The problem involves the engine’s electronic control unit, when temperatures are below freezing and humidity is low, according to a NHTSA defect report. Under those conditions, an electrostatic discharge can occur at pipes that deliver fuel to the engine’s injectors, causing the control unit to malfunction.

Dealers in the areas will fix the problem by grounding cables into the engine compartment of the vehicle. All maintenance will be done free of charge. The only vehicles affected are the 550I and 650I from model years 2006 and 2007, and the X5 from 2007.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

The coupe does get slightly more dramatic changes to the rockers, now chunkier, which we think succeeds only in making the car look fatter, and the rear decklid, which reaches farther off the back of the car. In curving up to meet the trailing edge of the plateau, the vertical face of the trunklid grows more concave.

Otherwise, it’s the same news as with the 5-series: a wider air intake, LED turn signals and taillights, and two new colors that bring the number of blues and grays available on the cars to three each. A few minor tweaks to the interior are barely worth noting, but BMW’s upgraded six-speed automatic punts the loathed sequential manual gearbox to the curb while retaining the steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles.

The biggest change to the 2008 5-series, the addition of the 300-hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six, doesn’t make it to the 6-series, leaving the 360-hp, 4.8-liter V-8 as the sole engine option, unless buyers choose the M6 and its 500-hp, 5.0-liter V-10.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

Inside, you’ll find a new iDrive button that is supposedly more ergonomic, along with Sun Reflective Technology that will be standard on the convertible model. Under the sheetmetal, Stop-start technology has been implemented, that coupled with BMW’s newest Efficient Dynamics fuel saving tech and regenerative braking system will increase electrical efficiency.

The changes in the lineup include the addition of the new dual-turbo three-liter diesel (in Europe) and the direct-injected three-liter petrol model, producing 270 HP and 236 lb.-ft. of torque.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

That 535d sibling hustles to 60 mph from a standing start in just 6.5 seconds, thanks in large part to its 413 lb-ft of torque. That’s even more torque than is found in the range-topping M6 (a measly 383). Although horsepower is considerably lower at 272 vs. the 500 found in the M6, we expect the fuel mileage benefits to appeal to many with gas prices holding high. The 535d gets a combined 35.3 mpg on the British standard rating.

The M6 manages just 12/18 on the EPA cycle. We have anticipated and hoped that we’ll hear more about the car later in the year. And as a sidenote, we know tuners like Hamman have already worked that mill up to 350 hp/487 lb-ft of torque, so this could get very interesting.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

The 2006 650i Coupe and Convertible will replace the 645Ci Coupe and Convertible and will be powered by the new 360-horsepower 4.8-liter V8 engine that was introduced in the 750i. The 6-Series adds the engine Start/Stop button already a feature of the 3-Series and the 7-Series.

The Dynamic Stability Control receives upgraded functions including Brake Fading Compensation, Brake Standby, Brake Drying, and Start-off Assistant. New double-spoke 18-inch wheels are standard and Active Steering is offered as a stand-alone option.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

There is nothing wrong necessarily. The cabin is spacious but spartan in feel, and some of the instruments and controls seem too simple. Then there is the iDrive, the electronic system that runs everything, which will drive you mad trying to figure it out. However, once in, buckled up and familiar with systems, the fun starts.

The car is sure footed and handles and corners beautifully. Acceleration is good and braking is simply sensational. BMW has come up with a racy specimen with precise steering that won’t skid.

Despite its sports car pedigree, the ride is not that rough and enables you to thoroughly enjoy it as an everyday car. With good trunk space, it is perfect for weekend trips sans kids. All this excitement in driving comes at a much lesser price than an exotic and will give you the reliability of a BMW.

Standard features of note include: Digital Motor Electronics engine-management system with adaptive knock control; Four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with electronic brake proportioning; Dynamic Stability Control with Dynamic Traction Control; Anti-lock Braking System with Dynamic Brake Control; Vehicle-speed-sensitive, variable-assist, variable-ratio rack-and-pinion power steering, Active Roll Stabilization; Active Roll Stabilization; Rain-sensing windshield wipers; and Park Distance Control.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

The 645Ci coupe and 645Ci convertible are essentially hard top and soft top versions of the same car. Bristling with the latest in technology, they are based on the superb new 5 Series chassis but are not simply two-door versions of the sedans. The 6 Series cars are modern GTs, or Gran Turismo cars.

They offer greater luxury and comfort than the Z4 sports car, yet with higher performance, more agile handling, and sportier styling than the 5 Series sports sedans. The 645Ci Coupe and 645Ci Convertible each qualify as an ultimate driving machine, yet either can be driven all day in perfect comfort.

The BMW 645Ci Coupe ($69,900) and 645Ci Convertible ($76,900) are nearly identical in temperament and equipment. Leather upholstery, a choice of rich interior trim, and a long list of luxury features are standard, including a sports suspension, 18-inch wheels, xenon adaptive headlamps, and park-assist.

BMW’s 4.4-liter V8 powers the 645Ci models, delivering 325 horsepower to the rear wheels. A choice of transmissions includes a six-speed manual gearbox (standard), a six-speed automatic with Steptronic (a no-cost option), and a six-speed sequential manual gearbox ($1,300).

