BMW 3 Series 2006 News

Only a fraction of the 1.2 million cars on Australia roads with airbags that can spray shrapnel have been fixed, new figures show.

A vote by 75 motoring journalists from 22 countries has awarded the compact prestige car the World Car of the Year award for 2015.It finished on top of a 24-car field and eventually beat the two other finalists, the Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat.The other big prizes for 2015, Green Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year, went to the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and the Mercedes-AMG GT coupe.The winners were announced at the New York Motor Show today at an event hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum at the culmination of a six-month voting process.The C-Class delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.The awards are in their 11th year and previous winners include the Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Lexus LS460 and Volkswagen Golf, Polo and Up.To be eligible for the overall World Car award, candidate cars must have become available for sale on at least two continents between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.The WCOTY wins by Mercedes-Benz follow its victories in the Green Car contest in 2007 with the E320 Bluetec and 2012 with the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and its Luxury Car success with the S Class in 2014.“We are extremely delighted of winning the honour of World Car of the Year,” says the chairman of Daimler, Dr Dieter Zetsche.The WCOTY victory follows a similar success for the C-Class in the CarsGuide Car of the Year award.The WCOTY judging panel says: “Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.” WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015Overall winner: Mercedes-Benz C-ClassGreen Car: BMW i8Performance Car: Mercedes-AMG GTLuxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S CoupeDesign: Citroen CactusPREVIOUS WORLD COTY WINNERS:2014: Audi A32013: Volkswagen Golf2012: Volkswagen Up2011: Nissan Leaf2010: Volkswagen Polo2009: Volkswagen Golf2008: Mazda22007: Lexus LS4602006: BMW 3 Series2005: Audi A6

THE Audi A3 small car -- which owes much of its DNA to the Volkswagen Golf -- has won the 2014 World Car of the Year, as voted by 69 jurors from 22 countries. The luxury hatch toppled the widely-tipped favourite, the Mazda3 from Japan, in the awards announced at the New York motor show today.The Audi A3 was among five German cars that took out a cleansweep of the 2014 World Car of the Year categories, and it was Audi’s second win in 10 years, having won the inaugural award. Indeed, German cars have won seven of the past 10 World Car of the Year awards, Japanese brands have won the remaining three.Accepting the award on behalf of the company, Audi's North America president Scott Keogh said: “The Audi A3 has only been on sale three weeks and already it’s off to a flying start.”Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, said: “This major award win is an achievement that the whole company can celebrate.”The Audi A3 was among 24 finalists that included the BMW i3 electric car, which won the Green Car of the Year and the Car Design of the Year. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was the Luxury Car of the Year while the Porsche 911 GT3 was awarded top performance car honours.But the Mazda3 had emerged as an early favourite for the outright World Car of the Year award following rave reviews globally since it went on sale late last year. The previous generation Mazda3 has been Australia’s top selling car for two of the past three years, and was the vehicle that ended the Holden Commodore’s record 15-years as the market leader, in 2011.The Mazda3 is returned to the top of the sales charts so far this year -- after being overtaken by the Toyota Corolla in 2013 -- and is likely to take out top-seller status this year buoyed by the new model which went on sale in January.World car of the year winners2014 – Audi A32013 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk72012 -- Volkswagen Up2011 -- Nissan Leaf2010 -- Volkswagen Polo2009 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk62008 -- Mazda22007 -- Lexus LS4602006 -- BMW 3 Series2005 -- Audi A62014 World Car of The Year category winnersGreen car of the Year -- BMW i3 electric carCar Design of the Year -- BMW i3 electric carPerformance Car of the Year -- Porsche 911 GT3Luxury Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz S-ClassThis reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

Previous Bathurst 1000 Winners 1963 Harry Firth/Bob Jane Ford Cortina GT 1964 Bob Jane/George Reynolds Ford Cortina GT 1965 Bo Seton/Midge Bosworth Ford Cortina GT500 1966 Rauno Aaltonen/Bob Holden Morris Mini Cooper S 1967 Harry Firth/Fred Gibson Ford Falcon XRGT 1968 Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland Holden Monaro GTS

