BMW Addresses Range Anxiety with a Gas Loaner Program

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CarIf you have an electric car, do you have range anxiety?  Or, maybe that’s the very reason you have yet to make the final leap and purchase an electric car.  Well, you no longer have anything to fear!  BMW has come up with a solution, gas-powered loaners for your long trips.

So, you might be asking, “What exactly is ‘range anxiety’?”  It’s the fear of running out of electricity before you reach your final destination.  This is much the same as running out of fuel except for one tiny problem; there aren’t electric charging stations on every corner, as there are with gas stations!

BMW is trying to banish range anxiety with their new gas-powered loaner cars. When you need to take a long trip, BMW will loan you a gas-powered car.  BMW is planning to make the loaner vehicle a package deal with the electric car ownership experience, so hopefully, you will not have to pay separately each time you need a loaner.

A variety of questions have been brought up regarding such a program, but for the time being, it’s a great solution until the electric car infrastructure grows in the U.S.  For more information on the new loaner program, feel free to contact our local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania BMW dealership, P&W BMW.

P&W BMW Casting Call

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P&W BMW ServiceLights! Camera! Action!

Have you always dreamed of starring in a movie or television show?

Well, now is your chance!

A chance to star in a P&W BMW video, at least.

The only pre-requisite is that you have to have experienced the excellence of our P&W BMW Service Department.

And, that is a given for all of our P&W BMW customers.

So, this is your chance to share your story.

On Saturday, March 9, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., P&W BMW will be filming your testimonial of your excellent service experience with our Service Department.

Your talents will be featured online on our website and YouTube channel as well as on our in-house television monitors.

As an expression of our gratitude, lunch and an additional token of our appreciation will be provided.

Auditions may be pitched to Jennifer Luhmann.

We’re kidding – just email Jennifer at jennifer.luhmann@pandwforeigncars.com.

Let’s see what kind of talent you have out there, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania!

BMW: The Best Brand in All Classes

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In 2011, the German motoring magazine Auto Bild, with a readership of almost 100,000, decided to survey its readers to discover the best brands in all classes.

Auto Bild proceeded to conduct the poll for a second year to identify the best brands in all classes for the year 2012.

We know that BMW is the best brand in every class, but here is what readers of Auto Bild believe.

In the Good Looks and Style category, eighty percent of Auto Bild readers voted the BMW brand as the best in three different classes – executive, luxury and mid-range vehicles.

Eighty-eight percent of Auto Bild readers ranked BMW as the best brand in the special category of Sporty Engines.

The BMW brand was also chosen to be the best in another special category of Well-Connected Cars by ninety percent of Auto Bild readers. Voters raved about the BMW Connected Drive technology in addition to its slew of Driver Assistance Systems and comprehensive infotainment system.

Last, but certainly not least, with a ninety-one percent vote, Auto Bild readers identified BMW as the best brand in the special category of Advanced Technology.

BMW promises the Ultimate Driving Machine and the Ultimate Driving Experience, no matter the class o segment of the vehicle.

It seems that the readers of Auto Bild concur that BMW has delivered in its promise.

Visit your local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, to preview or test drive an award-winning BMW.

BMW Partners with Paris Photo for their Renowned Art Fair

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BrushesBMW has had a long standing reputation for supporting the arts.  Earlier this month BMW Group presented the 17th Art Directors Guild Awards and now they will be celebrating their tenth anniversary of partnership with Paris Photo, the most celebrated photographic art fair.  The art fair will be presented at the Paramount Pictures Studios from April 26 to 28.

The partnership consists of BMW providing the VIP shuttle service to and from the art fair and the presentation of the M1 BMW Art Car by Andy Warhol.  This car was created in 1979 and originally raced in Le Mans.  Warhol said his creation was meant to, “give a vivid depiction of speed.  If a car is really fast, all contours and colors will become blurred.”

The purpose of the Paris Photo art fair this year is for artists to show how they have been using photography and moving images in their work.  There will be a variety of gallery exhibitors with group shows located among the three Paramount Pictures’ soundstages as well as five special sections.  The special sections will consist of Moving Images, Young Galleries, Complete Series, New York Street Backlot and Public Programming Sound and Vision.  More details about each of these sections can be found at the BMW group press release site.

Local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, is excited for the opening of the Paris Photo art fair!

The 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am, a good cause

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GolfThe 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am is more than just a golf tournament.

It is an opportunity for local nonprofit organizations to raise funds for their charities.

Over $9.25 million has been raised for more than 150 charities since 2001.

Organizations earn 100 percent of ticket sales and 50 percent of team sales.

Nonprofits are also in a bonus pool to receive additional winnings.

Charities are diverse and include the list below.

  • 100 Black Men of the Upstate
  • Child Evangelism Fellowship of Greenville
  • Child Evangelism Fellowship of Spartanburg
  • Dogs for Autism
  • The First Tee of Greenville
  • Greenville Tech Foundation Inc.
  • Harvest Hope Food Bank
  • JDRF – Greater Western Carolinas Chapter
  • Make-A-Wish Foundation
  • Mobile Meals of Spartanburg
  • National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA)
  • New Foundations Home for Children
  • Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services (PAALS)
  • Play Safe Inc.
  • The Reserve at lake Keowee Charitable Foundation
  • Ronal McDonald House of the Carolinas
  • Scottish Rite Foundation
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children – Greenville
  • Spiritual Two-A-Days
  • The Walker Foundation for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind

The 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am will start on Thursday, May 16, 2013 and end on Sunday, May 19, 2013.

The tournament will be hosted at three different venues – the Greenville Country Club Chanticleer Course, The Reserve at Lake Keowee, and Thornblade Club.

Tickets can be purchased at buybmwtickets.com.