Options include Sirius Satellite Radio ($670); heated front seats ($500); active cruise control ($2,200); head-up display ($1,000). The Sport Package ($2,800) adds active steering, 19-inch sport wheels with run-flat tires, and sport seats. A Premium Sound Package ($1,800) includes Logic7 audio with six-disc CD changer.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

After some significant powertrain improvements last year including the new 360-hp 4.8-liter V-8 changes for ’07 are relatively few. The most striking is the addition of a new interior option, Pearl leather. This new treatment includes a softer, more supple quality to the upholstery, complemented by a distinctive stitching. Available in either Black or Cream Beige, the option also adds special black Nasca leather to the sun blinds and center console.

In addition, a new auxiliary input for an iPod or MP3 player is now standard. Stand-alone options now include HD radio and the Logic7 Sound System. This last was part of the Premium Sound Package last year, which also included a 6-disc CD changer.

The Premium Sound Package has been deleted, to provide 6 Series owners with the flexibility to install the BMW accessory CD changer or the new accessory Interface for iPod, based on their personal preference and listening habits.

The heritage of today’s 6 Series goes back to October 1937, when BMW introduced an elegant cabriolet called the 327. Low-built even by today’s standards and seating just two persons, the 327 was powered by a 2-liter inline 6-cylinder engine, whose 55 horsepower powered it to 78 mph a brisk speed for the late Thirties. A coupe version followed shortly thereafter, as did a new and more powerful engine.

In 1956, BMW unveiled the 503 coupe and cabriolet, designed by Count Albrecht Goertz  who, in the same period, designed the immortal BMW 507 roadster. Their V-8 engine delivered 140 hp from 3.2 liters and powered the 503s to the handsome top speed of 118 mph; in those days as now, one could drive legally at top speed on Germany’s Autobahnen.

The next coupe, a smaller one, appeared in 1965; its exterior design, especially that of its “greenhouse” or passenger cabin, related closely to Bertone’s 3200 CS look. Powered by a 4-cylinder engine in 2-liter form, it came in two forms 2000 C with 100 hp, 2000 CS with 120 hp.

In 1968, BMW re-entered the 6-cylinder luxury segment with the new 2500/2800 sedans; a coupe version followed soon thereafter. It was called 2800 CS, and over the years of its production (until ’75), it evolved into many forms, including the 3.0 CS, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful BMWs ever made. For its fans, this Series is simply “the CS.”

The first 6 Series succeeded the CS. Longer, wider and lower than its predecessor. After its U.S. debut in ’77, it eventually evolved into the 635CSi and, with the mighty BMW M 6-cylinder engine, the M6. Though not exactly a lineal ancestor of the new 6 Series, the 8 Series is BMW’s most recent performance-luxury coupe. Over the years of its production (1990-97), it appeared in several forms, from the V-8 840Ci through the 372-hp, V-12 850CSi.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!

More important, the X3, by being nearly as fun to drive, or perhaps as fun, as the company’s new 6-Series coupe flagship, represents a new era in which BMW has more than one sport utility vehicle that is as exciting as a passenger car.

The X3, which is based on the 3-Series sedan (as the larger X5 sport utility is on based on the 5-Series), delivers the sort of super-stiff, super-sporty ride that attracts youth and may repel moms and dads. Its smaller size makes it more agile and sporty than the already sporty X5 and a preponderance of industry analysts say that kids love SUVs.

Premium SUVs like the X3 are a safe bet for companies looking to make money. Dr. Helmut Panke, chairman of BMW, said through an interpreter that “in the next ten years, growth in the premium segments, percentage-wise, will be twice that in the mass segments” and premium SUV’s will have double that growth, he added. The X3 will be built by Magna Steyr, an Austrian carmaker. Panke says that BMW could bring the vehicle to market more quickly by farming out its production.

But if the X3 requires a leap outside the company, the new 6-Series taps BMW’s roots. When the original 6-Series coupe was sold from 1977 to 1989, it was “the most successful coupe in the history of BMW, accounting for about 86,000 units,” according to Dr. Burkhard Göschel , BMW’s board member in charge of development and purchasing, speaking through an interpreter.

Now, as BMW’s resurrected coupe flagship, it will take its position alongside the 7-Series sedan flagship for a similar price. It will compete against vehicles like DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes-Benz CL; Ford Motor’s Jaguar XK8; and Maserati’s $80,000-plus Coupe. The 6-Series, like the 7, plays by BMW’s new rules, with a clean, angular design similar to the company’s other revamped passenger cars.

It also features the element that has most distinguished recent BMWs, and drawn some controversy along with the styling: iDrive, the byzantine unit that integrates more than 750 navigation, communications, radio and climate features. It is controlled by a large knob below the gearshift and displayed on a screen in the center of the dashboard.

The real question is whether consumers are on board with the new-look 7-series, and so far the answer seems to be “not entirely.” BMW’s sales are consistently among the strongest in the automotive business.

For the first nine months of 2003, BMW, including MINI, states that it sold 204,183 vehicles, compared with 187,157 in the same period of 2002, an increase of 9%. But 7-series sales are down: Year-to-date 7-series sales are 14,410, dropping from 16,296 at this time last year.

In several recent interviews, Panke has declared his unalloyed loyalty to iDrive and chief designer Chris Bangle, as both have been criticized. He is putting his money where his mouth is, though, with the new 6-Series and X3 two vehicles that buck tradition and further cement the new image of BMW.

The 6-series is slated to hit showrooms March 20. The X3 will be on display at dealerships and available for test drives in November, but it will not actually go on sale until January 2004. To learn more about these two new Bimmers because no one else has written about them yet.

Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It!