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By Laura Burstein Photos & Captions By Donovan R. Unks Next-generation X5… The new BMW X5 raises the SAV driving experience with powerful eight and six-cylinder engines, unique suspension, and enhanced BMW xDrive all-wheel-drive technology, as well as a weight-optimized bodyshell with extreme torsional stiffness. It’s the only vehicle in its segment available with both Active Steering, developed by BMW, and AdaptiveDrive (a combination of Active Roll Stabilization and Electronic Damping Control). The new X5 will be available in the U.S. with either a 4.8-liter V8 capable of 350 horsepower or a 3.0-liter inline-six with 260 horsepower. BMW Press The two 2006 North American Formula 1 races may be close in proximity, but they are miles apart in spirit. Mosher: Everyone is sensitive to what goes on with gas prices, but it is a maer of degree. People capable of buying these vehicles can afford higher fuel prices. What the new X5 will do for us is to offer a new seating configuration and update the X5 concept. The combination of those two things should have enormous appeal. AN: We haven’t seen the Raum Funktionales Konzept, your new crossover vehicle due later this decade, but we have seen the Mercedes-Benz R Class. Sales are sluggish, and the vehicle has been repriced. How do you do a crossover vehicle that fits BMW’s image and succeeds where Mercedes has not? Mosher: You could have said the same thing about the X5. That product (the new vehicle) is not yet fully defined, and some of the open issues have to do with how to make a vehicle that is spacefunctional and a BMW. The view is that social/demographic trends in the world suggest that there will be new vehicles developing to meet the needs of the future—just as years ago there was no such thing as a minivan and then there was one. Futurists see an opportunity to create a vehicle that is functional in a way that vans and SUVs are not. autoweek.com BMW Individual Almost Here…The “BMW Individual Composition package (ZI1)” will be available in the 7 Series beginning this fall, and features your choice of interior pieces. High-gloss piano-black wood trim, high-gloss mahogany wood trim, or high-gloss Amarone wood trim; Merino full leather in three colors (Platinum, Rust Brown, or Amarone); 20” wheels (Style 152); Alcantara headliner in either Platinum or Anthracite (depending upon leather choice); illuminated BMW Individual door-sill finishers; storage net for front passenger foot well; and, at further additional cost, there are three exterior colors available as well: Azurite Black, Ruby Black, and Moonstone. Pricing: ZI1 package MSRP: $11,000 for 750i/Li and $10,000 for 760Li; Individual paint is $3,000 for all models. BMW NA via bimmerfest.com Parking Becoming A Chore?… BMW has developed a system that parks a car in the garage at the push of a buon on a remote control. The system will be available to BMW drivers within three years. Prof. Raymond Freymann, Head of Research and Technology BMW Group, explains how the system works: “The fully automatic garage parking assistant is a vehicle system which enables a vehicle to drive into a garage fully automatically. In order to enable this, we of course have to know where the vehicle is positioned relative to the garage. To this end, there is a camera mounted on the windscreen pointing ahead at the garage. On the back wall of the garage we aach a so-called ‘lenticular reflector.’ This lenticular reflector gives us two pieces of information: first, the distance of the vehicle from the back wall. If the camera sees the reflector in small size, this means it is a long way. If the camera sees the reflector in large size, this simply means that the vehicle is near the wall. Second, you have a very clear view of the angle at which the camera is pointing at the reflector since there is a black line moving backwards and forwards. So you have two pieces of information—the size of the reflector and the angle relative to the back wall. Now the position of the vehicle is known and I can define the trajectories for the vehicle to move completely automatically into the garage. This is essentially the sensor system we have installed for the Automatic Park Assistant. Of course, what else do I need to control the whole operation? It has to be possible to control the engine and transmission electronically; I have to be able to operate the brake electronically from the vehicle and—of course, the accelerator, too. But that’s all the systems I need so as to be able to have the vehicle drive into the garage completely automatically.” theautochannel.com Rumor Mill… We’re hearing that the next-generation Z4 has