BMW introduced its first roadster, the 315/1, in 1934 at the Berlin Motor Show.  The 315 featured a long engine compartment, a six-cylinder motor, two sports seats, and a speedometer that went up to 150 km/h.   The result? Instant Freude am Fahren (Joy of Driving, BMW’s tagline).
After selling 230 roadsters, BMW introduced the more powerful 319/1 variant with similar styling, selling 178.  The 328 Roadster followed in 1936, becoming one of the fastest cars on the road (with a top speed of 155 km/h).  Only 464 units were built until …

When is a BMW 5 Series not a BMW 5 Series?  Answer: when it’s a BMW 550i Gran Turismo.
The 2010 BMW 550i GT is built on the same platform as the new F01 7 Series, introduced last year, and might best be viewed as a kind of 7 Series wagon, despite its 5 Series moniker (clearly Munich agonized about what to call this car) and four-door coupé-like appearance.  It’s definitely a niche vehicle with the combination of 7 Series legroom, X5 headroom, and a twin-turbocharged V-8 engine.  The GT sits …

Most people consider themselves to be good drivers, myself included.  I signal for every turn, I don’t overtake on the right, I don’t text while driving , I limit my hands-free telephone conversations, and I try to always be aware of my surroundings.
I’ve gone through multiple BMW, BMW CCA, and Skip Barber driving schools and each has given me new insights into what my car is capable of and, more importantly, how to best react in an emergency situation.
I know from personal experience how important it is to be able …

While Austria is synonymous to many for music and culture, its wines don’t have the renown that those of other European countries have.  Austria has, however, 51,213 hectares of vineyards, mostly in the eastern part of the country.  I’m visiting  the province of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), which has over 31,000 hectares of vineyards, to be followed by a visit to Vienna (over 600 hectares but it’s the only capital city in the world to have its own wine region) and then I will visit the Burgenland, which has over 15,000 …

Join me as I embark upon a tour to the three main wine-growing regions of Austria.
I departed New York on 4 September via Austrian Airlines, coincidentally on the first day of ownership of the airline by Lufthansa.  Fortunately, not much has changed and hopefully, as the Austrian newspapers have written, it will simply be “red uniforms without red ink.”
The first order of business was to pick up a BMW Z4 sDrive23 from BMW of Austria and drive to Langenlois, where the beautiful new wine and spa resort  Loisium …

After a pleasant (and very fast) drive in a BMW M3 from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and a few days of meetings there, I returned to New York via American Airlines Flight 22.  Similar to the outbound flight to San Francisco, once we hit 10,000 feet, I was able to turn on my Lenovo ThinkPad X300 and find several Gogo hotspots.
For most of the flight, I was able to surf the Web, watch videos, read news, send and receive e-mail, and even check the flight’s exact position.  I …

THE NEW KING OF THE BUSINESS TRAVELER HILL
Last September we looked at the Lexus LS460 and Mercedes S550, two leaders in executive-class luxury.  Next month, BMW will introduce the new 2009 7er Series in the U.S., the automaker’s fifth generation of its über-luxury sedan.
Invited to drive one of the first production cars, I planned a trip befitting the aristocracy of this automobile.  I chose as my destination the city of Portorož in Slovenia.  At the turn of the last century, Portorož, on the Adriatic, was one of the most important …

I was a bit conflicted about the BMW X6, given its weight and size.  But with the X6, BMW answers the question of what happens when you build an SUV that handles like a sports sedan.  First, you call it a Sports Activity Coupe, even if it has four doors (the low roofline helps although it limits visibility). Then you endow it with a low center of gravity and a lot of technology.  And then you drive it.
Dynamic Performance Control (DPC) monitors yaw, speed, steering input, and lateral forces and …

DRIVE TIME – TOP DOWN
Summer. A time when the business traveler’s mind turns to… convertibles!
Nothing says summer like a bright red convertible.  Unless it’s a medium-blue convertible. Or a metallic grey roadster.
In the automobile’s earliest days, all cars were open; the open car continues to be seen as sporty and adventurous and perfect for hot summer days.  The rest of the time, they were drafty, noisy, and considered less safe than cars with metal roofs.
Starting with Mercedes-Benz in 1998, car makers have found a way of marrying the driving pleasure …

GOOGLE MY CAR
With increasing delays at airports (both due to security, weather, and, more recently, entire fleets of aircraft grounded due to safety compliance checks), more business travelers are taking to the road in lieu of flying.  Now you can use Google to send your destination(s) to your car’s satellite navigation system as well.
Introduced by BMW in early 2007 in European markets, both Mercedes-Benz USA and BMW of North America now offer drivers the ability to send a destination, including street address and telephone number, to a satnav-equipped vehicle from …