Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 BMW 3-Series

Earlier this morning we were tipped that BMW would be delaying its 335d until some time next year. According to BMW, this is not the case. While we were attempting to get a hold of a Bavarian spokesperson ourselves, we were beat to the punch by Kicking Tires, who confirmed with BMW spokesman Tom Plucinsky that the vehicles will begin production in September and go on sale in the U.S. in November of this year. The machines will be marketed as 2009 model-year vehicles. A short time after the 335d reaches a showroom near you, the X5 xDrive35d will show up, still likely in November. The official debut of the car in North America will be at the upcoming L.A. Auto Show.

Related:

• BMW confirms fall launch for U.S. diesels, racing to beat Mercedes
• BMW estimates US spec 335d will achieve 23/33 mpg

[Source: Kicking Tires]

Back in January at the Detroit Auto Show, BMW spilled the beans that they would launch clean diesel versions of the X5 and 3-series later this year for sale in all fifty states. The X5 xDrive 35d and 335d will use the dual turbocharged version of BMW's 3.0L in-line 6 six cylinder diesel engine and be equipped with a diesel particulate filter and urea injection system to meet US Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions requirements. My friend Jonny over at AutoFiends has now come up with some photos of what appears to be the 335d testing out in the Nevada sunshine. Of note in these photos is that circle just behind the rear wheel. Apparently that is the cap for re-filling the urea tank. The tank will likely hold about 7-8 gallons of urea solution and will only need to be refilled about every 15,000 miles or so. Given the infrequent refill intervals, it would seem likely that BMW will integrate that filler better on the production model, perhaps even putting inside the trunk. Hopefully they don't leave it like this prototype.

[Source: AutoFiends.com]

Back in January BMW made the big announcement that it would finally introduce modern clean diesel engines to the U.S. market. At the time the Bavarian manufacturer told us that the new 335d and X5 xDrive35d would be launched by later in 2008 without getting any more specific than that. A blog specializing in news about the blue and white propeller brand is reporting that the new models will debut in mid-October. We decided to give BMW a call this afternoon and talked to spokesperson Charlene King. She reiterated the company has not made any new announcements about availability and re-confirmed that the diesels would debut this fall.

Having said that, last month Mercedes emphasized that they would be the first to offer Tier 2 Bin5 compliant diesels in the U.S. market when they launch BlueTec SUVs this fall. Neither company has actually provided an on-sale date, but there is no doubt that BMW will be racing to beat their arch-rivals to the showroom. Regardless of which company actually gets there first, both are likely to lose out to Volkswagen which has said they will begin selling the new Jetta TDI in September.

[Source: BMW, BMWBlog.com]

BMW is satisfied about its efforts in reducing emissions. Europe's press has been flooded with ads that praise the diesels coming from Munich. What are they about? Oh, only the first car with more than 200 HP that promises CO2 emissions under 140 g/km.

The car in question is the 123d a 1-series 3-door hatchback mated to a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine and Efficient Dynamics with two sequential turbos (one for low rpm and the other for higher). Actual specs are 204 HP, 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 6.9 seconds and 5.2 l/100 km (45 American MPG) of fuel consumption. Actual CO2 emissions figure is 138 g/km.

The only bad news is that the car is not cheap: MRSP starts at 33,050 EUR in France.



Related:

• BMW will sit back and wait on HCCI engines
• BMW. Diesel. Twin-Turbo. U.S. WooHoo!
• BMW 1-Series cabrio to have diesel option

[Source: BMW]

BMW has annouced the new 1-series Cabriolet, and it's got a few surprises. Remarkably, the 1-series does not have a retractable hardtop but one made of cloth, quite unlike most of the compact cabrios sold in Europe. One benefit of the retractable hardtop is obvious: they can't be ripped into with a knife by nefarious types, but they also help by reducing fuel consumption at highway speeds.

Diesel convertibles were not common until the late '90s. Now, though, you can buy most of the available compact and subcompact convertibles with a diesel option: the Peugeot 207 CC and 307 CC, Renault Mégane, Ford Focus, Volkswagen EOS, etc.

The engine of choice for the 1-series cabriolet is a 4-cylinder, 2-liter unit good for 177 HP. Consumption and CO2 emission figures aren't announced in the press release, although the figures for the coupé version are from 4.8 to 9.2 l/100 (49 to 25 mpg) and from 122 to 220 g of CO2/km.

Want to see more? Flip through this high-resolution gallery we have for you.

[Source: BMW]

Mated to the small SUV X3, the top-seller engine of the brand in Europe goes to Australia although Ozzies could buy the engine already installed in the 120d. The 4-cylinder is now made from aluminium, saving 20 kg (45 pounds) on the scale and getting 10 percent better fuel mileage and it's claimed to work as smooth as a 6-cylinder by means of two balance shafts

The 2-liter engine is good for 125 KW (165 HP) and 340 Nm of torque (250 lb. ft.). Fuel consumption (European mixed cycle) is 7.0 l/ 100 km (33 MPG) and emissions, 185 g CO2/km. These are respectful figures for such a relatively hefty car, which comes with 4-wheel drive (called x-Drive at BMW) as standard.

