from unitedBMWonline.com

In 2004 BMW introduced a new concept to the market: the small, premium Sports Activity Vehicle with all-road capability and unparalleled driving dynamics. This first generation BMW X3 became a best seller in the BMW line…both in the United States and in Europe. Through its lifecycle, over 600,000 original X3s have been sold worldwide with 150,000 sold in the USA. Subsequently, several competitors have entered the now hotly-contested segment.

The new second generation BMW X3 builds on the success of the original by developing its core competencies while adding new technology to establish new benchmarks for agility, efficiency and comfort. The new BMW X3 will be produced in an expansion of the BMW Spartanburg, South Carolina plant and is expected to arrive in US BMW Centers by the end of 2010.

Read more

Improved business conditions on the international automobile markets mean that the BMW Group now expects to report much better second-quarter and full-year earnings than previously forecast.

13.1% more cars were sold during the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.

For the full year, the company expects sales volumes to rise by around 10% to more than 1.4 million units. In addition to the recovery of the worldwide markets, strong demand for new models such as the BMW 5 Series and BMW X1 has had a positive impact on the business development. Read more

BMW has just released new additions to the M apparel collection. The new range consists of tee shirts for men and women and prominently feature the M logo. For men there are long and short sleeve t-shirts, and women have a choice of short sleeve tees with either a M logo designed with colorful sequins or eye caching rivets. These new additions and a compete line of BMW M clothing and accessories is available at unitedBMWonline.com Read more

The anticipation began in August 1985. That summer Germany’s automobile magazines built up their readers’ expectations for the fastest 3 Series BMW of all times. The key data revealed a sports car that would punch way above its class: 200 hp, top speed in excess of 230 km/h, sprint from a standing start to 100 km/h inside 6.7 seconds. However, the story was that “the most dynamic BMW 3 Series drivers” would have to wait until mid-1986. The pundits were right on that count. But one prediction missed the mark by a mile: anyone who “wants to be in the A Team needs to be turbocharged under the bonnet”. Not true. Read more

The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team makes its final trip west this season when it travels to Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah, for the July 11th Round 4 of the 2010 American Le Mans Series.

With four podium finishes in the first three races of the season, BMW stands second in GT manufacturer points. BMW M3 GT co-drivers Joey Hand and Dirk Müller, along with Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner, stand third and fourth in Driver points respectively. Read more

BMW Group today announces its support for the new iPod Out feature released in iOS 4, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. The launch of a newly developed BMW Group interface technology will provide BMW and MINI drivers with an easy-to-operate, intuitive way of using their iPhone and iPod touch in future BMW Group vehicles.

iPod Out enables BMW and MINI entertainment systems to display and control the music playback feature of the iPhone and iPod touch directly within the vehicle’s main display. The LCD display in BMW and MINI provides users with the simplicity and familiarity they have come to trust in their iPhone and iPod touch. The intuitive and integrated iPod navigation menu can be safely operated through the vehicle’s controls. Additionally, state-of-the-art iPod features such as custom playlists and Genius, which creates a compatible playlist of songs from a user’s own library, is made available to BMW and MINI drivers through the vehicle’s main display. iPod Out requires iOS 4 with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod touch (second and third generation). Read more

SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers – a joint venture of the BMW Group and SGL Group – broke ground today on the new greenfield carbon fiber manufacturing facility in Moses Lake, Washington. More than 70 guests from Moses Lake and Grant County, including the Governor of the State of Washington Chris Gregoire and Moses Lake Mayor Jon Lane were in attendance to celebrate the groundbreaking event. Read more

After being on sale on the global automotive market for five successful years, the BMW M5 has ended its production lifespan with a new record high. The BMW M GmbH produced a total of 20,548 of the charismatic high-performance sports car featuring a V 10-cylinder power unit. The BMW M5 Saloon is accountable for 19,523 of these, with the BMW M5 Touring, which was first launched in 2007, contributing a further 1025 units towards the overall result. This means that even the production figures of the predecessor model, which was manufactured for a period of six years, have been surpassed. The BMW M GmbH sees this record result as a further chapter in the success story of a remarkable automobile, which reaches back as far as the year 1984. 26 years ago we saw the launch of the first BMW M5 – this also marking the birth of the high-performance saloon segment. Read more

The BMW Group is once again breaking new ground with the Megacity Vehicle (MCV), due to come onto the market in 2013: “The Megacity Vehicle is a revolutionary automobile. It will be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon. Our LifeDrive architecture is helping us to open a new chapter in automotive lightweight design. Indeed, this concept allows us to practically offset the extra 250 to 350 kilograms of weight typically found in electrically powered vehicles.” says Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management for Development. Read more

June sales of BMW and MINI vehicles in the U.S. increased 11.9 percent to 23,331 units, delivering the best sales month for the company this year. During the first half of the year, the BMW Group reported a total sales volume of 121,585 vehicles, up 6.2 percent from the same period last year.

“We’ve been anticipating this month as it welcomed the all-new 5 Series into a market of waiting customers, and provides another vital link to our aggressive model introduction cycle,” said Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC. “While economic improvement has been, and looks to continue to be slow this year, nevertheless new core products such as the 5 Series, major upgrades to the perennial best selling X5 and 3 Series, and the new six cylinder 740i and 535i Gran Turismo are now giving us the vehicles to once again play offense in the market.” Read more