Following in the mould of a swag of rivals, the new E93 3-series convertible has swapped its soft-top for a metal folding roof. A bold move maybe but technology has allowed such a move without the convertible suffering from obesity or the normal design trade-off of a frumpy rear-end. The fourth generation 3-series convertible is arguably the biggest design change to the model from the Bavarian brand which calls on over 70 years of experience in making droptop machines. It is claimed the three-piece roof opens and shuts in 22 seconds. There is a diesel four-cylinder convertible but it is unlikely to get a start in Australia. The Brisbane Motor Show will be the Australian preview for the ground-breaking hardtop only two weeks after the car was put through its paces at the international launch in Phoenix, Arizona. It will be available in showrooms here in March, soon after it becomes available in Europe and North America. Prices for the new droptop are $94,900 for the 325i manual ($97,500 automatic) while the red-hot 335i manual will cost $121,500 with the auto at $124,100. As in the coupe range there will be a choice of either the six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. Breaking cover in Australia on BMW's Brisbane stand will be the rapid 335i twinturbo convertible along with a 325i version. There will also be a 323i which is the third and final variant to join the sexy 3-series coupe range after the release of the 335 and 325 last year. The preview of the 3-series convertible at the show is the second time BMW have used Queensland as a launching pad for important new models within the past six months. In a major shot-in-the-arm, the 3-series coupe press launch was held out of Brisbane before the car was shown at the Paris Motor Show. Other cars the blue and white badge has assigned for the show are a hot M6 convertible, the all-new X3 3-litre diesel, a Z4 M coupe and a 3-litre roadster, a 1-series diesel and a 750Li Individual. The awesome 335i will also be shown in a 3series sedan Individual.

Read related storyPatrick Loved the yellow Hummer, I just want one !Grant The Subaru Tribeca seems an awesome car. Look at its list of standard features for $53000 - leaves an X5 or Territory for dead. OK, the front grille takes a bit of getting used to, power could be up a bit for its weight, but you do get all the usual Subie delights, 5 star safety and quality. Definitely worth a test drive on November 25!Mark Mercedes e280cdei definatly the bestDan The absolute standout was the new BMW 3 series coupe. Can't believe no one else has mentioned it. What a sexy car! Looks much better in the metal than in photos...David Rome The Mazda CX7 is very fresh and the new BT-50 ute looks the goods to take some salesMichael Volvo C70 What a Glamour!!the engineer Mitsubishi TRM 380- bring it on in AWD! Would sell double current! Should have been the original 380 GT.Audi R8 ;-)Captiva <8>-(French Body Art 8-)Bob Rona Gotta Be the Lexus RX 350 Sports Luxury!!Jay The Saab Aero X concept car looks extraordinary. I was pretty impressed with the XR5 Turbo Ford Focus - hopefully if they bring it out in diesel, there would be a lot more interest and salesDavid Lunn Mazda CX7John The Mitsui 380 supercharged - grabbed allot of attention (so did the girls in the red dresses); I also like the new Outlander V6 & Astra convertible (or at least my wife did).Lex Biggar Audi R8william yates dark 4 door mitsi I believe it's a Tommy Mac serise and also shannon's stand the rest well............Kim I must agree with Bob MX-S ROADSTER COUPE The best by far!Jim Until I hit the Mitsubishi stand the show was a let down for me. Thank you to the Mitsubishi Girls for making the show worthwhile.Julie Definetely the Honda Legend & the Audi RX8.aaron need this so i could have this to have it better then i wont be a laughting stockNick Definitely the Mitsubishi TRM 380 - because I might be able to afford it and it looks great. Can't wait to test drive it.David Lyons Peugeot 207Stephen HSV GTS is my current realistic dream carROBERT DAWSON MX-S ROADSTER COUPEKris Audi R8 looked absolutely brilliant, that will be a real winner when it lands here. The Audi TT also looked really neat.Other cars to impress were the Volvo C30 and Suzuki SX4 WRC prototype.wazza smith nonesasha The Convertible Ford Focus. I simply love it. The new Fairmont Ghia was nice too.I did not like the Camry V6 sorry Avalon, sorry again, Aurion.Now I have gone and twisted my tongue. Anyone know a good tongue doctor <8>-). .... At least I can still type.The Volvo C30 was nice too as was the Land Rover Discovery.The Holden Commodores looked pretty decent although the Captiva did not captivate.Its too tall and skinny. I saw one in a shopping centre car park right next to a Territory and boy did it look like it needed some widening.I was also quite impressed with the Audi R8.The Hummer reminded me too much of the war in Iraq (I am against senseless wars). I also thought the Citroens were cool.Sean Hickey HSV GTS a true sports car at third of the price.I enjoyed the show,love to dream but quite a few people could get a GTS

The 3 Series convertible arrives less than a month after the coupe, launch in Australia and more than 12 months after BMW’s highest selling sedan range.