been internally coded “E89,” and is said to be slightly larger than the current Z4 (E85). [bv] Speculation Of Z2 Returns... The cover of the latest issue of Germany’s AutoBild magazine features an artist’s illustration of the forthcoming BMW Z2. While we don’t have specific details on the rumor, the Z2 appears to be a small roadster sloed beneath the Z4 range. In May, AutoWeek and AutoCar reported BMW was working on a new roadster called the Z2, in addition to the much-rumored Z6. While it’s almost certain a smaller roadster is under consideration at BMW, we suspect it may receive a name other than Z2. As previously noted by Lelane News, BMW published the names Z1 and Z5 for opposition at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 17, 2006. Regardless of its name, the new roadster looks like it will introduce some new styling cues to BMW’s design language, including some unusual 3D headlamps. Update: Auto Zeitung is also reporting in its latest issue that BMW is planning a Z2 for the 2009 model year. However, the report suggests a coupe model will also be offered. Autobild.de Autobild.de The labyrinthine passageways of the Beri-Uqam metro station are cool and breezy. Each wave of circulated air carries to the nostrils hints of damp earth, tires, and electric circuits. “It doesn’t smell like urine like it does in Paris,” says my friend, Donovan Unks. It’s Sunday morning. We’re making the trek from our bed-andbreakfast in the quiet residential neighborhood of Mont-Royal to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Île Notre-Dame, a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River. The bowels of Montreal are alive, filled to capacity with masses of race fans. We follow the crowds and board the train bound for Parc Jean Drapeau. People dressed in team merchandise hang about poles and press up against doors, anxious to hear the whine of this year’s new V8 engines on Québécois soil. The doors open and we’re carried amidst a wave of humanity up a series of zigzagging staircases, emerging from the subterranean shade into a verdant, sun-drenched park. The landscape is a pleasant marriage of water, foliage, and meandering asphalt. Thumping music, clamoring merchants, and scurrying spectators don’t defile the holiness of this moment: Our first in-person Formula One race. We follow the masses through the plaza, down the long winding dirt road, and across the Pont de la Concorde to the track. The immense circular casino looms in the center of the Île Notre-Dame, its quasi-futuristic architecture evoking images of Disneyland’s Space Mountain. Security personnel check for tickets and direct the crowd, but no one asks to search a single one of the thousands of bags and backpacks coming in. I hearken back to when going to an event in the U.S. was that uncomplicated. Our grandstand between Turns 6 and 7 is packed to capacity. Directly in front of us sits a college-aged couple in matching Renault outfits who cannot keep their hands—or mouths—off one another. I like Renault. But these hormone-consumed kids make me rethink my team loyalty. The grid is cleared and the engines start. The cars pull out to take the formation lap. As they approach, the stands become a moving, breathing mass of waving hats and flying flags. The piercing whines of the engines grow louder. They wax and wane with upshis and downshis, interrupted sporadically by the rapid-fire chortle of traction control. The rest, as they say, is history. Renault’s Fernando Alonso goes on to win his sixth (and fourth consecutive) race of the season. BMW-Sauber driver and Montreal hometown hero Jacques Villeneuve (who has since been let go) is hardly as successful; he crashes by our grandstand aer 58 laps. It’s sad, yet undeniably funny, to see the car boasting “BMW Power” dangling limply from a crane. “Doing Dad proud,” a colleague later remarks. BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld fares beer, climbing six spots from his grid position to finish seventh. Perhaps one of the most surprising moves comes aer the race. When the track is cleared and the last drop of champagne has been sprayed from the podium, hundreds of race fans hoist themselves onto the concrete barriers and scale the chain-link fence between the stands and the track. Soon, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is covered with people tracing the turns and straightaways, now liered with tiny balls of sticky rubber. But anyone familiar with the Formula One circus knows that excitement doesn’t just happen on the track. The night before the race, Donovan and I go to Estiatorio Milos, an upscale Greek restaurant on the north side of Montreal known for its top-notch seafood