by courtesy New Car Test Drive

As BMW explains it, the original Gran Turismos of the 1950s and ’60s were stylish and luxurious two-seat performance cars with roomy trunks that could handle two people and their luggage for a weekend away. For 2010, BMW is revising that idea with the 5 Series Gran Turismo, a sporty sedan/hatchback that can handle five people and their luggage.

Herb Chambers BMW of Boston

BMW of Sudbury

Though a version of the 5 Series, the Gran Turismo rides a 120-inch wheelbase, which is seven inches longer than the current 5 and as long as the short version of the larger 7 Series. Visibility is improved thanks to a higher H-point that puts the driver two inches higher than in the 7 Series. The most distinctive feature is the bi-modal trunk, which can open like a trunk lid or like a hatchback.

Chambers Continues to Storm Forward With Expansion Plans

BMW of Sudbury (Foreign Motors West BMW)

SUDBURY – Less than a year ago, Herb Chambers gathered with community and industry leaders as well as employees and friends to officially break ground on a new BMW dealership in Sudbury.

At the time, the economy had started its downward spiral, and many people questioned Chambers’ reasoning. Since then, there have been lots of happenings in the industry with General Motors entering and reemerging from bankruptcy, Chrysler closing thousands of dealerships, and even the government stepping in to help boost sales with the Cash for Clunkers program. But that groundbreaking in Sudbury was Chambers’ fifth of the year, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“We took a long term view when moving forward with our development plans, because our company is here for the long haul and expect to continue to grow our business,” said Herb Chambers. “We want to make sure that we differentiate ourselves from the competition by offering customers the most convenient and comfortable experience in our dealerships.”

On Thursday Sept. 17, Herb Chambers, New England’s largest automotive dealer, is opening the doors to the just completed Herb Chambers BMW of Sudbury. The 70,000 plus square-foot dealership is the third largest dealership of Chambers’ 45 locations, and features the latest in amenities designed to pamper customers.

The six-acre property, conveniently located off Route 20 at 68 Old County Road, offers customers a three lane drive in service reception area with valet attendants, a television lounge featuring plasma TV’s and a fireplace, children’s play area, sales lounges, a coffee bar and café, a seasonal outdoor patio, business center, and plenty of parking.

In June of 2007 Chambers purchased Foreign Motors West. The acquisition included Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Bentley, and Land Rover brands. At the time of the purchase, Chambers pledged to invest in growing the dealerships and committed to building a larger BMW facility at a new home in Sudbury. The dealership will replace Foreign Motors West BMW located on Route 27 in Natick, which will remain the home of Mercedes Benz of Natick where Chambers has plans for future renovations.

“This is very important for us, and we are very excited about expanding our presence in Sudbury with the addition of this luxury brand,” said Herb Chambers. Chambers also has a Land Rover Sudbury dealership located on Boston Post Road (Route 20).

The new dealership also features a 15-car two story showroom, a 6-car exterior display area featuring a sun-shaded canopy, 40 service bays, 6 reconditioning bays, and an automatic car wash. Because of the vast array of luxury brands, Chambers welcomes trade-ins. Creative financing is available and a huge selection of fine pre-owned vehicles.

The dealership was designed by Regent Associates Inc. of Westborough and constructed by Advantage Construction of Quincy.

In February Chambers opened brand new Porsche and Audi dealerships in Burlington, in March he opened a new truck service and collision center in Braintree, in April he opened a new Infiniti dealership on Route 9 in Westborough, and next month he will complete an expansion of his Mercedes Benz and Smart Center dealerships at Flagship Motorcars of Lynnfield.

“Our continued growth has been a result of the support of our expanding customer base, the dedication of our employees, and the cooperation by town officials in the communities that we operate in,” said Herb Chambers. “We are excited to continue to grow both our company and our customer base moving forward.”

About Herb Chambers Companies

Herb Chambers purchased his first car dealership in 1985 and has grown his company into the largest automobile dealership group in New England. Today, the Herb Chambers Companies are comprised of 45 automotive dealerships throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. For a complete list of dealership locations visit www.herbchambers.com.

Guests attend the BMW presentation of the new Z4 Roadster at the BMW Pav

By ANN M. JOB – For The Associated Press

It’s not trickery. BMW offers two cars in one with its 2009 Z4.

The new Z4 is the first roadster in BMW history with a retractable hard top so it replaces both the Z4 roadster and the Z4 coupe. It’s also a slick package with more masculine exterior styling and improved head and elbow room than the predecessor Z4s. And there’s a first-for-the-Z4 dual-clutch automatic transmission with seven speeds, too.

For all this, there’s a price. Starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $46,575 for the non-turbocharged six cylinder and manual transmission. The lowest-priced 2009 Z4 with automatic starts at $47,900 and with leather seats and other options it easily jumps to more than $50,000.

In comparison, the starting MSRP, including destination charge, for a 2009 Audi TT is $42,895 with V-6 and standard all-wheel drive. The 2009 Porsche Boxster has a retail starting price of $47,550.

The test Z4, with uplevel, twin-turbocharged six cylinder, felt surprisingly heavy for a two-seater. I drove constantly aware of the mass of this car, even though it’s compact in its 14-foot length from bumper to bumper.

Indeed, the new length, which is 5.8 inches longer than its predecessor, is only a couple inches longer than an Audi TT. But unlike the TT and the Boxster, the Z4’s long hood dominates.

