Since interest seems to be growing for this car within some corners of the MINI community, we’re going to bring you a little weekend reading on it. We’ve got four new reviews here and if you were looking for a chink in the armor or someone perhaps talking you out of wanting a 135i, don’t read any of them.

Let’s start with Edmunds Inside the Line:

To put it plainly, the 2009 BMW 135i is more than merely good. It raises the standard of measure for small coupes to a whole new level of excellence. It is one of the purest expressions of the BMW character since the 1971 BMW 2002 tii.

>This is not another space-efficient front-wheel-drive hatchback. Instead BMW’s classic configuration of front-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive brings an emphasis on driving to the segment of premium small cars that includes the Volkswagen R32 and Volvo C30.

The numbers tell the story. The 2009 BMW 135i coupe gets to 100 kph (62 mph) in just 5.3 seconds and the standing kilometer (fast becoming a standard performance benchmark among Europe’s more sporting carmakers) in 24.6 seconds. To give this speed some perspective, the new 2008 BMW M3 is just 0.5 second and 1.3 seconds quicker to the same marks respectively. Even more important, this 135i coupe will rip from 50-75 mph in 4th gear in just 5.0 seconds — just 0.1 second slower than the latest M-car.

Check out the entire review here:

[ First Drive: 2009 BMW 135i ] Edmunds

Now let’s take a look at what Popular Mechanics has to say:

BMW officials told PM that the car, although smaller in every dimension than the 3-Series, is, at 3432 pounds, only about 132 pounds lighter than the 335i. Odd? Not really, because the 135i isn’t a stripped-down. entry-level car. It comes with ABS, traction control, stability control, cornering brake control, electric power rack-and-pinion steering, an electronically controlled locking differential and huge, six-piston, 13.3-in. front brakes and twin-piston, 12.75-in. rear brakes.

Although no official U.S. pricing is available now, BMW estimates about $35,000 for the 135i and about $30,000 for the 128i when they arrive next spring

So our early pricing guesses seem to be pretty accurate. But let’s back up for a minute. 3432 pounds is a lot of weight to carry around. The official number for the 2007 Cooper S is 2668. That my friends is the 800 pound gorilla right there. Literally.

[ 2008 BMW 135i Test Drive: Slick, Not Stripped Down ] Popular Mechanics

Enough fat jokes though, lets hear what Automobile Magazine has to say:

Get up from your computer, drive to your nearest BMW dealer, and put down a deposit on a 135i. Now. You won’t regret it. In the years to come, you’ll probably even look on this as the best purchase of your long and distinguished life, a moment that defined your personal idiom, a moment that caused the tide of your existence to turn away from meh and toward Eat Your Heart Out, John Q. Dull, I’m Awesome. In other words, when you drive out of the dealership in your sparkling new 1-series, it will be the Rip Taylor moment of your life, confetti shower and all. This car is that good.

If higher praise has never been written in a car magazine, I’ve never read it. Could it be that BMW has dealt with the weight problem effectively enough to make the 135i a true driver’s car? They’ve certainly done it with much heavier cars over the years.

[ Drive: BMW 135i ] Automobile Magazine

Finally lets take a look at what industry pundit Paul Tan had to say about the car:

The only problem with that is the steering doesn’t exactly let you find this line very easily. The biggest disappointment about this car is that it’s not very point-and-shoot. Perhaps if I had spent more than two hours with the car, I’d have figured it out, but whether on the road or on track, in fact, especially on track, the car never seemed to go where you wanted it to.

On the very wet surface, the DSC kicked in at every corner, inducing us to switch to the more lenient DTC instead. In this mode, while the amount of power churning through the rear wheels often made it easy to tail-out in this weather, under-steering was in fact, the 135i’s most often seen method of at-the-limit cornering that day.