and celebrity clientele. During dinner, Donovan and I joke that this is probably where the F1 team members eat when they’re in town. Near the end of the meal I get up to go to the ladies’ room. On my way back, as I thread my way through the mass of bodies congregating in the front entryway, I make eye contact with a familiar-looking, very suntanned, gray-haired gentleman. A split second later, I make the connection. “Flavio’s here!” I say as I sit back down at our table. Donovan surreptitiously turns around to catch a glance of Flavio Briatorre, Renault team principal. It takes him a moment to recognize the internationally-known playboy without his turquoise team shirt. But not to stray too far from convention, Flavio sports his signature blue-tinted sunglasses and a blue cashmere sweater. Renault’s head honcho is still standing nearby, surrounded by an entourage of glierati, when it’s Donovan’s turn to get up. As he passes by, he overhears a conversation with a woman Donovan presumes to be Flavio’s personal assistant. Woman: “Mr. Briatorre, Tara Reid* wants to know if she can have dinner with you and your girlfriend.” Flavio: “Who?” My thought exactly. Monday morning we board a train from Montreal to Toronto, where we spend the week sightseeing and visiting friends. On Friday, we tune into Speed Channel to watch practice for the U.S. 12 September 2006 die flüsternde Bombe September 2006 die flüsternde Bombe 13
BMW Sauber’s Frere Jacques Villeneuve rushes to an early nap with a crash at Turn 7 in Montreal. Grand Prix. The highlight of the coverage is a one-on-one interview with Renault’s Fernando Alonso. Reporter: “Fernando, what scares you?” Alonso: “Spiders.” Reporter: “Spiders? That’s it?” Alonso: “Yes. Spiders.” The Spaniard’s so, humble demeanor and self-deprecating humor is a nice change from some… shall we say… other champion F1 drivers. And for the record, Fernando, I’m scared of spiders, too. The next morning we board a (very small) plane to Indianapolis. Upon landing, we taxi past several private jets lined up on the tarmac, the largest of which bears the initials “MS.” It’s Saturday, and the drivers are already at the track preparing for qualifying. We claim our luggage and pick up our rental car (there is certainly no Metro here). As we drive toward the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we survey the flat, sprawling landscape. A brown haze hangs in the air as we make our way from Highway 465 to Crawfordsville Road. Residents of the Brickyard’s nearby houses sit or stand outside with handmade signs: “Park in our yard - $20” “Only 6 blocks away for $15” “Leave yer car here, $25” American capitalism at its finest. We continue past the budding entrepreneurs and into one of the Speedway’s parking lots. I climb out and look around. We’re standing in a sea of dirt, asphalt, and damn big trucks. We cross the road to the track entrance and are immediately directed to the security table for a bag search and pat-down. Welcome back home. Seating for qualifying is general admission. We wander the footpaths near the paddock in search of a primo viewing area and are astounded to see rows of empty stands. Entire sections are chained off near Start/Finish. We sele in on a waist-high wall perpendicular to the pit lane, just to the le of the garages. A few cigaree-smoking, tank-topclad aendees mill about nearby. Later, I determine these folks must have been NASCAR scouts come to scope out Juan Pablo Montoya (the hot-headed Columbian driver announced his move to the ever-circular series the following week). Donovan pulls out his Canon 20D and within seconds, he’s aracted the aention of every nearby spectator. Our new friends offer unsolicited advice on everything from which team to root for to which camera Donovan should have bought. Donovan handles it by firmly installing his earplugs and pretending he can’t hear anyone, leaving me to fend for myself. Aer qualifying, we walk over to one of the jumbo video screens to watch the press conference. As usual, the interview concludes with each driver saying a few words in his native language. The nearby spectators are apparently unfamiliar with this tradition, as one particularly offended aendee hurls an empty beer can across the grass toward the screen as Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella addresses his countrymen in Italian. “Speak English!” the spectator bellows from beneath his Budweiser-branded tent. Like-minded tent-dwelling neighbors respond with cheers. Suddenly, I miss the annoying Renault makeout couple from Montreal. Later that evening, we recount our observations to our host, whose theory is that the less-than stellar turnout is a direct