Tag Archives: eVENT

Events

15 Upcoming Bimmer Events You Can’t Miss

Events for BMW enthusiasts — races, social meet-ups, contests and more — are held all across the country. Whether you’re planning a BMW-inspired vacation or want to try something local, there are plenty of events you can attend year-round.

1. GVC Autocross at Pineview Run

Date: July 27, 2019

This fun driving experience event, located in Lafayette, New York, features a 1.1-mile track with twists and elevation changes. The first session of the day starts with orientation laps, followed by a timed lap, an in-lap and more. The event begins at 8:30 am with an entrance fee of $50.

2. August Autocross SE Lot

Date: August 3, 2019

With a $70 ticket price, this all-day event at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego allows you to explore your car’s full potential in a safe environment. You’ll even have access to a professional instructor. The ticket also includes unlimited beverages, snacks and lunch.

3. Boston BMW CCA Concours d’Elegance

Date: August 11, 2019

Compete in the famous Concours d’Elegance located in the hills of Brookline, Massachusetts. Bring your car, talk with like-minded enthusiasts and maybe even win best recognition and a t-shirt. Enter your vehicle in the competition for $20 by pre-registering online. Or pay $30 if you register at the gate.

4. M Performance School

Date: August 24, 2019

Put your driving skills to the test as your whip around race tracks in M2s, M3s and M4s at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, South Carolina. For an entrance fee of $900, you’ll have a full day of access to the best driving instructors, one-on-one training and dedicated track time.

5. Wisconsin Dells BMW Rally

Date: September 7-9, 2019

Head to Camp Wawbeek in the Wisconsin Dells to join the 49th Annual Dells Rally. Costs include $39 for pre-registration or $50 at the gate. Each ticket comes with two nights of camping, beverages, snacks, field events, rally mugs, an awards ceremony and more.

6. Yankee Beemers “Back to Jamaica” Fall Event

Date: September 13-15, 2019

Head up to Jamaica State Park in the heart of Vermont’s mountains. Join other BMW enthusiasts as you explore the twisty dirt roads and end the night by the campfire. The $35 entry fee includes camping and coffee. Attendees are also encouraged to bring a dish for the Potluck dinners on Friday and Saturday.

7. Auto-X at TD Bank Ballpark

Date: September 15, 2019

Attend the Auto-X event in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, for a chance to run at least eight timed laps around the course. Each orange cone knocked down equals a two-second penalty. Your best time goes towards the final competition. Pre-registration is $50 for members and $60 for non-members.

8. Thunder Mountain Rendezvous

Date: September 20-22, 2019

Spend your weekend with like-minded BMW enthusiasts in the high mountains of Hotchkiss, Colorado. The entrance fee, $50 at the gate, includes two dinners, a pancake breakfast, coffee, entertainment and more. You’ll also be entered for a chance to win special door prizes.

9. Annual Hoosier Beemer Rally

Date: September 27-29, 2019

With a rally fee of $30, you can camp alongside fellow BMW-lovers for two nights. The ticket also includes two dinners — including a gourmet hot dog roast — door prizes and awards. It’s also the perfect time-of-year to explore the roads of scenic southern Indiana.

10. 2019 NCC Autocross Points

Date: October 5, 2019

This beginner-friendly event offers in-car instruction, guided courses and a staff of experts available to answer any questions. The registration fee of $55 — or $65 for non-members — guarantees track time on Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland. Free loaner helmets are also available to those in need.

11. BMW CCA Petit Le Mans

Date: October 9-13, 2019

Don’t miss the 2019 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. When you join the BMW CCA Peachtree Chapter, you’ll gain exclusive parking, a hospitality tent, meet and greets with race teams, raffles and more. The event tickets range from $70 to $90, depending on the number of days you wish to attend.

12. Annual BMW CCA Oktoberfest

Date: October 15-19, 2019

The Annual BMW Oktoberfest, now in its 50th year, is a well-known festival referred to locally as O’Fest. Come to Greenville, South Carolina, to celebrate everything BMW. The schedule is packed full of events like charity hot lap rides, car control clinic, rallies, tire rack autocross and more.

13. Fall Tour to Monticello

Date: October 26-27, 2019

Join the National Capital Chapter of the BMW CCA for an overnight journey down to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia. Visit an architectural marvel dating to the late 18th century while bonding with BMW enthusiasts. The tour costs $10 per car, and drivers are encouraged to bring along walkie-talkies for easier group communication.

14. SoCal Vintage BMW Meet

Date: November 2, 2019

This event, the largest independent vintage BMW meet in the country, is open to all BMW models from 1989 and back. BMW owners from around the country, including Nevada, Washington and even Florida, drive in to meet other enthusiasts and check out the turnout of more than 400 cars.

15. Autocross Points Event 8

Date: November 2, 2019

Held at Moore Airfield in Ayer, Massachusetts, this all-day event is open to all BMW CCA members. Attend the morning tech inspection and meet with other drivers. Then pilot your own car through a timed obstacle course with confusing turns and twists.

Don’t miss out on some of the most highly-anticipated BMW events coming up. Attend social events to chat with other enthusiasts. Show off your car in a competition. Or try your hand behind on the wheel on a well-known track.

Information

BMW Can’t Decide If It Likes New EV Concepts

Green is the new black for the world’s automakers. Tesla has positioned electric vehicles (EVs) as the wave of the future, challenging “old school” manufacturers to rise to the occasion.

