Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015

This year, 2015, the first year of the new deal that insures Formula 1 presentation in Montreal until 2024, under the name: FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA.

A second popular grandstand added in the order to satisfy a larger than expected demand from fans. Formula 1 is more popular in Canada than ever been before.

Please take a look at the next few photos.

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Motorsport in Canada

Victoria Day’s car race at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formely Mosport International Raceway.

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Race in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

I made the next few photos at Victoria Day’s weekend at ex-F1 race track, formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway. It is now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

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BMW, the environment and their employees in North America

BMW AG, located  in Munich, Germany.  It’s subsidiary in Canada is: BMW Canada Inc. It was formed in January 1986 to support BMW customers better, bringing services closer to many local enthusiasts through a stronger presence and structured organization.

Their current head office is in LEED certified building in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

How BMW getting ahead by putting the environment at the top of their agendas? For example their head office is established as a green and Eco-friendly structure.

As part of BMW plans eco friendly production BMW is testing various forms of alternate energy  throughout its manufacturing network.

The company US hydrogen storage and distribution facility fuels hydrogen powered equipment at its Spartanburg facilities. They streams methane gas from the nearby landfill to produce on-site renewable hydrogen for the plant electrical requirements. This location alone saved 92,000 tons CO2 every year.

Than BMW ads solar energy to their alternative energy portfolio. The company stated: “Adding a new alternative energy platform to our energy portfolio is another step in our commitment to sustainable methods of generating power at our factory,” said Duncan Seaman, Department Manager, Market Operations USA & Canada. “It is the perfect complement to our existing landfill gas-to-energy and hydrogen fuel cell program and offsets the fossil fuel requirements otherwise needed to run our facility.”

They use solar energy in many different location. The latest installation of 400 solar modules (in US) , each capable of producing 240 watts of energy, now provides power to BMW’s Zentrum Museum, as well as the new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

To manufacturing the BMW i3 zero emission electric vehicles, to make them more environmentally friendly, the company use electricity, produced by local wind turbines. So far they build the i3 only in Leipzig, Germany.

BMW is manufacturing carbon strands that form the basis of the i3’s carbon-fiber reinforced plastic bodywork at a new US $100 million plant built in Moses Lake, Washington, using raw material shipped from Japan. This location was selected, beside a hydro electric dam  to reduce CO2 output due to the high power demand of the carbon fiber components manufacturing.

There are numerous other initiatives at BMW, all aimed at leading the way on on the environment. Some of them are really simple: The company changed the setting of their employees PC’s. With this simple move they save 27,000 megawatt hour a year, the equivalent of 12,200 tons of CO2.

In their vehicle, the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid they use  laser light technology, an improved head light system, that contributes better nighttime vision and use 30% less energy, compeered to the alredy highly efficient LED headlights.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=m3JAtvsqfF8

BMW i8 Hybrid

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BMW i3 Electric car

The new BMW 3 Series

For a very long time, the BMW 3 Series was the car to beat in the market for premium compact sedans. Recently the competition has caught up, with the likes of the Mercedes C-Class and the sharply styled Lexus.

The next  BMW 3-series will be the most efficient yet, with at least two plug-in hybrid models and a miserly three cylinder engine promising to dip below the 100g/km CO2 emissions threshold.

new BMW 3 seriesNew BMW 3 Series

The new car, codenamed G20, will also major on improved dynamics, better quality materials and enhanced safety in a bid to reclaim ground lost to the Mercedes C-class.

The hybrid option-will be a 1.5-litre with a 60kWe electric motor, good for approximately 30 mile range and the more performance oriented 2.0 liter with the 90 KW electric motor will offer approximately 50 EV miles.

The more conventional modular four  and six pot engines will still account for the bulk of
sales.

The next M3 / M4 will adopt electronic turbochargers, and water injections,  inspired by the forthcoming current generation of M4 GTS.

The dynamic brief is to fuse cushy ride with sportier handling, via adjustable dampers, switchable anti roll bars, second generation active steering and a new torque vectoring system, which piggybacks ABS and DSC.

Longer wheel base, wider track, lower center of gravity, and lighter overall weight will enhance the handling road holding as well.

On the quality front BMW will invest in better materials for carpets rubber seals and sill covers to re-take the premium crown.

In addition the 3 Series will be a techno tour, de-force that can park itself via remote control. It will stay in lane or change lines if required, overtake if needed under certain conditions, brake when required will drive semi autonomously on the road. This feature is  especially helpful in stop and go traffic up to 60 kilometers in hour.

Although the 3 series cockpit looks familiar,  it boasts a variety of new high quality instrument graphics, a more comprehensive head up display and a large color monitor in the center stack which blends touchscreen access, gesture control and voice activation with the existing iDrive controller.

G20 will be built on the flexible new cluster architecture chassis and will be designed with sharper creases and harder edges than the current car.

Expect to see it on the  road in North America in 2018.

Related:

TOTAL, BMW approved lubricant for BMW

Spring Car Maintenance on Your German Import Car

Performing spring maintenance on your German import car and on any other car is one, if not the best way to ensure your vehicle is safe and ready for the hot Canadian summer drives.

There are few things that every car owner should do. At first get a detailed car wash. Salt and other de icer chemicals can cause serious damage.

If you have winter tires on, change them for all season tires when the temperature is consistently around 7 Celsiuses.

Check the pressure in those all season tires, before you start to drive them. Usually tire’s temperature is dropping during cold winter storages. Incorrect tire pressure effects the car’s handling and the tires’ life time.

Brake maintenance. Salty slushy roads probably did some damage with your car brakes. Use the opportunity the check the brake when you change the winter tires. If you are not sure, than take your car to your mechanic.

