The 2011 5 series recently received a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS.  This is the first 5 series to earn this accolade thanks to some new engineering and of course all the top-notch safety features offered standard on this model.

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Crash tests done by the NHTSA are extremely thorough, especially for the 2011 car year and beyond.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has made some changes that begin more thorough analyses and more comprehensive data collection.  Let’s see what makes the 2011 5 series a lineup that has come out of these tests with shining colors. Continue Reading…

Keeping backseat passengers, especially children, happy and quiet while traveling in a Chicago X5 is a feat worth celebrating.  Nowadays its rare for families with children to travel without in-car video systems so their kiddos can watch everything from Sesame Street to Hannah Montana Movies.  While these life-saving technology systems keep parents sane and kids happy, they do come with a hefty price tag to install one or more in your vehicle.

Just ask my neighbor Jack.  He and his wife have two daughters, five and three years, with family in downstate Illinois and Northern Minnesota.  They travel a lot, especially with the holidays coming up.  They recently purchased a family size van by an undisclosed maker and to add two video systems for Kyla and Mary to travel in peace was over $2,000!  BMW is doing something to help lessen the financial burden of adding backseat video systems.

The German auto-maker will be installing heavy-duty brackets to the backs of the passenger and driver seats in the X3 so that backseat passengers can put their iPads in them and use those to watch movies, read books, or whatever else they want to do to make the time in the car go by faster.  As you know the iPads are made by Apple and are one of the latest crazes in today’s technology world.  Bigger than a phone, but smaller than a computer screen, they can be taken with and used as a source of entertainment.

The cool new system designed by BMW, which also manufactures the exciting Chicago X5, debuted at the Paris Motor Show in October.  The hardware is able to be turned vertically or horizontally to make viewing the iPad user friendly.  It’ll start off by being a feature in upcoming X3 models, but my guess is that it won’t be long until its available in other models, maybe even the Chicago BMW m5 down the road?

This is a nice feature for the family or individual who already has an iPad or two.  They can download the media of their choice and take it in their X3, without having to shell out extra cash for the entertainment systems.  They can save that for more enjoyable atrractions when they arrive at their vacation destination!

Most car enthusiasts like to hear about new models their favorite company is coming out with next. Those who love BMW models, such as the Chicago BMW M5, will be excited to hear that a new BMW is in the works. What makes it even more intriguing is that BMW is being very mysterious about unveiling exactly what this model will feature. But, they’re teasing us with a little information to the point that people are beginning to make predictions about some of the features this auto will have. Continue Reading…

Drive a Chicago BMW m5 or other model long enough and like any auto on the roadways, you’ll start to notice wear and tear.  The Chicago roadways are not always a pretty picture; stop and go traffic, winter weather, and more can wreak havoc on your auto.  One problem/annoyance that a driver may encounter is vibration. Sometimes it starts out of the blue, and other times it’s a gradual progression, where one day you say to yourself: “I can’t take it anymore”!  In this article, you’ll learn what these vibrations might mean. Continue Reading…