws he wrote and that have taken effect, according to a statement released Monday.

“While the numbers show that compliance is good and that California’s hands-free law is working, we can do better and save even more lives,” said Simitian, following the bill’s passage.

…

Here’s a breakdown of the proposed new law:

• Increase the base fines for violation of the hands free cell phone and texting-while-driving laws from $20 to $50 for a first offense, and from $50 to $100 for subsequent offenses;

• Make a violation of the hands free cell phone law, the texting law, or the teen safety law a driver’s license “point” on a second or subsequent offense;

• Apply these distracted driving laws to bicyclists at a lower total fine level of $20 for a first offense, and $50 for each subsequent offense;

• Use a portion of the increased fine revenue to establish and fund a cell phone related distracted driving education program in the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS); and;

• Allow the state to qualify for anticipated federal funding on cell phone related distracted driving.

…click here to read more.