The winter season really hard on engine oils. Oil change should be done list twice a year. It is a short term expense, that effects the engine’s life. Therefore this short term expense, will save you on long turn.

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The simple oil change is not that simple anymore on your high tech German Import car

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Electric system and battery check up, clean. Our winter season is harsh, the cold and salt and ice might cause corrosions. The battery terminals and cables should be inspected and cleaned if necessary.

Ice does not do anything good with the viper blades. If you drive a lot at winter time, there is a good chance those blades damaged. Inspect them and change them if they are not in perfect condition.

Than you need to check the brake fluid, the coolant, the transmission oil and hopefully your car is good to go for the time being.

Related:

Our services

Cooling system service

Brake fluid flush

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My visit to BMW Welt, BMW World to Munich, Germany

Like other European automakers, BMW welcome visitors too at its headquarters in Munich, Germany. The beauty in it, you do not need to buy a car to see it. But trust me, if you spend a day there, you will think about to buy one…

BMW factory visitThe German car maker’s visitors center is BMW Welt,  (at the above photo) is provide  a very popular attraction.  An attraction that two million visitors visits, every year since opened it doors in 2007.

The German word Welt translated to English mean world, so BMW Welt stand for BMW World.

BMW Welt includes a car delivery, car pick up center where at around hundred new car owner pick up their new cars every day.

Check out the next video to see how the new car owners pick up their new BMW in BMW Welt’s car pick up center.

BMW factory

There are a lot of other things to see, like exhibits showcasing the company’s operations in new products development, design and production. The center even can host concert venues and  it comes with conference rooms. They think about the younger generation too, because they have Junior Campus for younger guests.

Visitors to BMW Welt can also stop by the BMW Museum at “next door” to check out the 120 original exhibits covering 90 years of BMW history laid out on a virtual roadway across 25 exhibition areas that close to half million visitors see each year.

BMW bike

Finally, visitors can also tour the company’s main plant in Munich where BMW produces the 3 Series sedan and wagon as well as the bulk of its engines.

BMW car engine

I was lucky enough to see all this above. I was lucky enough to spend a day in Munich with my family and we visited BMW World. I have to say, it is something, that I always will remember, and I think my son will remember too.

If you are planning a trip to Germany, you should find a day to spend in Munich. There are no other place in the world for car lovers, like the BMW world.

For more BMW World’s photos visit our on-line photo album View more BMW Welt photos

Dual Clutch Transmission

With the tough CO2 targets for the near future, electric cars and hybridisation are the key elements to improve fuel efficiency. Many of those hybrids and “regular” cars too, comes with dual clutch transmission.

If you are planing to buy a new car, questions about cargo room, technology options, luxuries, cost, full efficiency and other elements will come up. One of those element is the transmission. Traditional manual transmission is not for everyone, they require knowledge and level of perfection to get the car move right.

One of the latest technical solution  for better and more efficient driving experience is car with dual clutch transmission.

What is dual clutch transmission?

The first passenger car to have a dual clutch transmission  was the 2003 Volkswagen Golf. After VW other car companies started to offer dual clutch transmission for extra cost as an option on many of their cars.

For example today the 2015 BMW M4 Coupé comes with 7-gear M dual-clutch transmission. The M Double Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic is an innovative 7-speed Double Clutch Transmission that is specially designed for the BMW M high-rev. engine.

2015 BMW M4 Coupe2015 BMW M4 Coupe

With a traditional manual transmission the clutch is engaged and disengaged, while another gear is selected. During this (while the drivers push the clutch pedal down), the flow of the power from the engine is interrupted, and this causing power drops.

Professional race car drivers can shorter this power drops to a fraction of the but second, but a dual clutch transmission  accomplish gear change even more quickly. Changing gear takes about 8 – 200 milliseconds a dual clutch transmission. This makes the car accelerate more quickly, plus it contribute better fuel efficiency by shorten this power drop to a fraction of a second.

So does a dual clutch transmission, the gear change is even quicker. On this engineering marvel changing gears will take just from 8 to 200 millisecond, depending on the shift program applied and multiple other factors.

How does dual clutch transmission work? Continue Reading…

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Italian Super cars

Even tough our primary  businesses is German cars’ maintenance & repair (I love them for their precision and no none sense approach), we also love the Italian cars for their flamboyant style and their passion for fine automobiles. They known to play on your senses, beautiful design, rich textures and amazing sound is their trademarks.

Detroit Michigan is renowned for being the birthplace of Ford, GM, and Chrysler. But the Motor Valley in Bologna,  Italy eclipses its North American counterpart with prestigious marques Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati and Pagani.

Many of these companies also have a museum in the region, with showroom and factory tours, featuring jaw dropping collections that will educate visitors on everything from auto world to world history.

I was lucky enough to visit BMW’s museum, BWM Wolrd in Munich Germany. Check out the related post here. 

Pagani

Horacio Pagani moved from Argentina to Italy to pursue his passion for cars. After working at Lamborghini and consulting for the likes of Daimler and Ferrari, he began crafting his own super cars.

Our Favorite is the Pagani Huayra. Check out our Pagani Huayra page at here.

Lamborghini

Founder Ferruccio Lamborghini amassed his personal wealth through a number of business, including tractor factory, which funded his pursuit to build a super car to riival Ferrari.

Ferrari

The brand is tied to racing and the Ferrari Museum in Maranello features Formula 1 simulators, two semi professional one for adults, and two junior ones for kids.

Maserati

Established in Bologna, this luxury automaker is now headquartered in nearby Modena. They are working on the release of the Levante, the first SUV in  the company’s history.

Ducati

Beginning as a producer of components for radio transmissions. Ducati  shifted it focus to motor bikes in 1946 and they became one of the world’s pre-eminent motorcycle makers.

 

Contact us for more details at: (1) 905.795.0419