Prices start at 62,900 AUD.

Full press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

When Margo Oge, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, mentioned that ethanol production is way past the governments mandates, this article says that Cristoph Huss, BMW senior vice president for science and traffic policy, shook his head. He suggests that BMW still sees hydrogen as the long-term answer to the automotive problems of emissions and energy needs. This, despite the fact that U.S. consumers are shifting more towards renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Perhaps this is because the hydrogen economy is very far off, while biofuels are here and now. The question could be asked, how long should we wait for hydrogen before exploring our other options? Even if hydrogen does emerge as the best option long-term, should the short-term solutions be ignored?

It should be noted that BMW is working with DaimlerChrysler and GM on hybrid technology and could possibly bring some of their high-output diesels to the U.S. market. Remember, too, that BMW currently offers their dual-fuel Hydrogen 7 which is capable of running its ICE on hydrogen or gasoline.

[Source: Detroit News]

Porsche's CEO may be threating to shutdown production of his vehicles in Europe if new mandatory CO2 emissions standards come into force, but BMW is ready to push ahead. In spite of their reputation as a builder of performance cars, BMW already sells more than forty percent of their vehicles with diesel engines. The BMW M models get all the attention, but most of the volume cars even with gas engines are equipped with smaller four and six cylinder power-plants.

In remarks at the Geneva Motor Show CEO Norbert Reithofer, said that the Munich-based manufacturer is moving ahead with technology to make their cars cleaner and more efficient. The EfficientDynamics technology that will premier on the 1-Series, with start-stop control of the engine, and regen braking will expand to other models. They are also switching all their engines to a new engine management system that will further enhance efficiency. In addition a mild hybrid system being developed with DaimlerChrysler will debut in 2009, and the full Two-Mode hybrid is coming as well. Finally, he also confirmed that BMW diesels will be offered for sale in the US market in 2008.

[Source: Just-Auto - subscription required]

BMW dropped a bit of a hint that they are seriously considering bringing diesel engines to the U.S. market when they brought their newest diesel-powered engine to the Detroit Auto Show. You can read about it here and here. We reported already that BMW has plans to introduce the diesel X5 in the States in 2008. There were three responses to our posting regarding the diesel X5, all of which indicated they would rather see a sedan. Well, you may get your wish. We got a tip from Omar at eGMCarTech that BMW has confirmed they plan to bring the engine over in their 5 Series sedan in 2009. Also from their site are the mileage details, both with a 3.0 diesel (single turbo - 530d) and another 3.0 diesel (twin turbo - 535d). The 530d seems to me to be the better bet, being capable of a 6.8 second 0-60 sprint while returning 42.2 mpg. Here is a link to the BMW International page regarding 6 cylinder diesels in the 5 Series.

There is currently no information regarding BMW bringing the 4 cylinder diesel engine over in the 520d.

Thanks again for the tip, Omar. EDIT: And thanks ThwartedEfforts for the extra credit!

Related:

• BMW moves up diesel plans to start with the X5
• Detroit Auto Show: BMW hybrid and diesel information
• A few more details about the BMW diesel at the Detroit Auto Show
• Trickle-down tech: Non-hybrid BMW 5 Series to feature regenerative braking

[Source: eGMCarTech and BMW]

BMW has been selling diesel engined cars in the European market for twenty-three years, while the US market has only been getting gas engines (except for the brief availability of a 5-series diesel in the mid-1980s). Two-thirds of their sales in Europe now are diesels and in 2008 they will be coming here. BMW diesels offered in the US market will be fifty-state legal, conforming to all the new Bin5 requirements. The new diesels will continue to maintain BMW's performance reputation, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption. Although BMW has recently said they are not going to be using the BlueTec brand-name for their diesels, it's still expected they will be using this technology. For now they're not revealing which models will get diesel options, but pretty much every BMW has a diesel available in Europe. Click Read to see the full BMW press release.

[Source: BMW]

If you've been bemoaning the fact that you can't drive any of the nice BMW European diesels here in North America, listen up. The time for your whining has ended (at least for a while). Winding Road spoke with "an honest-to-goodness German big-wig at BMW" and got the scoop on how diesel bimmers will be here by late 2008. The official news will come at the L.A. auto show later this month, where BMW will announce its North American diesel strategy, led by the low-emission 535d.

Winding Road claims the strategy is to bring over all the six-cylinder diesels, starting with the 5-series. The real difficulty lies in getting the diesels ready for the stricter diesel emissions laws that kick in in 2009. Looks like Mercedes' push to get their BlueTec 320s onto showroom floors this year is having an effect. Also, Audi will announce at the NAIAS in January that Audi vehicles with VW's TDI diesel engines in them should be here by 2008. All right, feel free to get back to your bemoaning now.

[Source: Winding Road via our friends at Autoblog]