It takes a quantum mind shift to accept a station wagon as a lifestyle accessory rather than life's grim necessity — a symbol, indeed, that your life is essentially over. Never mind that such a vehicle is just what you require to cart about the fruits of your loins, it's difficult to project an aura of virility or availability in what is essentially an advertisement for prophylactics. Or so it was with wagons. It helps that they're now known by all manner of marketing euphemisms: sportwagon, touring, estate, avant. Anything other than "station wagon", with its attendant images of suburban suffocation. With this grim mantle having been inherited by the SUV, wagons in the entry-level prestige segment are becoming perilously close to fashionable. The newest executive iterations from Europe and Japan are as departed from the Falcodore hacks given to fleet and taxi drivers as a Bally loafer is from a Blundstone boot. Moreover, they're often more pleasing to the eye than their sedan siblings. One such is the recently released BMW 3 Series Touring. The late, lamented E46 3 Series range also had but one Touring model: an automatic whose old 2.2-litre engine behaved more like a four-cylinder than one of Bimmer's brilliant inline sixes. Its E90 successor — for which the lapsed 323i designation has been revived — gets a choice of six-speed auto or manual (which no one will buy) transmissions and a detuned version of the 2.5 straight six from the 325i sedan. Detuned, in fact, from all of 160kW/250Nm to a distinctly four-ish figure of 130kW and 230Nm. It hasn't been so much neutered as urbanised, but if you forked over $71,500 (for the auto, $2600 off for the manual no one's going to buy) you'd be entitled to feel aggrieved. Reaching 100km/h in a claimed nine seconds — with the kilometre coming up in 29.7 — the auto Touring is respectable rather than rapid. And you'll need to make use of the ZF gearbox's sport mode to approximate those times — the Touring's 1500kg is never more in evidence than when getting off the mark in Drive. More significantly, this heft doesn't cause garment-rending at the petrol pump — both the claimed open-road and urban-consumption figures of 6.9 and 13.2 litres per 100km are, if anything, slightly pessimistic. The Touring has all the 3Series's inherent handling excellence, with BMW's trademark near-50/50 weight distribution coupled with rear-wheel drive. It can be both a benign daily drive and an incisive handler, able to deal with any sharp manoeuvre this side of sanity (enhanced by the Dynamic Stability Control and a vast array of electronic safety aids) while feeling exceptionally planted. It's a BMW — so one expects no less. Even ride quality on the 323i's standard-issue run-flat tyres is better than tolerable on 16- inch rubber. Bigger wheels are one item on the typically long and expensive options list that you needn't tick. Touring ownership is, of course, about facility, and this the 323i has. The tailgate, for example, splits so access can be had by way of the glass pane without the "effort" of opening the whole thing. Nice. So too are the provisions for secure oddment storage, not least beneath the floor — where, in most comparable cars, resides a full-size spare. Not sure if those cubbyholes are included in the total luggage space figure of 1385 litres (with rear seats folded), but it's such a comfort to know there's room in the boot for another few bots, what? Standard kit is comparable with that in the 320i Executive sedan. It includes leather trim, retractable centre armrests in both front and rear (quite good, these), storage nets on the backs of the front seats and an anti-dazzle rear-view mirror. The near roof-length sunroof, which brightens the lot of rear-seat travellers (but diminishes the driver's head space) adds $2900. Dip further into the optionals, let alone the $5200 MSports kit, and you're looking at an easy $80K on the road. Whether or not you consider such a sum just a bit silly depends entirely on the store you set by the fabled blue-and-white roundel. Some other prestige wagons offer much more equipment and performance for a lot less money, but none of them boast that badge. So if 3 Series ownership isn't purely a matter of dollars and cents, the stylish, practical Touring makes at least a degree of sense. See the picture gallery above for a wider view of the market.

