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      BMW decides heated seat subscriptions are a bust

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 8 September, 2023 - 13:47

    A BMW worker installs a seat in an i4 on the production line

    Enlarge / A BMW worker installs a seat in an i4. The company will no longer install hardware in its cars and then ask for a fee to unlock it at a later date. (credit: BMW)

    BMW's experiment with offering in-car subscriptions for hardware features installed at the factory is over. Earlier this week, a BMW board member told Autocar that while it will still pursue some subscription features in the future, those will only be software-based services.

    The last decade or so has seen the auto industry get tech fever. Wide-eyed executives and shareholders looked at the profit margins and market value of software companies and their "recurring revenue streams" and decided they wanted a slice of that, particularly since a modern car is just so many computers on wheels now. But it turns out—surprise, surprise—that consumers don't really want any more monthly payments attached to their vehicles.

    Indeed, in 2019 BMW earned a degree of consumer distrust after making Apple CarPlay a subscription-only feature for a while before backtracking.

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      BMW uses autonomous cars for boring, repetitive tests

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 26 July, 2023 - 15:00 · 1 minute

    A camouflaged BMW i7 and a blue BMW M3 drive autonomously around a test track in the Czech Republic.

    Enlarge / Neither of these test BMWs has a human in the driver's seat. (credit: BMW)

    BMW provided a flight from San Francisco to the Czech Republic and three nights in a hotel so we could visit the Sokolov test center. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

    On a large empty slab of asphalt, two BMWs take off. They drive in figure eights and along an oval path separate from each other but nearly in tandem, like two ice skaters practicing the same routine on a piece of black ice before coming to a stop.

    Neither of the cars has a driver. That's not that impressive; self-driving cars in testing environments shouldn't impress anyone at this point. Essentially the automaker tells the car to drive a route, and it does it. The important thing here is why these cars, outfitted with additional sensors, are driving along the same route again and again, each time depressing the accelerator the same amount and applying the exact amount of pressure on the brakes: They're testing hardware with the least amount of variables you can encounter outside of a lab.

    "It's boring for human drivers," says BMW's project lead for driverless development, Philipp Ludwig. When a human is asked to perform the exact same task repeatedly, the quality of the work diminishes as they lose interest or become fatigued. For a computer-controlled car, it can do this all day. And it has done exactly that.

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      BMW’s valet parking test trades red vests for remote driving rigs

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 26 July, 2023 - 15:00 · 1 minute

    A blue BMW iX at a test track with wind turbines in the distance

    Enlarge / BMW is testing a remote parking solution. (credit: BMW)

    BMW provided a flight from San Francisco to the Czech Republic and three nights in a hotel so we could visit the Sokolov test center. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

    Part of the autonomous driving dream is the ability to jump out of your vehicle in front of the store, mall, concert hall, or museum and let the car find its own parking while you enjoy life. No more creeping along in garages thinking you found the perfect spot, only to have your delight dashed by the motorcycle you couldn't quite see.

    While true autonomous driving is still years away, regardless of the declarations of automakers and startups, there's another way to have your car seemingly park itself: remote teleoperation. BMW and Valeo are teaming up to make this a reality at BMW's new Future Mobility Development Center in Sokolov, Czech Republic. The automaker gave us a sneak peek and let us remotely drive a vehicle in a simulated parking lot.

    Sim racing rig, but less exciting and more anxiety-inducing

    As I stood in a small building, about 100 m away sat a BMW iX waiting to be piloted via the rig sitting before me. It resembled the typical online racing rig you see in the homes of car enthusiasts and gamers, except that the side monitors didn't expand the view horizontally. Instead, they were used to display an overhead version of the world around the vehicle. Below those monitors were tablets with controls (forward, reverse, etc) and vehicle status.

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      Seven major automakers to build EV charging network with 30,000 chargers

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 26 July, 2023 - 14:55

    Painted road sign indicating electric car charging station seen in Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg

    Enlarge (credit: Karol Serewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Good news, electric road-trippers: DC fast chargers are about to become a lot more common. On Wednesday, a group of seven major automakers announced a plan to create a new charging network of more than 30,000 chargers across North America starting next year.

    BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis are creating a joint venture to significantly expand the number of fast charging sites in the US and Canada. The sites will use the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure guidelines , which means, among other things, 97 percent uptime for each charging port. The sites will support both CCS1 and NACS plugs , and the chargers will also support the plug-and-charge protocol.

    "North America is one of the world’s most important car markets—with the potential to be a leader in electromobility. Accessibility to high-speed charging is one of the key enablers to accelerate this transition. Therefore, seven automakers are forming this joint venture with the goal of creating a positive charging experience for EV consumers. The BMW Group is proud to be among the founders," said BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse.

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      BMW plays it safe with design of new electric sedan, the 2024 i5

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 24 May, 2023 - 12:00 · 1 minute

    BMW i5 in grey, seen from the front 3/4s

    Enlarge / The eighth-generation 5 Series has the least-outrageous styling we've seen from BMW in some time. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

    BMW provided flights from DC to Milan and back, plus three nights in a hotel so we could get a preview of the new 5 Series and i5. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

    COMO, ITALY—BMW has earned a reputation for challenging car designs. It's not a new thing, either. People mocked the Z1's disappearing doors. The Z3 coupe's "clown shoe" nickname was not at all affectionate. And few could find a kind word about the infamous "Bangle butt" on the fourth-gen 7 Series. But it doesn't take those kinds of risks with every model, particularly not the latest 5 Series, which now includes a fully electric i5.

    The 5 Series is BMW's midsize sedan, and until the advent of the luxury SUV—a category that BMW basically invented—it was the company's bread and butter. There's a new 5 Series out this October, the eighth generation to bear the nameplate. Like other recent BMWs, it uses the manufacturer's latest flexible architecture that supports battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and conventional powertrains, something we've seen to good effect with the 4 Series and particularly with last year's 7 Series and i7 .