Never late to the party when it comes to new technology, BMW is throttling up efforts to bring several new EVs to market. New models include two “crossover” type vehicles of the sort dominating new car lots these days, as well as a more traditional electrified sedan, a Mini-branded EV and even a high-tech EV motorcycle.

It’s a bold step into the EV playing field, which is why we’re surprised that BWM exec Klaus Fröhlich was less-than-positive on the topic at a recent BMW press event.

EVs get SAVage

Sports Activity Vehicle or SAV is the trendy category the market as created for 90s-sized SUVs.

Call them what you want, they sell. So it makes sense that BMW is touting the arrival of two all-electric SAVs, the iX3 and the iNEXT concept.

In fact, when you consider the way that the current i3 has been on the market since 2013, it’s surprising BMW didn’t launch these models sooner.

Nevertheless, the iX3 is planned for a 2020 launch and will give bimmerphiles a genuine all-electric alternative to the X3 as well as competition from Audi, Mercedes etc.

Nearly the spitting image of the current X3 crossover, you can expect the market to be more accepting of the iX than its more quirky i3 cousin. It gets BMW’s latest electric powertrain technology, which is good enough for roughly 250 miles of range using Munich’s latest 5th-generation electric powertrain.

250 miles falls just short of the industry-benchmark 300-mile number but will suffice for many consumers. If you’re holding out for the real halo car, the 2021-slated iNext promises a Tesla-challenging 400-mile reach and level-3 autonomous driving.

BMW’s Electrification Dilemma

As 2020 edges nearer, BMW is being pulled simultaneously in the directions of the future and the past. The i4 model will bring electric power to the masses in the shape of a sports sedan, paying homage to the cars that made BMW what it is today.

However, the i4 will face stiff competition for sales from multiple hybrid models, which BMW plans to add to nearly every model category in its lineup by 2025.

Like we mentioned earlier, BMW Chief of Engineering Klaus Fröhlich did not sound excited about the new EVs at the company’s own launch event, saying ” [EVs are] for China and California and everywhere else is better off with [plug-in hybrids] with good EV range.”

China and California are large markets, but they shrink in comparison with the rest of the planet, where BMW sales are strong.

It may be that advancing EV technology now is essential for the brand to remain competitive as the markets attention shifts from fossil fuels to hybrids to EVs.

But manufacturing four different types of propulsion technology (five if you count the low-production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles BMW makes) at the same time has got to put a strain on the automaker’s bottom line. This is likely why Fröhlich is unafraid to share his feelings about gasoline, diesel and hybrids staying popular for the next 20-30 years.

32 Flavors of BMW

It has been said that when brands compete, consumers win. If you’re in the car market in 2020, that adage rings true.

Marques are moving frantically to remain relevant in a forward-looking market, but at the same time refuse to divorce themselves from more traditional technologies that consumers love.

So have it your way, people. Unless, that is, you want something with a manual transmission. What’d you expect to drive the thing yourself?

Events, Press Release

Interactive BMW Vision iNext Concept to Grace CES in 2019

The Consumer Electronic’s Show, or CES, happens in Las Vegas every year, and it’s the place to be for anyone interested in the new year’s electronics, cars and everything in between.

This coming year, BMW is planning to premiere a new concept that everyone is excited about. Let’s take a closer look at the new Vision iNext Concept that will grace the stage at 2019’s CES.

Introducing the Vision iNext Concept

Image via BMW Group Press

BMW has always been a brand that is synonymous with innovation and technological advances. They’re taking this label to the next level in the coming year with their iNext concept. The idea is to turn this BMW SUV into a ‘living space on wheels’ — creating a vehicle that gives you all the comforts of home so that you enjoy getting behind the wheel.

This concept will have a fully electric drivetrain and advanced autonomous driving programming. The driver has two options for their seat and the surrounding area. Boost mode gives the driver full control, with the steering wheel and other controls in easy reach.

When the autonomous driving program is engaged, the driver can switch to Ease mode, which retracts the steering wheel slightly, giving them more room to get comfortable. It’s easy to switch seamlessly between the two modes, depending on the needs of the driver.

Bells and Whistles

Image via BMW Group Press

The Vision iNext will have all the bells and whistles, but you might not see them at first glance. All the smart technology will be integrated into the car, only appearing when needed by the driver or passengers.

This setup creates a much cleaner interior, and you’ll never have to worry about accidentally smacking a smart screen or catching your sleeve on something when you’re shifting position.

The driver will also have access to two digital screens that convey everything from speed and RPMs to the proximity of other cars. This interactive glass technology will help to keep the driver aware of everything going on outside of their vehicle.

This technology has started appearing in modern cars in the form of a Heads Up Display, or HUD, which moves information like speed and fuel levels from the dash, where it’s below eye level, to the windshield — without obscuring the driver’s view of the road.

Take It for a Test Drive

While you won’t be able to get behind the wheel of the Vision iNext at 2019’s CES, that doesn’t mean you can’t take it for a test drive. Putting on a set of VR glasses, you’ll be able to test out the vehicle’s capabilities.

Starting with driving the car, then utilizing BMW’s Intelligent Personal Assistant, you can put the car in Ease mode and let the AI plan your trip for you.

The Vision iNext won’t be the only fantastic piece of automotive technology on the floor at CES 2019, but it’s one that we’re excited to see. This concept likely won’t premiere at BMW dealerships until 2020 at the earliest, but the first look has us ready to line up for a chance to get behind the wheel.