The front end is more aggressive in its styling than before. This is one roadster that would never be called “cute” the way the Mazda Miata is. The trademark BMW headlamps cast an eye-like glow, but it’s the forceful grille and the hood lines that project power and masculine appeal.

Driver and passenger sit snugly just in front of the rear wheels, and the extra 2 inches of headroom and nearly half an inch of width are much appreciated. But even as passengers sit in the car, they become aware of how the rear is mostly right at their backs.

Trunk space is in a tidy, tapered rear end that doubles as storage space for the hard top whenever the driver puts the roof down. Thus, cargo room in the Z4 is 10.9 cubic feet at best and 6.4 cubic feet when the top is down.

Thank goodness BMW insists that a driver latch into place a horizontal spacer before putting the hard top down. Otherwise, items in the trunk might get crushed. The car sounds an alarm and refuses to put the hard roof down if the driver hasn’t positioned the spacer in the trunk first.

There’s no doubt the new Z4 is a fun car for sunny days. The top goes down within 20 seconds with just the push of a button. This actually improves the view out of the car for the driver, since the view-blocking side pillars for the roof around the rear window disappear into the trunk, too.

The top down also improves the look of the Z4. It’s easier to appreciate the lines and shape of the car in this form and to just enjoy the outdoors. I smelled fresh donuts as I drove past the donut shop, got my hair mussed in the wind and heard the radios of cars nearby. There’s nothing isolating or insulating about the ride with the top down.

There was, however, a bit of a disconnected feeling with the test car’s electric power steering. It just didn’t feel natural at times, and the 35.1-foot turning circle was larger than I expected.

Driver and passengers have to drop pretty far down to get into the seats, and the ride with the test car’s optional sport suspension was always firm. I felt most road bumps, but not in a punishing way. The test car came with 18-inch performance tires, and there was some road noise all the time.

My biggest issue was sitting so low to the pavement that I couldn’t see a thing beyond the bumper – sometimes tailpipe – in front of me. There are no long views of the road ahead in this car unless there’s no one on the road ahead.

Drivers can tell right away if they have the 3-liter, double overhead cam, inline six cylinder with or without twin turbochargers. The tester, with turbo power, rushed forward after just a slight lag of the turbo, and the accompanying engine sounds told everyone nearby that this car is coming through.

Horsepower in the non-turbo, base Z4 engine is 255, with torque peaking at 220 foot-pound at 2,600 rpm.

The twin turbo version pushes horsepower to 300, with torque rising to 300 at a very low 1,400 rpm.

This surpasses the 255 horsepower and 214 foot-pound of torque from the flat six cylinder in the Porsche Boxster as well as the 250 horsepower and 236 foot-pounds at 2,500 rpm in a V-6-powered Audi TT.

Fuel mileage in the Z4 isn’t great, however. The federal government rating is 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 25 mpg on the highway, and premium gasoline is required.

The new Z4 is the first to include BMW’s iDrive management system that hasn’t been a driver favorite over the years because of its clunky operation. But there are redundant buttons to help ease its workings.

There’s no top-of-the-line M version of the Z4 now. But the 2009 Z4 with turbo engine is just 0.1 second slower in 0-to-60-miles-an-hour acceleration than the former M.

©2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

It was only available with the 5 and up series, now available on the 1 and 3 series. Now all are equipped with BMW Search utilizing Google Maps!

If you are a subscriber to the BMW Assist Convenience Plan you can use BMW Search to find businesses, then put the information directly into the nav system or call using your Blue Tooth.  BMW Search now joins the manufacturers MyInfo Service which allows customers and businesses to send listings and addresses directly to the car.  BMW Assist is standard on 5, 6, and 7 Series and included in the premium package or as a standalone option on all other BMW models.

The BMW Assist Safety Plan also includes Door Unlock and Stolen Vehicle Recovery services, which can save the driver time and money. New to BMW Assist is MyInfo, which allows users to send business listings and street addresses with associated phone numbers from the Internet, directly to their BMW. TeleService automatically notifies the BMW center when the vehicle will need service. A service advisor then proactively calls the customer to set up a convenient appointment and have the needed parts ready.

BMW Assist subscribers can also enroll in the BMW Assist Convenience Plan (available at an additional cost  to avail themselves of BMW Assist concierge services; from finding the lowest fuel price or the best French restaurant in the area to information on flight arrival gates or times, as well as receiving directions, traffic and weather information. On most models produced September 2006 and later, a selected destination and its phone number can be sent directly to the BMW Navigation system and the subscriber’s Bluetooth – linked mobile phone, after a push of the Concierge menu option. New for 2009 is BMW Search, which allows online access to the Google Maps database inside the vehicle to quickly find a desired business with just a key word. The Convenience Plan also includes Critical Calling, a service that can connect the driver to a requested party via a response specialist in case their mobile phone is not in the vehicle or its battery is discharged.

Lastly, the BMW Assist system includes Bluetooth hands-free calling and phone connectivity with phonebook access and speech recognition for dialing by name or number via steering wheel controls. Use of this feature requires a customer-provided compatible Bluetooth mobile phone.

To learn more about BMW Assist, please visit www.bmwassist.com.

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Boston BMW Dealers will be hard at work to keep you up to updated on BMW news and happenings.

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CLICK HERE to visit BMW of Sudbury (Foreign Motors West BMW) or  CLICK HERE to visit Herb Chambers BMW of Boston.

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