BMW of North America is submitting a letter to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week announcing a voluntary recall of approximately 198,000 V8 and V12-powered BMW 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars models produced between the 2002 and 2010 model years. In the affected vehicles, a leak may develop in the power braking system, potentially causing a vacuum loss and consequent reduction of power braking assistance. Mechanical braking is still available to slow and stop the vehicle. There has been no report of accidents or injuries.
The following is a transcript of the speech just given in Paris by Sales and Marketing chief Ian Robertson.
Welcome to BMW. My name is Ian Robertson.
We’re very pleased to be here in Paris. It’s been a really good year so far for BMW – we have great new products in 2010 and our sales figures are testimony to this.
By the end of August, the worldwide sales of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce had risen by 12.5 percent to close to 920,000 vehicles in comparison with the same period in 2009.
We’ll have our own full galleries from the show for you shortly but until then Autoblog has a great look at BMW’s two stars of the show, the 6 Series Concept Coupé and the production X3 (with the M Sport package).
This morning BMW and Saab announced that Saab will be using BMW powerplants in future front wheel drive Saab products. However thanks to various sources it’s become clear that Saab has not just signed an agreement to use BMW engines in future products but they are likely to use MINI’s current Prince range of engines in several products. Sources are telling us that first will be the 9-2 hatchback potentially followed by the next generation 9-3 family of vehicles.
But why would BMW give Saab the same engine range from the MINI for a car that will likely compete with it? Economies of scale would be a good reason. But we’re not so sure it’s that simple.
We know that 2013 will bring a new MINI hatch that will in turn bring an entire new MINI family of small cars. We also know that BMW is planning on using new three cylinder engines in this new range of products along with a new generation of FWD (and potentially even RWD) BMWs. So where does the Prince family of engines fit into BMW’s future plans?
It’s not 100% clear which four cylinder Saab will be getting but we believe it will be a modified engine from the Prince family (the current MINI powerplant) for use in the upcoming 9-2 front wheel drive hatch. While it surely gives MINI and BMW more economies of scale for engine development (and profit) it gives a soon to be competitor a world class powertrain.
Official Release: The BMW Group has received a major order from Swedish automobile manufacturer Saab to provide petrol engines. The contract for delivery of the engines as of 2012 was signed on Wednesday by Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing, and the CEO of Saab Automobile, Jan Åke Jonsson, in Trollhättan in Sweden. The 4-cylinder engine with latest fuel savings technologies is intended for a new Saab model series. Both companies have agreed not to disclose any financial or contract volume details.
Our friends at Classicheroes.co.uk are the kind of people you’d love to know. They are BMW specialists in the UK and have access to an enormous amount of rare and important BMWs. In short they restore and sell pristine examples of the cars we all love. But the best part? They hate seeing them sit still.
Because of that they’ve started a series and asked us if we’d be so kind to share them with our readers. We can’t think of a better idea.
So with that said here’s the first in the series; the legendary BMW E30 M3. Enjoy.
At project-i.com the BMW Group has created an online platform for information and news concerning the sustainable mobility of the future.
For an international audience, the English-language website outlines how the BMW Group is mastering the challenges of sustainable mobility. It provides an in-depth, up-to-the-minute insight into the various approaches and solutions, from the basic vision of e-mobility, specific test vehicles such as the MINI E and the BMW ActiveE, right through to the revolutionary LifeDrive concept of the Megacity Vehicle. Emphasis is also given to another key aspect of sustainable mobility: The development of solutions and services for the customer needs of tomorrow.
According to several well placed sources Bloomberg is reporting a deal is about to be struck between Saab Automobile and BMW. The deal is said to have Saab buying engines made by BMW.
Reportedly the redesigned 9-3 set to debut in 2012 will be the first SAAB to be powered by BMW. The motor more than likely will be a yet to be released 4 cylinder turbo as BMW has said in the past they would refrain from selling their 6 cylinders to other mainstream manufacturers.
The deal is rumored to be announced in Trollhaettan, Sweden, on Sept. 29, before the Paris Motor Show.
In addition to the deal for BMW engines, Spyker (Saab’s parent company) has openly announced that they continue to negotiate terms with BMW for use of the MINI Countryman platform. The MINI platform would become the basis of the planned Saab 9-2, expected to launch in 2014.
BimmerFile is dedicated to bringing you the most interesting news, links and reviews related to the BMW brand and it's vehicles.
We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: E60 5 Series, E63/E64 6 Series, E65/E66 7 Series, Recalls/Bulletins, Rolls Royce Sep 30th, 2010 1 Comment 