The car overcooks its 215-section front tyres much sooner than its 245 rears and so starts to point outwards but with some added punch at the throttle, you can definitely move the car completely sideways in the wet. I’d like to just give the BMW engineers the benefit of the doubt here because of what happened next.

When the car got into a skid, it only required a robust countersteer to regain footing. Nothing precise necessary, just apply some reverse lock and resume your previous heading.

It’s always hard to tell about true track characteristics of a car from an article like this. First off it was wet. Secondly we’re really not sure just how accomplished Mr. Tan is at the track. But it all sounds plausible. The car is set-up to under-steer until a knowledgeable driver gives it a kick in the pants and sends it into over-steer. That’s one benefit of RWD.

You can read the entire article here:

[ BMW 135i Coupe Test Drive Report ] Paultan.org

Related MotoringFile Articles:

[ BMW 135 tii Official Press Release ] MotoringFile

[ BMW 135i Reviews and Why We Still Want One ] MotoringFile

[ BMW 1 Series Coupe: Your Thoughts ] MotoringFile

[ NYT on the MINI vs the 1 Series ] MotoringFile

[ 1 Series Question Gets More Interesting ] MotoringFile

[ EVO’s take on the 1 Series a the US market ] MotoringFile

[ Hatchback Success in the US ] MotoringFile

[ the New BMW 1 Series and what it means for the MINI ] MotoringFile

[ Has the MINI Altered Plans for the 1 Series ] MotoringFile

Written By: Gabe

Source: More BMW 135i Reviews Hit the Web

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By Tyler Blank
Nov 03, 2007

The list of former competitors reads like a who’s who of stock car racing over the past twenty years.

Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace have won it. Local racers such as Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin and the late Bobby Hamilton have competed in the event known as the “Super Bowl of Short Track Racing.”

The event’s official name is the Champion Racing Association Adam Petty Memorial All American 400, and it will be Sunday at Nashville’s Music City Motorplex.

More than 50 cars from 13 states will try to qualify Saturday on the five-eighths-mile oval with thoughts of cashing in on Sunday’s $10,000 winner’s purse. Included in the field is Mark Day, a 46-year-old Clarksville resident who was 2006 Motorplex Late Model champion.

Read the full story

Source: Motorplex race motivates next generation of drivers

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Damon Lavrinc
Etc., Jaguar

According to an inside source who spoke with Automotive News, Ford will be narrowing down the potential suitors for Jaguar and Land Rover by the end of the week. While not nearly as entertaining, or enticing, as most prime-time match-making shows, the dwindling bidder list confirms a few names that we’ve heard before and a few others we’ll surely get to know soon.

In the second round of Who Wants to Buy an Ailing British Automaker, the bidders are rumored to be India’s Tata Motors, One Equity, Ripplewood, TPG and Terra Firm (those last four are mainly buyout groups). Pricing for both brands is expected to be around $1.5 billion – far from Ford’s initial hopes of close to $8 billion – and it’s safe to expect a third round of talks by the end of the year that will reduce the field down to two or three.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Source: The Flava of Jag: Five bidders expected for Jaguar and Land Rover

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The United Auto Workers and Ford reached a tentative national labor agreement early Saturday morning around 3:20 a.m. The two parties have not yet released details of the deal, but insider reports claim Ford has agreed to outsource fewer jobs.

“Our bargaining committee came through for our active and retired members,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “Our team is proud of each and every negotiator because they have encouraged Ford to invest in product and people while addressing the economic needs of our active and retired members.”

“We face enormous challenges – and we also have enormous potential,” said UAW Vice President Bob King, who directs the union’s National Ford Department. “Our goals for this contract were to win new product and investment, to enhance job security and protect seniority – and we made progress in all these areas.”

The UAW's recent deal with Chrysler includes a so-called two-tier system where longtime employees who leave non-production jobs will be replaced with new workers who earn $14 an hour instead of $28, according to Automotive News.

