New E89 BMW Z4 Roadster.

The new E89 BMW Z4 Roadster made its European debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. BMW is solidly hammering it into our heads that the new Z4 is a piece of automotive art, and that it definitely is. All those lovely curves are a modern interpretation of the old BMW 507 and alot of Bangle cues have been toned down. The new Z4 also now gets a convertible hard top, replacing the first gen Z4’s cloth top. New BMW Group design director Adrian van Hooydonk talks to BMW Web TV at the Geneva show on the new Z4’s design. It’s quite interesting to hear stuff said from a designer’s perspective actually - apparently designers take delight in clamshell-style bonnets as they can then play around more with the design lines on the bonnet without having to deal with the bonnet shutlines.

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Best New Cars For Winter Driving.

2009 BMW X5
Just days after a prolonged cold snap across the Great Lakes and Northeast finally let up this week, heavy rain and snow are expected to take their turns along the West Coast.


And even if temperatures in California don't sink to the sub-20s level endured by New Yorkers lately, commuters on both coasts will, at some point or another, find their driving habits, abilities and comfort affected by the cold.
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While it's easy to assume sport utility vehicles orwagons are the best choices for comfortable winter driving--and a couple did make our list, like theSubaru Outback and Lexus LX--there are plenty of other types that more than qualify. The Volvo S80sedan, for example, offers plenty of cold-weather amenities, like traction control, all-wheel drive, heated seats and remote start.


There are so many solid cold-weather cars with these and other amenities that it's simply a matter of choosing which car suits your lifestyle or budget, not a matter of one vehicle being much better suited for cold-weather driving.
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BMW 116i Now Powered By 2.0L N46 Valvetronic.

BMW has phased out its N45 inline-4 engine family, currently used in the BMW 116i. The N45 is a rather basic engine compared to the rest of the BMW line-up, it doesn’t even have Valvetronic, which these days is only absent on turbocharged BMW engines. The only other application has been in the limited edition BMW 320si, which used an N45 engine with displacement increased to 2.0 liters. That one produced 173 PS at 7,000 and 200Nm at 4,250rpm, but the N45B16 in the 116i only produced 122hp at 6,000rpm and 160Nm of torque at 4,300rpm.

From this year on, the 116i will be powered by the more advanced N46, which produces the same 122hp, but torque has been upped to 185Nm between 3,000 to 4,250rpm. This is because the new engine is actually the same 2.0 liter engine that’s found in the 118i and the 120i, only with different tuning. This engine also has Valvetronic, which provides variable valve lift and operates without using a throttle plate.

This is also happening with many other BMW models. The numbers on a vehicle’s badge doesn’t necessarily indicate the displacement of the engine under the hood anymore. Alot of the x25i cars around are now running with 3.0 liter engines, tuned to produce the same power and torque as a 2.5 liter but with torque over a wider spread of RPMs, to improve driveability. This would be a problem in Malaysia because of the displacement-tied road tax (as opposed to power output or emissions tied), so expect the 325i to continue to be offered with a 2.5 liter engine for the moment.

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