    The sedan is not dead

    "We're particularly happy with how it turned out proportion-wise. I think it is a long, elegant, sporty sedan, and that, for me, is the essence of any BMW anyway. And the 5 series, of course, is the core of the brand in many, many markets," said Adrian van Hooydonk, design director at BMW Group.

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      BMW explores recycling with the i Vision Circular concept

      Jonathan M. Gitlin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 6 September, 2021 - 09:45 · 1 minute

    BMW provided flights to Munich and seven nights in hotels so we could attend IAA Mobility and then later this week drive its two new electric cars, the i4 and iX (which you'll be able to read about in the next few weeks). Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

    MUNICH, GERMANY—The BMW i Vision Circular is not the company's new Neue Klasse . But the new concept, revealed this morning at IAA Mobility, explores idea which the company says will inform that electric vehicle, due in 2025.

    Not so much in the way it looks, which is a shame since this compact one-box shape—described by a fellow journalist as a Cyber Twingo—is a refreshing break from oversized SUVs. Instead, it's the car's approach to sustainability that BMW is running with—"Circular" refers to the car's lifecycle, which aims to use entirely recycled materials resulting in a vehicle that is entirely recyclable too. Currently, BMW says that across its brands (which include Mini and Rolls-Royce), it's already at 30 percent recycled and reused materials.

    "The BMW i Vision Circular illustrates our all-encompassing, meticulous way of thinking when it comes to sustainable mobility. It symbolises our ambition to be a pioneering force in the development of a circular economy," said BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse. "We lead the way for resource efficiency in production and we are seeking to extend this status to all stages of the vehicle life cycle. This is a question of economic sustainability too, as the current trend in commodity prices clearly shows the financial consequences in store for any industry that is reliant on finite resources."

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      The 2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e—a big battery gives this hybrid a useful range

      Jonathan M. Gitlin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 27 August, 2021 - 10:30

    It's been a while since we spent time with BMW's plug-in hybrid X5. Since then, the German automaker replaced the X5 with an all-new model called the X5 xDrive45e. The brand has returned to its iconic inline six-cylinder engine configuration under the hood and has doubled the traction battery in capacity, usefully boosting the SUV's electric-only range.

    Styling-wise, the X5 xDrive45e is similar to its non-hybrid sibling. It's a big vehicle that looks particularly tall on the road. I think it lacks the handsomeness of the original X5, but the Internet already has enough takes on BMW styling and doesn't need another one from me.

    On the inside, all the materials you sit on or touch feel high-quality, and the driver's seat has good forward and rear visibility. However, I felt a little like I was sitting on the car (in an overstuffed armchair) rather than in it. Ahead of the driver is a thick-rimmed multifunction steering wheel and a 12.3-inch digital main instrument display.

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      A silicon chip shortage is causing automakers to idle their factories

      Jonathan M. Gitlin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 4 February, 2021 - 16:37 · 1 minute

    A silicon chip shortage is causing automakers to idle their factories

    Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images)

    You may have noticed that it's difficult to get a hold of new high-end graphics cards and game consoles these days. In large part, that's due to an ongoing global shortage affecting semiconductor foundries. As it turns out, the problem is even more pronounced in the auto industry. In fact, it's getting so bad that a number of OEMs, including Ford and General Motors, have had to go as far as idling shifts and even entire factories.

    Ford had to stop production in Kentucky in December of 2020, and in January, it ordered a month-long pause at a German factory. Stellantis (the new company formed by a merger between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot) reduced output at factories in the US, Mexico, and Canada around the same time. As did Audi, which had to idle 10,000 employees in Germany, CEO Markus Duesmann telling the Financial Times that the problem involved "a very long chain with different supply levels on the components that we are short." Subaru's Gunma factory in Japan has been affected. Production of Toyota's Texas-produced Tundra has, too.

    This week, more hits keep coming. Mazda just announced it might have to cut output by 34,000 units this year due to a lack of chips. Nissan's truck factory in Mississippi has reduced its hours . And on Wednesday, GM said it will halt production at factories in Kansas, Canada, Mexico, and South Korea. In many cases, the automakers are trying to prioritize their more in-demand products, but as some of those closures show, that isn't always possible.

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      BMW made this really weird short film to celebrate 20 years of iDrive

      Jonathan M. Gitlin · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 12 January, 2021 - 15:27 · 1 minute

    With the coronavirus pandemic causing CES to be held virtually this year, some exhibitors have been looking for different ways to capture our attention. Take BMW for example. In CESes of yore, the German automaker often had a large presence, showing off concepts and even providing a fleet of cars for five-minute test drives . Obviously that won't work in 2021, which is a shame for BMW because this year marks the 20th anniversary of its very first iDrive infotainment system, which debuted in the 2001 7 Series.

    So instead, the automaker made this short film to mark the occasion. Warning: it's pretty weird, but at the same time I think it's kind of charming, featuring an old graybeard 7 Series meeting a young whippersnapper iX SUV one night at the BMW museum.

    Teaser "The new BMW iDrive" @CES Digital 2021

    Back in 2001 the 7 Series was BMW's flagship sedan, loaded to the gunnels with the latest and greatest technology the Bavarians could muster. In previous generations that meant powered reclining rear seats and maybe a car phone. But that year the new 7 Series arrived with something called iDrive, combining the car's entertainment equipment with navigation and a way to interact with the car's settings. A pair of screens—one in the main instrument display, one in the center stack—displayed information, and to interact with it all, a rotary controller on the center console. In short, it was one of the first true infotainment systems.

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