Ford group vice president of Human Resources and Labor Affairs, Joe Laymon, said agreement is subject to ratification by UAW members, and "we will not discuss the specifics of the tentative agreement until after it becomes final."

He said the agreement includes a memorandum of understanding to establish an independent retiree health care trust.

Source: Ford, UAW reach tentative labor deal

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What a shame. Another supercar has crashed. This time it’s a Ford GT 600RE, a normal Ford GT which has been upgraded to 600 bhp by Roush. According to the information in the auction on Ebay, this is number 3 out of 10 and it’s being sold in the United Kingdom.

Could this be the same Ford GT 600RE as we saw in september in Londen? Only 10 of these cars have been made so it could be possible. The cause of the crash is unknown, hopefully the driver is doing fine. The car is up for auction on Ebay so this might be just your chance to purchase a bit of a Ford GT. The seller can’t sell the chassis so anything that can be unbolted will be for sale. Its engine and gearbox are completely undestroyed, so are the carbon fibre race seats and plenty of other parts.

Personally, we would like to have one of those fine rims or seats.

Source: Ford GT 600RE crashed

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We’ve seen some pretty weird accidents here at Carscoop, but this one -even though some might question its authenticity, is totally mind-blowing. Take a good look at the speeding black BMW (most probably new 7-Series) on the left as soon as it hits the corner of the white car that entered the left-lane. After the impact the white vehicle hits the protective wall and tumbles across the highway literally “chasing” the black bimmer. Miraculously, from what we see, the BMW driver managed to avoid any contact with the tumbling white car. You can follow the jump for a clearer version of the video. -Continued

Source: Unbelievable Highway Accident In Croatia

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Ralph Kalal
Filed in: Oldsmobile

OK. You’ve had a week or so, now. It was on the World Series. They’ve got the bank robbers driving that old Oldsmobile, the one that the chick crossing the street runs into. (Actually, it’s a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass, the one cloned from an earlier version of the Malibu. Isn’t that ironic?).
 
And exactly what has Chevrolet communicated about the new Malibu?
 
Nothing.
 
$150 million dollars has been committee by General Motors to a multi-media advertising campaign to introduce the new Malibu, with the idea that it will be in everyone’s consciousness by the time they are done.
 
What they should have invested in is a sales campaign. The people in whose minds they need to make an impression are the people who might buy it.
 
It is not human nature to respond well to being told that you cannot do something. It’s certainly not natural for any red-blooded American. Can’t do it? Wanna bet? So, why Chevrolet has chosen this approach is a mystery.
 
It’s not that the car doesn’t have some attributes that can be sold. The base car has a lot of nice features for less than $20,000 delivered. But they haven’t told you what you get for that price. The top of the line car is loaded for $27,000, but they haven’t told you what you get for that price, either.
 
For Chevrolet, it’s a double mistake. Not only is telling potential customers what they can’t do an error, it’s also blowing an opportunity to create an image for the car. If they can’t tell us what it is, they could at least tell us it something desirable.
 
Toyota and Honda have images profoundly cemented in the public conscious. Were you to ask where Toyota falls on a scale of 1 to 10 in reliability, it would undoubtedly be near the top. Ditto on economy. Ditto on Honda. That Toyota is, in fact, currently making shoddy and unreliable product doesn’t hurt them because it’s not really sunk in to the public mindset.
 
Not only does Chevrolet lack a positive public image, it actually has a negative one. It’s a cheap car, as in cheaply designed, with cheap materials, and cheaply constructed. At best, it’s an afterthought car, one bought on price which will suffice: the Impala, for example. 
 
Yes, the ad men are correct that Chevy’s have been ignored. But that’s not been because the public made a volitional decision to do so which they can now be talked out of. It’s because the cars got the attention they deserved.
 
If GM really wants to sell the new Malibu, they need to tell us why we should be paying attention to it.
 
They’d be better off airing the YouTube video of Bob Lutz showing off the door handles and the hood cut line than running the current ad campaign.
 