Local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, looks forward to the event and its charitable mission.

BMW Presents 17th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards

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BMW Group has been supporting the creative and cultural scene for over five decades; so, it comes as no surprise to most of us that they presented the 17th Art Directors Guild Awards this February.  This award recognized the achievements of production and set designers in the television and film industry.  BMW is the official automotive partner of the 17th Art Directors Guild Awards.

This title means that BMW provided the VIP shuttle service and showcased two of its newest models at the awards; the BMW i8 Concept Spyder and BMW Series 6 Gran Coupe.  They were both displayed in front of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the awards took place.  BMW Group Designworks USA also designed the “electrified” trophy that was awarded to Herman F. Zimmerman.

“Our designers were inspired by the metaphor of a flying spark that ignites creative vision. This energy is, metaphorically speaking, electrifying. It prompted our designers to recreate this fusion of technology and art in the form of the trophy,” explained Alec Bernstein, Global Director, Creative Consulting & Strategic Partnering, BMW Group DesignworksUSA.

You can tell that BMW puts a lot of emphasis on the creativity and art that goes into their models.  This enthusiasm is carried throughout the core of the company by supporting a variety of cultural events such as the Berlinale, an International Film Festival, Bayerischer Filmpreis, Landshut Short Film Festival, Regensburg Short Film Week and the BMW Shorties.  BMW encourages product placement and sponsorship through these academies.

Local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, is proud to be a part of the creative and cultural scene.

The BMW and Toyota Partnership

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Sustainable mobility.

Zero emissions.

To some, these may come across as rather lofty goals.

And, for others, only dreams.

However, for BMW, these are promises whose efforts are already underway.

BMW EfficientDynamics was the first step BMW took toward delivering these pledges.

The second step is its partnership with Toyota.

Together, BMW and Toyota plan to create four separate products that will transform the vision of sustainable mobility and zero emissions into more of a reality.

Architecture and elements, knowledge and technology will be fused together in the development of a midsize sports vehicle to be completed by the end of 2013.

The vehicle will be primarily composed of the second element resulting from the partnership—lightweight vehicle technology. Reducing the weight of the vehicle through materials such as BMW Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites (CFRP) will not only make the vehicle faster, but more fuel efficient as well.

The pair will also work to manufacture a fuel-cell vehicle system, complete with a fuel-cell stack, a hydrogen tank, a motor, and a battery. This system, to be finished by 2020, is energized with clean power sources and has zero emissions aside from water.

Last but not least will come a lithium-air battery that will provide far greater energy than the lithium batteries today.

Local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, anxiously anticipates the results of the BMW and Toyota partnership.

A Car of the Future

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For the ninth consecutive year, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) presented the Gelber Engel awards.

The ADAC is the largest automobile club in Europe.

And, to receive a Gelber Engel award is one of the highest honors among the automotive industry.

A Gelber Engel award is granted within five different categories—Car, Future, Innovation and Environment, Personality, and Quality.

Considerations within each category revolve around the ultimate principle of “sustainability to the highest degree.”

Awards were presented in the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche at the Münchner Residenz this year.

The BMW 520d EfficientDynamics Edition BluePerformance received the Gelber Engle award in the Car of the Future category.

Its remarkably low consumption was praised due to features such as aerodynamic wheels and reduced roll resistance tires as well as its modified engine design and optimized gear shift indicator.

Its catalytic converter was also recognized for its reduction in harmful emissions.

Also, mention-worthy is the most popular car in Germany based upon the opinions of Motorwelt readers and ADAC Internet platform users –the BMW 3 Series.

Visit your local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, to preview or test drive the BMW 3 Series.

The BMW Group and Some “GOOD DESIGN”

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In the year of 1950, three Chicago architects by the names of Edgar Kaufmann Jr., Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames, established the GOOD DESIGN award.

Since then, the Chicago Athenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture, Art Design and Urban Studies have presented this award annually to “designers and manufacturers of innovative and visionary products, concepts, and ideas that go beyond the bounds of ordinary product design.”

Based upon aesthetics, ecological responsibility, and functionality, GOOD DESIGN is the oldest international design award in the world and one of the most prestigious honors to receive in the world of product design.

A panel of architects and design experts considered thousands of entries that were nominated to receive the 2012 GOOD DESIGN award.

Of the 700 awarded designs from 38 countries, six were BMW Group Design products—the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, the BMW 3 Series Sedan, the BMW M6 Coupe, the BMW M5, and the BMW Travel & Comfort System.

Be sure to visit your local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, to preview or test drive any of these award-winning vehicles and more.

BMW’s Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain in Dakar 2013

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MapDakar 2013 began in Lima Peru on January 6, 2013.

Five thousand miles, fourteen stages, and fifteen days later, Dakar 2013 will end in Santiago Chile on January 20, 2013.

Almost two hundred motorcycles will endure the marathon.

Only one will win.

The BMW Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain is comprised of sixteen members of nine different nationalities and managed by Wolfgang Fischer.

Of its sixteen members, only four are official riders—Joan Barreda from Spain, Alessandra Botturi from Italy, Matt Fish from Australia, and Paulo Goncalves from Portugal.

Today marks the sixth stage that will cover the 477 miles from Arica to Argentina.

Riders have endured a warm up stage from Lima to la Pisco, 151 miles from la Pisco to Pisco, 214 miles from Pisco to Nazca, 449 miles from Nazca to Arequipa, and 257 miles from Arequipa to Arica.

The overall standings for BMW’s Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain are:

7. Botturi

16. Goncalves

54. Barreda

56. Fish

Local Pittsburgh Pennsylvania dealership, P&W BMW, shows its support for the BMW Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain in Dakar 2013.