result of too lile U.S. involvement in Formula One. “American’s won’t pay aention to F1 until there are more American drivers,” he says. But we have Sco Speed! Race day draws a far bigger crowd, but there are still plenty of empty seats. Many people look like locals who turn up for every race, regardless of who’s on the grid. Being health-conscious poses a problem in this neck of the woods. Instead of the veggie wraps and grilled salads we enjoyed in Montreal, our lunch choices consist of hamburgers, hot dogs, or “tenderloin”—which, I learn from a curt concession-stand worker, is a hunk of breaded, deep-fried pork. This is all especially disappointing aer watching the Speed TV commentators brag about how the teams’ private chefs compete to see who can create the most impressive meals. Although there is no planned mass exodus this year, Indy repeats history in other respects: The Ferraris dominate the podium and the teams using Michelin tires struggle. Michael Schumacher makes history (again) by becoming the first driver in any series to win five times at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Both BMW- Sauber drivers fail to finish the race, providing even more fodder for those who keep wondering where all that BMW money goes. And poor Sco Speed; the Manteca, California, native retires aer tangling with six other cars in a crash in the first lap. The only blue on the podium is third-place-winner Giancarlo Fisichella, who concedes that his team’s tires have failed to perform as well as the “Bridgeystones.” Fernando Alonso finishes an unimpressive fih -- rumor has it that Schumacher was spoed in an Indianapolis pet store the night before in search of tarantulas. And no, we most definitely do not get to walk on the track aer the race. I do, however, score a scrap of carbon fiber that flies off one of the cars when it crashes. The fate of the U.S. Grand Prix is still up in the air. Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has said the series doesn’t need a race in America. And a rumoredri between the Indy folks BMW’s Jacques Villeneuve battled to finish for points at Indy. The drivers’ parade: Michael Schumacher waves to the Indianapolis crowd while Masa scowls at the lack of good Brazilian food in town. and Bernie’s camp delayed the two sides from coming to an agreement until mid- August, when they extended the current contract by only one year. I can’t say I’d miss an Indy-based F1 race. Some of the drivers feel the same way. Ralf Schumacher was quoted in an article on F1racing.com, saying, “I hope we won’t come back there… I don’t think Formula One belongs in Indianapolis.” And upon our leaving Indy at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning, all those private planes previously lined up on the runway are conspicuously missing. Apparently they have beer seafood restaurants to visit. Personally, I’d like to see a new track built somewhere in the country specifically to F1 specifications. Las Vegas and the Parading in a rare BMW 327 cabrio: BMW-Sauber’s “Quick” Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve at the US Grand Prix. *For those of you who, like me, also have no idea who Tara Reid is, here’s an excerpt from Bernie “Good To Be The King” Ecclestone, in the Canadian GP safety car, counting the money in every spectator’s pocket. Utah salt flats are oen mentioned as potentially successful sites. That would be fine by me, although I sometimes fantasize about a U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Decibel limit be damned! No maer what the future of F1, I am infinitely grateful for my experiences this summer. The memories of my first F1 pilgrimage are forever etched in my brain. They transcend contract changes, tire exclusivity deals, and political squabbles. And yes—maybe even arachnophobia. Laura Burstein is a reporter and consultant with more than a decade of experience in radio, television, and publishing. Laura’s primary focus is on cars and automotive technology. She is currently a freelance writer for CNET’s Car Tech channel. Her weekends are oen spent participating in car control clinics and high-performance driving schools. Renault’s World Champion Fernando Alonso looking for some grip in Indianapolis. AskMen.com: “Why is she famous? Tara Reid is one of Hollywood’s hot young actresses, 14 September 2006 die flüsternde Bombe having appeared in American Pie, Urban Legend, and Van Wilder. She made headlines in September 2006 die flüsternde Bombe 15 November 2004 when pictures of her exposed nipple were posted on the Internet.” - kk
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September - GGC BMW CCA

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