And, related...
interesting Cover Story in this past Sat's Barron's on
BMW "Going Green" with some ancillary fluff stuff.

I buy Barron's and read it, but I don't subscribe either
hard copy or internet, so I can't pull it up and paste it.
Maybe someone here sub's via the net and can C&P it.

A quick search found this: http://www.fxtraders.eu/article.php?id=14419

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Thanks QwgAg...
I had seen that searching for a freebie pulldown.
The art. is about 3 full pages with graphs & charts,
but I can't find it for free, lol!

Here ya go. http://online.barrons.com/article/SB...cle-outset-box



Green Machine
By VITO J. RACANELLI
CRUISING ALONG A BUSY MUNICH street in a BMW 118d last summer, I was treated to the sharp handling and snappy styling that typifies even the 1-Series, the lowest rung in the company's expanding model range. Turns were crisp and even the small engine -- just 143 horsepower -- had pep.

What affected me the most, however, wasn't expected: the automatic stop/start function, a fuel-efficiency technology that turns off the engine when the car halts at, say, a red light and then starts it again as the clutch is depressed. I expected the shut-down, but the quiet that followed was jarring. Many American drivers probably will be similarly surprised in coming years by a suite of new technologies dubbed "Efficient Dynamics" that the Munich-based manufacturer is introducing into its cars. Investors, meanwhile, may be happily surprised by BMW's heightened interest in pleasing its shareholders.

In early October, the auto maker will give a much anticipated corporate review, at which it will present its long-term strategy. Among the topics will be its research-and-development and capital-expenditure plans. Barron's has learned that BMW will for the first time reveal a target for return on capital employed, or ROCE, in its core auto operations (the company makes motorcycles, too). This measure's decline from 30% in 2002 to 21.7% last year has worried many investors and hurt BMW stock, which would certainly benefit if the German giant sets -- and more important -- hits a robust ROCE target.


A factor that may help make that a reality: BMW, whose engineering DNA is directed toward making "ultimate driving machines," is going green.

Among German luxury-car producers, BMW is arguably the leader in clean-engine technology. This has come at a price, however, as high R&D costs, among other things, have hurt profit margins, even as BMW has become the globe's leading premium-auto maker by unit sales. Part of that R&D is for green technology, but plenty was plowed into updating its product portfolio. The big Bavarian concern will have revamped or introduced some 14 models by the end of this year, including the Mini, the 1-Series, the X5 SUV and the 3-Series, the last two representing nearly 50% of its unit sales.

BMW'S SHARES LATELY HAVE been shunned by many institutional investors. But bullish investors argue that the stock will rise 20% or more if second-half 2007 margins expand on easing costs and easy comparisons to 2006. (More on that below.)

Efficiency is hardly a new concept at BMW. But growing fears about CO2 emissions are pushing the car industry to produce models that generate less greenhouse gas. Reducing carbon-dioxide output is a particularly daunting engineering challenge for luxury-car makers like BMW (ticker: BMW.Germany), Mercedes, which is a unit of Daimler (DAI.Germany), Porsche (POR3.Germany) and Audi, owned by Volkswagen. They sell many fewer cars than the mass producers, but their models are lightning rods for critics, particularly in Europe. Since luxury vehicles tend to be the heaviest, most powerful and thirstiest, they typically emit more CO2 per kilometer traveled.

"It's inevitable that luxury cars will have to get cleaner," says David Friedman, research director for the vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, but "...BMW is clearly making some investments in this direction." He points in particular to its aim of putting greener technology into engines across its model lines.

Doing this may be a matter of corporate survival. The worries over the rise in the Earth's average temperature threaten to lead governments to impose increasingly stringent and costly emission curbs, plus higher taxes on cars that pollute more.

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Sorry folks i'm trying to post page #2 but the site keeps re-directing me to the X5World home page................... Strange....... I'm gonna wait a few minutes or someone else can do it.

Edit:...Nope still can't do it. Anybody know why this is happining???

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Happened to me as well the other day. When i hit submit it will take me to X5world home page and no thread posted.

Try pasting in notepad first before pasting here.

Nope dosen't work. I give up.......

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

PDF of the release

I like this Gran Turismo thing

I can't imagine how's the X1 will look like?

give me any Model in its range...!?

__________________
The Best Is Yet To Come!