BMW 330d 2009 News

Two years ahead of its showroom appearance, the all-new 3 is caught for the first time outside BMW's development base at Munich in Germany.  The hand-built prototype carries heavy camouflage in the company's signature swirls, but it is still easy to pick the general shape and proportions of BMW's future best seller.The next 3 Series, coded E93, will be slightly bigger and much more elegant than the current E90. It picks up the styling direction of the latest 7 Series flagship, which has been smoothed and preened from the brutalism of the previous Seven.The upcoming E93 has typical 3 Series proportions, from its wheels-at-each-corner chassis layout to a short rear overhang and the C-pillar treatment with what BMW calls its 'Hofmeister kick'. Carparazzi pictures of the car show a widened grille and the same sort of headlamp treatment already seen on the Seven and expected on the upcoming 5 Series replacement, which will be on Australian roads in June 2010. At the back, the boot and light treatment is typically BMW with an L-shape to the lighting package.BMW insiders say the the plan for the next 3 Series will again see the coupe and cabrio models take a slightly different design direction from the sedan and wagon. The shift will include unique lamp packages with more body jewellery for the upmarket models.Like the 1 Series, the E93 has a flexible, modular mechanical platform which allows BMW to spin extra models with minimal time and cost penalties.The model lineup for the new 3 Series is still not clear, but is expected to include an active hybrid with a three-cylinder engine connected to an electric powerpack, with everything from special tyres to aero-tweaked wheels, brake-energy regeneration, engine stop-start system and a pre-heater for the engine, gearbox and differential to cut emissions through the critical first few minutes of any trip.

The BMW 3-Series convertible could save your life.

A growing number of prestige and sports cars are being repossessed from owners who cannot meet their commitments during the economic downturn.Finance companies and auction houses are reporting a massive increase in the number of seizures and sales, with some cars going for bargain prices.Exotic Ferraris are the first to go as the economic screws tighten, according to Pickles Auctions chief auctioneer, Steve Allen.Next week, Pickles will flog off more than $2 million worth of repossessed Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches at its quarterly luxury auction.It's the biggest collection of expensive European cars the company has put under the hammer in recent years.Allen has a late-model Ferrari 599 sportscar, worth more than $650,000 new, expected to fetch $450,000 next week while a $258,000 Aston Martin Vantage and Ferrari 360 F1 Spider is also up for grabs."We've definitely seen an increase in the repossession of $150,000-plus exotics," he said."It's not just the banks and repossession agencies, people are getting rid of these cars."Allen said the harbour city tended to have a higher proportion of Italian exotic sportscars but Melbourne also had its fair share that were being repossessed.He blames the economy and expects things to get worse."There's been a steady increase in repossessions in recent months," he said.Pickles will offer about 80 vehicles at its quarterly auction.Apart from the exotics, other luxury brands are on the block, with a big collection of Mercedes-Benz and BMW sedans."We have three high-performance AMG Mercedes cars on offer," he said."But there are also a lot of BMW 3 Series cars."Almost 70 per cent of all Pickles cars are repossessions.Grays Online auction house has also seen a doubling of exotic cars going through its business over the past six months.Altona-based ManheimFowles auction group also has a steady stream of luxury cars going through its gates.The company's chief executive officer, Scott Levy, said it was not just luxury cars."It's across the board," he said.Levy said many people were also deciding against a new car because of the economy and jobs downturn."There is no such reluctance about buying a used car. And it is not just in one state," he said."Demand is strong at all our auctions across Australia."Manheim Fowles' clearance rates are on the increase.The company handles more than 300,000 vehicle a year. 

The boom has been tipped after recent amendments to the luxury car tax and the introduction of new diesel fuels.The luxury car tax now has a fuel efficient car limit for cars that consume no more than seven litres of fuel per 100km. These green cars would not attract any luxury tax until a new higher threshold of $75,000.For example, the BMW X3 2.0d has dropped from $63,225 to $61,830, as it no longer attracts the luxury car tax.It is expected that the new tax threshold will encourage premium manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz and Audi, to rollout more newdiesel models, especially SUVs.Diesel vehicle sales in Australia have increased by 34 per cent since 2003.Private diesel passenger sales this year have risen 28.4 per cent to 16,376, while non-private passenger diesels are up 86.8 per cent to 12,250.SUV private diesel sales are up 24 per cent to 19,670 and non-private up 40 per cent to 24,780.Sales might have been even higher except that many of the modern frugal diesel engines are not suitable in Australia because our diesel fuel's sulphur content, until recently, could be up to an unacceptable 500 parts per million.By next year it has to be no more than 10parts per million, which is the standard to which BP Ultimate is produced.Oil companies are now starting to supply diesel fuel with the lower sulphur content and claimed improvements in performance and economy. Shell is already selling diesel restricted to less than 10 parts per million of sulphur and other suppliers will have to conform to that standard next year.BP Australia is also releasing BP Ultimate diesel after a successful trial of the fuel in Perth.The new diesel contains anti-foaming agents to stop frothing and smells when filling up. It also has less sulphur, allowing us to use the latest generation of European diesel engines.The BP Ultimate fuel was independently tested, with results showing better economy and fewer pollutants when compared with ordinary BP diesel. It was shown that with ongoing use, Ultimate diesel increased the power output of a passenger car by up to 8.3 per cent (average 2.8 per cent) compared with ordinary diesel.BMW Group Australia managing director Guenther Seemann says tax changes and the lower sulphur content will mean continued high sales of diesels and more diesel models being offered.He says they are now seriously considering bringing in the six-cylinder BMW 330d, with 180kW of power and 520Nm of torque, yet consuming only 6.8L/100km.So far this year 4055 BMW customers opted for a diesel, representing a 65 per cent increase over the same period last year. The proportion of diesel buyers has also grown from 19.6 per cent to 30.6 per cent of all BMW sales.BMW offers nine diesel models in Australia: 1 Series Hatch; 3 Series Sedan; 5 Series Sedan; X3 Sports Activity Vehicle; X5 Sports Activity Vehicle and X6 Sports Activity Coupe.Mercedes-Benz Australia president and CEO, Wolfgang Schrempp, says he expects the upward trend for diesel car sales to grow.Currently about 23 per cent of all Mercedes-Benz cars sold here are diesel and the figure is even greater for the Mercedes-Benz M-class off-roader. “The interest in diesel is not diminishing,” he says.“It's a question of the torque available in these cars. It's changing perceptions.”And Audi Australia have already said they will try to turn a provision in the increased luxury car tax to their advantage when they revamp their A6sedan and wagon range next year. Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hoffmann says they can use the “green” provision in the luxury car tax by having smaller diesel engines than offered in theA6 range: the 2.0 TDI and 2.7 TDI V6.Efficient cars, such as the A4 and A5, with the 3.0 TDI V6, are liable for the LCT only on the cost of the vehicle above $75,000.Volvo has announced that diesel fuel will continue to power its cars into the next decade despite it also having plans for more efficient petrol engines and even hybrids.