And, here’s the proof:
 
Which car made a clearer impression on your mind when you saw those cute new Malibu ads? The car the bank robbers were driving and that the chick ran into? Or the new Malibu? Source: Internal

Stumble it  | Digg it  | del.icio.us  |  Furl  |  Netscape

Source: The car you can’t ignore

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John Neff
Earnings/Financials, By the Numbers

Apologies for the tardiness in delivering our By the Numbers post this month, but we’re here with it now and all the automakers have reported their numbers. Big picture, ups and downs in the industry appear about even, so perhaps October 2007 was a wash. General Motors sales fell 1.1% compared to October of last year, while Toyota Motor Co. sales rose by only 0.5%.

GM was led by a resurgent Cadillac (up 19.9%), bullish GMC (up 10.2%) and a Chevrolet that held its own (up 0.6%). Ford and Chrysler, meanwhile, both stumbled hard, falling 13% and 12.4% respectively compared to last year. With only an 8% increase this month in the number of Wranglers sold, Jeep’s only popular model just couldn’t save the brand this time, which saw its rate of sales slow to 24% below last year’s levels.

Standouts of the month include Nissan North America, which increased its daily average sales rate by 8.8% last month, and Kia, our Biggest Winner of the month, which rose by 20.5%. Big props to Mazda and Mercury as well, both big winners in October with DSRs that rose 13.3% and 20.2%, respectively.

Biggest Winner
Kia 20.5% at 25,185 (10/06: 20,097)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER –33.2% at 3,864 (10/06: 5,565)

BRANDS
Acura –22% at 12,886 (10/06: 15,877)
Audi 10.9% at 7,421 (10/06: 6,431)
BMW 8.3% at 23,451 (10/06: 20,822)
Buick –12% at 14,231 (10/06: 15,541)
Cadillac 19.9% at 21,267 (10/06: 17,052)
Chevrolet 0.6% at 179,825 (10/06: 171,890)
Chrysler –6.6% at 40,440 (10/06: 41,635)
Dodge –9.6% at 73,020 (10/06: 77,654)
Ford –16.4% at 159,361 (10/06: 183,188)
GMC 10.2% at 44,456 (10/06: 38,776)
Honda 3.4% at 101,913 (10/06: 94,747)
HUMMER –33.2% at 3,864 (10/06: 5,565)
Hyundai –4.6% at 30,232 (10/06: 30,479)
Infiniti 1.8% at 9,955 (10/06: 9,406)
Jaguar –27.5% at 1,030 (10/06: 1,366)
Jeep –24% at 31,856 (10/06: 40,297)
Kia 20.5% at 25,185 (10/06: 20,097)
Land Rover 1.7% at 4,237 (10/06: 4,004)
Lexus 0.6% at 25,119 (10/06: 24,006)
Lincoln 13% at 10,299 (10/06: 8,766)
Mazda 13.3% at 22,201 (10/06: 18,843)
Mercedes 6.5% at 22,820 (10/06: 20,598)
Mercury 20.2% at 12,844 (10/06: 10,277)
MINI –11% at 3,370 (10/06: 3,642)
Mitsubishi –3.9% at 9,280 (10/06: 9,288)
Nissan 9.8% at 74,992 (10/06: 65,689)
Pontiac –17.5% at 25,182 (10/06: 29,346)
Porsche 16.9% at 2,862 (10/06: 2,355)
Saab –19.9% at 2,275 (10/06: 2,731)
Saturn –5.9% at 18,908 (10/06: 19,319)
Subaru –6.5% at 14,979 (10/06: 15,404)
Suzuki 5.6% at 6,536 (10/06: 5,950)
Toyota 0.5% at 172,473 (10/06: 165,005)
Volkswagen 4.1% at 17,260 (10/06: 15,942)
Volvo –11% at 7,761 (10/06: 8,384)