1. What is the state of the Australia luxury-car market at the moment?"It is stable on a high level, but it's a competitive market. "We expect to be traveling on the same level as last year on a full- year basis, and we are confident we can grow the BMW Group business.2. How does BMW rate globally?"On a worldwide scale, if you take away South Africa where there a very special regulations and BMW is an assembler, we have the highest market share in the world."We have 29.2 per cent of the luxury sector in Australia, and in Germany the figure is 27.4 per cent and the worldwide number is 19.9 per cent."3. Why is BMW doing so well in Australia?"Australians like our products and we have a very strong brand here. "We have other things which are particularly appealing to potential owners, like guaranteed future values for our cars. We are the only manufacturer to do that across the range. It shows the confidence we have because we know the situation with BMW residuall values."Others will follow us, because they do, but we are the first. That is especially appealing to luxury users, as they have the option to hand the car back at the end of their lease term."This program is fitted to the Australian market, but we have other things and there is also a good demand here for the BMW four-wheel drives with the X5 and X3."4. How has BMW been tracking in Australia over recent years?"Since 1999 we have grown by 79 per cent and, although we usually don't talk about our competitors, that is more than anyone else and gives us a lead of 20 per cent over the same time last year. "That includes the 4x4s but not the commercial vehicles sold by one of our competitors. It's passenger cars and four-wheel drives."If you look at other manufacturers there is one other brand which is doing well but coming from a low base, yet we outsold them 3:1 in 1999 and now we outsold them 3.3:1 in 2005."5. Looking forward, what can we expect in 2006 and 2007?"We are now expanding our range on the diesel front, and we will have the 120d and 320d in the second quarter of this year. There will also be the 323i Touring in the second quarter, and later in the year a new 3 Series coupe. Also the 323i sedan."We have now the revised Z4 including the M Roadster, and of course we have the Z4 coupe coming in the secnd half of the year and the M coupe version which will be very exciting."2007 is still quite a way down the track, so we will have a few renewals."In the 1 Series we are far away from having exploited the market potential and we will have a few very nice things that will fit perfectly in Australia. But that will be 2007."Also, a little bit down the track we will have . . . a sporty version of the X5. It is in the design stage and, from what we have seen, it will be a stunning success."6. You are also responsible for Mini as part of the BMW Group. How far away is the replacement car?"The new model Mini will be in the market in Australia next year. "In that life cycle it will also have several more variants that will also come to Australia and they will help to substantially grow Mini in the market. It was originally a one-model vehicle but will grow to a full product family."

The show has been moved back from February to March 3-12 this year so it doesn't clash with the Melbourne Motor Show which opened last week. The Melbourne event was staged earlier to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games.Diesel cars, an Aussie supercar and hybrid technology were the highlights of the Melbourne show.Brisbane show organiser Michelle Ramsey said manufacturers usually held back the launch of new models until the Melbourne show, which meant Brisbane missed out.However, with the unveiling of several new and exciting models in Melbourne last week, Ramsey said most of these would be coming to Brisbane providing one of the biggest automotive feasts yet seen here."It's very nice of Melbourne to have this practice run for us," Ramsey said.She predicted a record of more than 50 new models would make their Queensland debuts.The Melbourne show not only unveiled several new models to the Australian market but also featured the return after 18 years of the Fiat brand with the Punto hatchback and Dodge with the Caliber compact SUV to go on sale about September.In an acknowledgement of record fuel prices, Holden, BMW, Jaguar, Fiat, VW, SsangYong and Alfa Romeo announced new diesel-powered passenger cars.For the first time in Australia, BMW will introduce diesel power to its four-cylinder cars, with the 320d at $56,700 and the 120d at $47,800 in the next quarter.The most significant of diesel releases is Holden's Astra diesel.The car will feature a 1.9-litre turbocharged diesel engine and be available later this year. No prices are yet set.GM Holden boss Denny Mooney said it would "not be high volume but it might be a surprise".Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Jutta Dierks said the diesel Astra would increase interest in diesel and not take sales from their range, which this year will feature an oil burner in every model."We have a head start on diesel and it (Astra) will only lift sales," she said.Several manufacturers also announced new fuel-miserly hybrid petrol-electric models, while Korean manufacturer SsangYong said it would introduce a hybrid diesel-electric Kyron sports utility vehicle later this year.However, fuel-hungry supercars were also on the agenda, led by the Australian-made bespoke Redback Spyder which is coming to the Brisbane motor show.The $250,000 mid-engined 335kW V8 two-seater weighs 900kg and has a top speed of 320km/h. It goes from 0 to 100km/h in three seconds and will be a highlight of the Brisbane Motor Show.The current model can only be driven on a racetrack but the Melbourne-based builders plan to build a street-legal version.Builder Nick Tomkinson said American talk show host Jay Leno was considering buying one.