BMW has transitioned to using plastic front quarter panels (fenders) on its 2007 BMW 3 Series Coupe in order to save weight and increase durability. The weight savings is minimal — about 6.6 pounds — but it helps BMW achieve its much-touted 50:50 weight balance more easily. The new material also offers greater freedom in design, being easier to mould and shape than steel – an important factor giving the designer new freedom in the design process. BMW says the fenders are painted with the exact same paint used for the steel unibody and look the same as steel panels. In low-speed collisions, the new panels are also less likely to permanently deform. After the jump we have two images: one illustrating how light the new panels are, and another shows the difference between the sedan and coupe’s fenders (with the latter having a deeper character line)…



BMW has released more information on its new six-speed automatic gearbox, which will show up in the 2007 3-Series Coupe. The gearbox uses a dedicated electronic control unit that permanently monitors the position of the gas pedal, registering the intensity of the pressure exerted by the driver on the gas pedal and determining whether and to what extent the driver wishes to accelerate. Retrieving data on the road speed of the car, engine speed and the steering angle, the control unit also detects current driving conditions at all times, considering furthermore whether the car is driving uphill or downhill. By taking all these criteria and many others into account the management unit is able to determine which gear is the most suitable. The harder and faster the driver depresses the accelerator, the lower the gear.
The system is designed to give the automatic transmission increased precision, without any time-consuming search for the right gear, which the driver would experience as an unwanted delay.

100 milliseconds response time

According to BMW, the new six-speed automatic transmission sets new standards for shift times. The new six-speed automatic transmission completes every gearshift process faster than the vast majority of sporting drivers experienced in shifting gears manually.

In a kick-down situation at a speed of 50 mph in sixth gear, the transmission can shift in just 100 milliseconds to second gear. While this is happening, the control unit sends a positive force pulse to the engine, which immediately increases its speed from approximately 1,400 to more than 5,000 rpm.

to give you an idea, BMW's SMG II shifts at 80 milliseconds

man thats one fast automatic...h:

 

damn...thats one nice gearbox

 

Drove the DSG VW Golf pretty impressed at how fast and seemless it downshifts from 6th to 3rd

 

When the $ comes in, I'll be rollin somethin German. I drove a 2002 3 series for a year, and it was the best.

 

As a former BMW owner of nearly 10 years. I can now say that the the BMW E30 was the last great car BMW ever built.

The E36,E46,E39 where really great designs, but the cars had problems like torn out subframes, ripped out doorstops, even reverse dented shock towers. BMW has gone to the dogs now both in design and engineering.

 

I completely agree.

 

i think you've got bigger problems if you're "dreaming" of a 3 series. unless of course you're talking about the m3 :naughty:

 

my A/C just broke today

 

i think they had plastic fenders on the 6 series when they first came out

 

thanks, man