Saturday, 03 July 2010

• BMW Weaves City Car Out of Carbon Fiber Used in F1

  Bayerische Motoren Werke AG will cocoon passengers of a battery-powered city car in the same lightweight material used to protect Formula One drivers.

  Marking the auto industry’s biggest bet on carbon fiber, BMW will use the hardened fabric to construct a passenger-safety cell for the electric vehicle. An amalgamation of carbon fiber and an aluminum frame will offset as much as 350 kilograms (772 pounds) of additional weight from battery and electronic components, according to Klaus Draeger, BMW’s development chief.

  “The economics will be balanced on a razor blade,” said Christoph Stuermer, an analyst at IHS Automotive in Frankfurt, said in an interview. “The combination of using lots of carbon fiber and breaking it up into smaller pieces may be the magic trick to reduce costs and could make the frame only twice as expensive as aluminium.”

  The world’s largest luxury carmaker is racing to build battery-powered vehicles as governments and consumers push for viable alternatives to fuel-burning cars. General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co. will introduce electric vehicles later this year. Investors snapped up shares in Tesla Motors Inc., the California-based electric-car maker, leading to a 41 percent surge on its first day of trading June 29.

  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-02/bmw-weaves-city-car-out-of-carbon-fiber-used-in-f1.html

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• Mercedes, BMW Boost U.S. Sales on Ann Taylor Shoppers

  The top three luxury auto brands boosted U.S. sales in June as high-end car companies and dealers added Ann Taylor shoppers to their Gucci-loving loyalists.

  Sales of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks rose 21 percent to 18,269 in June, while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s namesake brand boosted U.S. deliveries 15 percent to 19,182, the automakers said yesterday. The German brands narrowed the gap against Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus, which increased sales 2.7 percent to 17,332 cars and light trucks.

  Luxury automobiles will continue to rebound if they can lure customers battered by the recession who are just starting to consider high-end cars, said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, which tracks luxury trends.

  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-02/mercedes-bmw-boost-u-s-sales-on-ann-taylor-shoppers.html

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• Envisioning a Small Electric BMW for the World’s Very Big Cities

  FUTURISTS are talking about the effects of megacities — often defined as cities of more than 10 million people — and so, too, are designers devising new types of vehicles for the world’s congested metropolitan areas.
  
  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/automobiles/04MEGACITY.html
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• US regulator probes Mazda, BMW steering complaints

  More than 342,000 cars made by Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMWG.DE) are under investigation by the U.S. auto safety regulator for possible steering defects that could lead to loss of vehicle control.
  
  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0221161020100703
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