| Cadet to be honoured for car crash action
A TEENAGE hero will be presented with a commendation after he intervened on coming across a serious road accident. Simon Spennati, 16, a fire cadet at Malpas, was travelling back from Manchester on the M56 in the works van last August when he spotted a collision involving a BMW. The driver lost control after taking evasive action when his BMW, in the fast lane, and a car in the slow lane, both moved into the middle lane at the same time. The BMW span off and hit a tree with the driver, known only as 'Gary', trapped by his legs and suffering head injuries. Simon's colleague dialled 999 for the emergency services while he went into the rear of the vehicle to assist the casualty using First Aid skills learned with the fire cadets. .
New BMW offers hi-tech features
The German car maker has unveiled its new M5 Touring model (pictured), only this time the car will be available in right-hand-drive form. With the previous E34 version having its steering wheel on the "wrong" side, UK buyers were denied the chance to drive a supercar-baiting BMW with added versatility. The new model boasts all the good bits from its saloon relative, such as a 507bhp V10 engine, a nought-to-62mph sprint time of 4.8 seconds and BMW's clever SMG sequential manual gearbox. Production of the M5 Touring starts in March, and the car will be priced from £67,075 on the road. The arrival of the new M5 model also heralds an update for the 5 Series. BMW has improved the car's engine range and added some hi-tech features, such as a lane departure warning system and active cruise control.
BMW M5 manual mess up
North American customers were delighted when BMW bowed to their demands for a full three-pedal manual version of the current V10 M5 super saloon, but arent quiet so enamoured with the finished product. The issue is not with the gearbox itself BMW successfully replaced the European models seven-speed SMG box with the old-shape M5s six-speed manual but with the compromises that were needed to get there. Without the benefit of computer control for the opening and closing of the clutch plates, M divisions engineers couldnt eliminate axle tramp under hard take-offs. The only solution was to make it impossible to fully switch out the DSC stability system, although you can still employ the half-way house M Dynamic mode which is probably enough for all but the most crazed sideways obsessives. But punters in the US arent happy at what they see as a compromised M car.
BMW BIKES `SALVAGED' IN DEVON
According to a statement released by BMW, some 39 motorcycles were on board the container ship MV Napoli, which was beached near Devon, after getting into difficulties in the English Channel.
The cargo ship was bound for South Africa, with BMW bikes and cars - plus spares on board. It is believed that most of the BMW bikes have been taken away by people scavenging Branscombe beach, Devon, in the last few days.
BBC reports indicate that the UK Police, in conjunction with the cargo insurers, will be making efforts to track down those who took the bikes, and seeking to prosecute anyone who failed to report their `salvage' haul to the Receiver of Wrecks, within 28 days.
Some items from the wreck have already appeared on e-bay and within a few weeks optimists will be trying to sell the BMW bikes somehow.
No appointed no. 1 at BMW - Heidfeld
In a sport where official number one drivers are frowned up and team orders are banned, BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld believes it is better to allow a lead driver emerge rather than appoint one.
His comments following Michael Schumacher's insistence that he was the leading light at Ferrari because of his performances on the track season in season out rather than having a clause saying so in his contract.
"Positions have to develop," the German declared during an interview with his team's official website. "I believe it hardly ever works to assign specific roles beforehand.
"Obviously, I am the driver with the most experience and I hope that the team and the youngsters will benefit from that fact.
"Nevertheless, Robert (Kubica) and Sebastian (Vettel) have also covered considerable mileage.
First drive: BMW 3-Series Convertible
Normally you'd expect journalists attending the launch of a new convertible to drive around with the roof down. But not this time. There's nothing like sleet, snow and sub-zero temperatures to make you appreciate the advantages of a folding hard top over the traditional fabric soft top. BMW chose the Arizona desert in southern USA to launch the fourth-generation 3-Series Convertible because of its sunny reputation and pleasant winters -- and because North America will account for the vast majority of global 3-Series Convertible sales. Between them, the USA, Great Britain and Germany will devour 75 per cent of all 3-Series Convertibles built. BMW will offer five Convertible models globally; a 335i, 330i and 325i with six-cylinder petrol engines, a price-leading 320i with a new-generation four-cylinder petrol engine, and a 330d with a six-cylinder diesel engine.
Man accused of defrauding seniors
Federal prosecutors say an Andover man cheated elderly people in Massachusetts and Connecticut out of $2 million that he spent on luxury cars, jewels, $5,000-a-day visits to a local strip club and gambling trips to Las Vegas. John A. Baldo, 38, represented himself as a certified financial advisor and beginning in late 2005 talked his victims into liquidating their assets to put the money into an annuity account he said would guarantee them generous income, prosecutors said. An 88-year-old man in Storrs, Conn., gave Baldo $1.6 million, and his 85-year-old brother, who also lives in Connecticut, gave him $200,000, prosecutors allege. They say he also stole $200,000 from a 63-year-old Rockport woman. Baldo was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas on wire fraud charges when he arrived on a flight from Boston, and was scheduled for a court appearance in Nevada on Friday.
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