Posts tagged bmw
New Jeff Koons BMW Art Car
Feb 4th
BMW have announced, at a glitzy shindig in New York, a brand new art car, which will add to the 17 already made by artists including Roy Lichtenstein’s 320i, Andy Warhol’s M1 and Ernst Fuchs 635CSi, as well as the 3 litre CSL by Frank Stella above.
We’re big fans of the BMW Art Cars, covered in depth over at influx, and there’s no denying the crossover between cars and art.
BMW have caused quite a stir this time, by selecting Jeff Koons, the American artist to adorn an as yet unknown Bimmer. Koons may well be best known for producing works like the gilded statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, and the giant Mylar balloon animals that adorn his website, but he is also capable of wielding a brush with some flair, and the finished project, expected in will be worth the wait. Several of his works, such as Winter Bears, are in the Tate Collection, and is well worth a look, if you are near London or Liverpool.
Some have questioned Koons’ appointment, describing his work as kitsch and sensationalist, and it is fair to say that if you think ‘Modern Art is Rubbish,’ he won’t change your mind.
But in celebrating the seemingly banal and worthless, his work can help us to appreciate those things in life which bring us moments of joy, even though others may consider them garish, vulgar and ugly.
And isn’t that exactly what BMW want to sell us?
A Load of Scrap!
Nov 4th
Although the scrappage scheme is mainly a good thing, people are buying new cars, there’s plenty of scrap metal around… One problem is that I can see a lot of nice cars, and potential classics being scrapped in favour of shiny new models. I had a trawl through a certain well known private car selling site and looked for any cars I could buy for under £2000, the minimum you’ll get on a scrappage deal. Here is a list of some of my favourite findings that could be in serious danger of becoming scrap metal:
1997 Alfa Romeo Spider Convertible
This car is simply beautiful! It has gorgeous curves, a good interior and a very reasonable 2.0 L engine with close to 150hp… and best of all, unlike the Alfa’s you can buy today, the number plate is in a conventional and better looking place!
1996 Fiat Coupé
A stylish Italian sports coupé with a curvy body and a stylish Pininfarina interior, still looking great 16 years after its introduction. Power is very respectable throughout the range, with the top 2.0 L 20V turbo version excelling to a massive 220hp.
1991 Jaguar XJS
A great Jaguar despite being overshadowed by it’s predecessor, the E-Type and it’s successor, the XK8. It has a smooth flowing body, and the typical mix of wood and leather interior typical of a Jag. Although sales struggled initially, it has become ever more popular with age and has matured like a fine wine. Although the economy is poor to say the least, about 10mpg in the earlier models, this car should be treasured.
1998 Rover Mini
There isn’t really much to say about saving the Rover Mini. This is one of the greatest stories in British engineering and it is sad to see the Mini being scrapped. A similar scheme in Italy saw thousands of Innocenti Mini’s being scrapped, we’ve got to hope that doesn’t happen here!
1990 BMW 3 Series (E30)
This is one of my favourites from the list, I love the E30. Altough there were plenty of E36‘s and a few E46‘s for under 2k, but I would be very sad if this car was scrapped. The M3 E30 is the real classic and anyone that scraps one of the those should be strung up, these great looking 3-Series also deserve to be savoured.
1992 Mitsubishi GTO
The GTO is a technically advanced Japanese sports coupe, and was created to rival the Nissan Skyline, Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra. With a 3.0 L V6 with 290hp in top spec and all-wheel drive, this car is undeniably fun. I would have thought that the only way this car would be scrapped is because it was wrapped around a tree, but there were loads of GTO’s available for less than the 2k mark, sad isn’t it?
1996 Mazda MX-5
My last choice is the MX-5, for simple reasons. It’s fun, nippy, cheap to run and you can even feel the wind in your hair! A real contender to be a true classic in years to come, unless of course they all get turned into little metal cubes like that poor little car in the advert!
Feel free to give me some of your suggestions…
BMW Play the Fool
Apr 2nd
BMW have become renowned in recent years for their annual April Fool’s pranks. This year’s is a classic. Yesterday saw adverts promoting their ‘Magnetic Tow Technology,’ the premise being that a strong magnet would ‘lock on’ to the car ahead and let it drag you along.
As they say “Why burn your fuel, when you can burn someone else’s?”. Click the picture to view a bigger version:
You can view BMWs archive of classic April Fool’s day adverts here. This is where you can find out about previous ‘innovations’ like the “Canine Repellent Alloy Protection” and “Photo Reflective Aural Transmissions.”
Fill her up.
Jan 18th
Well, I asked for some men doing stupid things with cars. Oh, well. Here is a teutonic maiden showing us how to fill up the tank of a Bimmer… or not.