The BMZ Mini’s have become a staple of U.S. roadways in recent years, almost everywhere you go there’s a good chance you’ll see the BMZ Mini Cooper on the roads and in parking lots and now the company is recalling 235,535 of the popular ultra-compact vehicles.

Of those recalled 89,000 are located in the United States. The recall was issued after the company discovered that a glitch in the circuit board that controls the vehicles water pump and cools the vehicles turbocharger can lead the engine compartments to catch fire.

Four Mini’s are said to have caught fire however the company notes that out of 81 pump failures no related injuries or accidents have been reported.

This isn’t the first time BMW has had an issue with it’s turbocharging system, other BMW and Rolls-Royce luxury cars which use a different turobcharger cooling system have also been known to catch fire.

According to BMW the recall only included Mini Coopers from 2007 through 2011 and only affects models with turbochargers.

Anyone who owns one of the vehicles is encouraged to visit their local BMW dealership to have the issue dealt with.

Have you had any problems with the turbocharger on your BMW Mini Cooper? Share your stories in our comments section.

BMW Mini’s Being Recalled Over Fire Hazard is a post from: The Inquisitr

With the economy being tight for Millions, that doesn’t mean sales of more luxury items goes down. BMW announced that they outsold Mercedes-Benz and established themselves as the top luxury brand in the US for 2011.

From Bloomberg:

“BMW’s sales rose 15 percent to 26,834 in December compared with a year earlier, the Munich-based automaker said today in a statement. With total 2011 sales at 247,907, BMW outsold Mercedes by 2,715 vehicles.”

Not too shabby for the German automaker and who has such rides as the M line of performance cars. Surely though, Mercedes isn’t too worried about it, it being just one month and all. They continue to make great cars and as with every automobile manufacturer, we’ll see new models as the year winds up.

Both companies are very competitive being in the luxury car market.

“The competition was so intense between BMW and Mercedes that each side refused to release their sales results yesterday until the other went first, two people familiar with the situation said. Other automakers announced December and full- year U.S. sales yesterday.”

Sounds like when you were a little kid and you and your friend dared each other to do the same thing. “No, you first. NO, you first.” The sales estimates were said to be from very credible industry sources said Autodata Corp., the research company behind it.

As far as other luxury car brands, Lexus isn’t doing nearly as well.

“Lexus sales fell 8 percent to 25,355 last month and 13 percent to 198,552 to end the year, the Toyota City, Japan-based brand said.”

BMW Outsells Mercedes In December To Be Top Luxury Brand Of 2011 is a post from: The Inquisitr

First it was just the standard old lightbulb, then along came halogen headlamps, and finally the current favorite is LED lights to shine your way down the road at night.

However BMW isn’t satisfied with stopping there as they have their researchers working to bring laser powered headlights to their cars, and we’re not talking about sometime in the future but rather in some models very soon.

What is driving this work forward is two factors. The first is that laser headlights are more energy efficient that even the LED ones and for electric vehicles every volt counts. While LED headlights only generate 100 lumens per watt the lasers will generate 170 lumens per watt.

The second driving factor is of course the design factor. In contrast to the 1-millimeter-square size LEDs used in car headlights today the laser diode used is only 10 microns in width. As Wayne Cunningham at Cnet notes this opens all kinds of possibilities.

But the tiny size of the lasers open up a lot of possibilities. Instead of a large, round piece of glass, a laser headlight could shine through the cross pieces of the car’s grille, and so remain hidden when not in use. The traditional dual-headlight configuration would also no longer be necessary, as a row of laser diodes could peek out from the front edge of the hood.

As laser light is a coherent beam, it can be precisely shaped, and also changed at will. Instead of a separate high-beam lamp, lasers can be computer controlled to form a low-beam or high-beam pattern.

While this technology is still a couple of years out talk is that we will see them first in BMW’s i8 hybrid brand of cars.

image courtesy of Cnet

Next up in automobile awesomeness – lasers used as headlights is a post from: The Inquisitr

Last year BMW set the motoring world on its ear when it introduced its electric concept cars, the i3 and the i8. Well, get ready for it to set the whole driving world on its ear when it actually launches the cars next year.

Of the two the i8 is the typical BMW luxury car with sleek curves and gorgeous styling, not the the i3 is any slouch in this area, that will come with a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder powerplant that will put out 220 horsepower and 221 lb-ft torque.

When combined with the electric motor you can expect to go from zero to 60 mph in under five seconds.

The three-pot works in tandem with a lithium-ion battery pack and front-mounted electric motor pulled from the i3 and driving the front wheels, allowing an electric-only range of up to 20 miles on a charge. Put both systems together and you’ve got a front-wheel-drive vehicle for maximum efficiency, a rear-driver for maximum fun and all-wheel drive for maximum grip. And if that isn’t enticing enough, the i8 has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

via Autoblog

Here’s a couple images of both the i3 and the i8.

BMW’s i8 no longer a concept, coming next year. Get ready to drool [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

It should be against the law. Seriously.

I mean BWM should be forced to stop torturing us with these incredibly sweet looking concept cars that we know in our heart of hearts will never see light of day but we keep hoping against hope that they will.

Take this sweet drool inducing crotch warming concept that popped up on the web this week. Sure its only a concept created by 18 year-old Khalfi Oussama of Tunisia for BMW logo design but even so it is seriously hurtful – not to mention cruel.

A 4X4 BMW … wow .. take t hat you 4X4 truck rednecks.

Damn you BMW why do you keep torturing us this way is a post from: The Inquisitr

There is no denying the fact that BMW makes some of the sweetest looking cars around so it should be no surprise that they wouldn’t do the same when it comes top creating a hybrid car.

To be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in a couple of weeks the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept displays all the BMW qualities. The heart of the concept car is an advanced diesel-electric hybrid system. It is based on a compact turbocharged 1.5-liter, three-cylinder diesel engine. BMW says that the combined diesel-electric powertrain is good for 356 hp and 590 lb-ft torque. Maximum range in pure electric mode is 31 miles, with the diesel engine offering another 400 miles.

Now for the drool factor.

And now for added goodness the video

hat tip to My Modern Metropolis

A sweet looking hybrid concept from BMW [Pics/Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

BMW has announced that it will leave Formula One (F1) at the end of the current season, the second leading car marker to withdraw from the sport in two years.

BMW said in a statement that F1 was no longer a sustainable or viable venture for BMW. “This was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” Chairman of BMW’s Board Norbert Reithofer said. “Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our strategy … we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.”

BMW doesn’t have a long history in the sport, having only formally run its own team after acquiring the Sauber Formula One team prior to the 2006 season. BMW engines though have supplied other teams in the past, including the Brabham team in the 1980s and Williams from 2000 to 2005. The BMW Sauber team’s best year was in 2007, when it came 2nd in the manufacturers championship.

BMW follows in the footsteps of Honda last year, and leaves only four car manufacturers still competing: Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Toyota and Renault.

BMW quits Formula One is a post from: The Inquisitr