COMPANIES
BMW Group 5.41% at 26,821 (10/06: 24,464)
Chrysler Group –12.4% at 145,316 (10/06: 159,586)
Ford Motor Co –13% at 195,462 (10/06: 215,985)
General Motors –1.1% at 310,008 (10/06: 301,317)
Honda America –0.2% at 114,799 (10/06: 110,624)
Nissan North America 8.8% at 84,947 (10/06: 75,095)
Toyota Motor Co. 0.5% at 197,592 (10/06: 189,011)

Source: By the Numbers: October 2007

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Chrysler LLC, fresh off of the recent ratification of its labor contract with the UAW, has announced cuts to its hourly and salaried workforce, along with the official announcement of the elimination of a number of models from its lineup. Maybe if there were no lime green Dodge Magums the pruning wouldn’t have included the Dodge Magnum. Well I guess not,as this one is pretty cool. So as MotorTrend.com said “Let the bloodletting begin”. The 300C at least is not on the block.

Tags: 300C Chrysler 300C Dodge Magnum

Source: Dodge Magnum On Chopping Block

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With petrol prices flirting with $100 a barrel, we’re guessing there’s big market for cars like the Holden Commodore based, HSV Clubsport R8 in the oil-producing areas of the Middle East. The Clubsport R8 will be exported to the Middle East in left-hand-rive form as the Chevrolet CR8 and that’s about all the differences between the two cars. The new CR8, which will be on display at the forthcoming Dubai Motor Show from 14-18 November, is equipped with a 6.0-liter V8 LS2 delivering 412 Hp. So, now that HSV has created a left-hand-drive version, what the excuse for not bringing it to the U.S.? -Continued after the jump

Press Release: GM Holden has teamed up with Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) to expand its range of exported vehicles to the Middle East.

The new export program, launched overnight in the Middle East, will see a version of HSV’s popular E Series ClubSport R8 model exported in LHD form and badged under the Chevrolet Special Vehicles logo.

The new high performance model will be known as CR8. It features the LS2 6.0-litre engine Generation IV V8 engine delivering 307kw of peak performance with 550 Nm* of torque.

With over 200,000 Holden-sourced short and long wheel based vehicles sold into the region since 1998, the Middle East has been Holden’s biggest and most enduring volume export market.

Currently Holden currently exports variants of the VE and WM sedan ranges which are sold in the region as Chevrolet Lumina and Chevrolet Caprice respectively. The Chevrolet Lumina ranges from the LS model (based on the VE Omega) up to the sports-based SS (based on the equivalent Commodore SS model).

Alan Batey, GM Holden Executive Director – Sales and Marketing comments, “This extension of our product range in the region illustrates the growing maturity of the Middle East market.

“Holden has been able to partner its expertise in tailoring vehicles for the Middle East with the high performance expertise of HSV to deliver a vehicle that will deliver a great driving experience.

“Local buyers appreciate the luxury brands but also seek great performance and handling from their vehicles. Both the Lumina and Caprice deliver that combination and with the introduction of the CR8, consumers will be offered another exciting option.”

Scott Grant, Managing Director of HSV, said “This announcement adds another important export market to the HSV portfolio, on top of our successful program with Vauxhall in the UK and long standing presence in New Zealand.

“HSV is already well known brand among car enthusiasts in the Middle East, many of whom are fans of the Aussie high performance cars and our racing activities.

“We have also been involved in the region through supply and preparation of 20 Clubsport R VZ models for the Lumina CSV Championship which is run by the Bahrain International Race Circuit and sponsored by Chevrolet.

“The initial response from dealers has been exceptional with the CR8 being praised for its aggressive stance, excellent acceleration and handling.”

Exports represent an increasingly important part of GM Holden’s current business model with total export sales for 2006 reaching 46,074. Of those, over 31,000 were for the Middle East in what was a record export year to the region for GM Holden.

Earlier this year, Chevrolet Caprice received its second major award in the Middle East