“No need to stop for refueling,” Paul’s notes read.

How many other cars with 425 pound-feet of torque can you say that about?

Contrast this with the same drive taken with a BMW 335i sedan at the same time, similarly equipped with automatic transmission.  That car used 9 l/100 km (26 mpg) for a total of 72 l (19 gallons).  One refueling stop was required.  The 335d only used 48 l (12.6 gallons), delivering over 33% better fuel economy.

Since picking up the BMW 335d at the BMW Welt a little over six months ago, I continue to be amazed at how quiet the car can be, even at very high speeds.  Driving the car at 220 km/h (137 mph) for extended periods of time simply reinforced this observation.

Despite the 86 kg (191 pound) weight penalty compared to the 335i sedan, BMW maintained a front-to-rear weight distribution of 51-49.  Turn-in is excellent and the handling and control don’t seem to suffer at all from the additional weight.

The unique combination of sports-car acceleration with exemplary fuel economy was something we noted in our Three-Month Review and this sets the BMW 335d apart from the other diesel-powered autos available in the U.S. We expect, however, that the 335d will have some company within the next eight to ten months.  BMW of North America will soon import a 5er Series diesel and, if it’s the 535d, as many suspect, it will join the 335d in providing this unique type of Freude am Fahren.

Indeed, the 535d goes from 0-100 km (0-62 mph) in just 5.7 seconds (faster than the 335d, which travels the same distance in six seconds) and uses just 6.1 l/100 km (38.5 mpg) in the European combined test cycle (less fuel than the 335d, which uses 6.7 l/100 km (35 mpg) in the same test).

Comparing for a moment the two 335 3er Series, the 335i is definitely a bit quicker off the line: 0-60 mph is 5.6 seconds, while the 335d takes 6.0 seconds to travel the same distance.  The 335d, however, produces 425 pound-feet of torque between 1750 and 2250 rpm compared to the 335i’s 300 pound-feet between 1400 and 5000.  The 335d’s massive amount of torque is available for overtaking on demand and can propel the car to from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 130 km/h (80 mph) in what feels like a split second.  Click here to continue to Page 2.

The 335d does this by combining sports-car acceleration with exemplary fuel economy, and then adding in comfort and attention to detail.  Indeed, this very combination may be the forerunner of a new breed of luxury-performance sedans.

The 3er Series was first introduced in 1975 as the successor to the 2002, the car that first defined the sports sedan.  Since then, the BMW 3er Series has continued to define this genre and it is the car that other car makers try to emulate.

The 3er doesn’t attempt to pamper the driver and passengers; instead, it focuses on a driving experience that is unlike any other.  One can recognize a 3er Series driver: he’s the one who is grinning from ear to ear after every trip.  The 335d driver is grinning even more as he knows how much fuel he saving with every trip.

The 335d was launched in the U.S. in 2009 as a four-door sedan in conjunction with a mild redesign of that body style. As a result, the 3er Series sedan bears a much stronger familial resemblance to the new 5er and 7er Series sedans.  The front looks wider and sports new headlights and a bolder bumper/spoiler. More prominent longitudinal hood lines frame the hood’s power dome. New taillights and a more pronounced character line complete the look.

The 335d’s three-liter six-cylinder inline twin-turbo diesel engine with common-rail, high-pressure direct fuel injection with piezo injectors and two-stage turbo charging produces 265 hp and an incredible 425 pound-feet of torque. To put the car’s power into perspective, the M3 generates a mere 295 pound-feet of torque.  There’s so much torque that BMW had to use electronics to keep the rear tires from spinning out of control.

BMW designed the 335d’s turbocharger system to negate turbo lag by using one fast-and-small turbocharger for initial acceleration with a second, larger turbo that takes over as engine speed rises. As a result, there is no noticeable turbo lag.

The BMW 335d is also the most fuel-efficient cars BMW of North America has ever sold and can travel almost 40% farther on a tank of fuel than its gasoline-powered sibling.   I’ve gone several weeks without having to fill the tank and I could drive from New York to Washington, D.C. and back (round trip 750 km or 466 miles) without having to stop to refuel.

So after three months and several thousand kilometers (keep in mind that the car spent a month in transit getting from Munich to New York), how does it drive?  Suffice it to say that the 335d is the most sought-after car at The Diesel Driver and the driving experience combined with fuel economy is simply unparalleled. Click here to continue to page 2.

Without much fanfare, BMW has added geotagging and social networking capabilities to its cars that allows drivers to geotag their location with a few clicks in iDrive and share it with friends via e-mail.  If a route has been entered into the car’s navigation system, the destination will be sent in the same e-mail.

This is the second update to BMW’s online services functionality within a week.  [A few days earlier,  BMW added real-time news from CNN and other sources.]  According to Henning Schlieker, BMW’s telematics marketing manager, BMW is able to easily add new functionality because the system is server based.  BMW’s online services, he promises, “will get better and better.”

To send one’s location, the driver merely clicks on “Send to Mail” in iDrive and enters a new e-mail address.  The five most recently used addresses are also stored and can be used as well.

The recipient receives an e-mail from BMW with clickable links to Google Maps for the current location or geotag as well as the destination (if navigation is active).

Geotagging adds geographical identification, such as latitude and longitude coordinates, to information or media.  It can be used to help users obtain location-specific information and find location-based news or services.  When social networking tools are combined with geotagging, leading to geosocial networking, new social dynamics can be enabled, ranging from helping a group of people meet in person to planning the location of an activity.

You could also e-mail the location of a location you wish to return to or even make note of a pothole that needs to be reported.

In more practical terms, this is an easy way to update friends and family on the progress of your trip or even to remember the location of a parking spot.

See our exclusive video for a full demonstration.

BMW Assist is standard for four years on most models including the 5er, 6er, and 7er Series and optional on other models.  BMW Assist information services including Send to Mail and News require the new CIC (Car Infotainment Computer) iDrive system.  The Convenience Plan (required for information services) costs an additional $199 per year.

Back in 2008, BMW became the first automaker to allow drivers to send destination information directly from Google Maps to their car and is the only automobile manufacturer that offers Google local search in the vehicle.

This week BMW quietly added a real-time news feed to its online services portfolio.

Drivers now have access to the latest reports from CNN, covering general and world news, business news, sports coverage, news from the entertainment world, and the latest news from BMW.   While drivers in Europe have had access to news through BMW Online for several years (and unlimited access to the Web in Germany),  information services in the United States have been limited to weather, stock market indices, and fuel prices until now.

Each news article is only a couple of sentences and the car can read news to the driver using sophisticated text-to-speech technology which sounded quite good in our tests.

See our exclusive video for a full demonstration.

BMW Assist is standard for four years on most models including the 5er, 6er, and 7er Series and optional on other models.  The Convenience Plan (required for information services) costs an additional $199 per year.  The speech-to-text feature is available in cars manufactured starting in September 2009.

Driving a car with high-performance summer tires is great – until the temperatures start to dip. 
Summer tires are standard equipment on many high-performance cars such as those from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and other manufacturers, and the tires are designed to provide optimum dry-conditions performance and good handling in wet conditions.

There is, however, a catch.  At 7° C (45° F), their compound loses adhesion and, as a result, they cannot be used safely under wintry driving conditions.

This is where winter tires (formerly known as snow tires) come in.  Today, drivers have a variety of options so there is no need to sacrifice handling and performance in colder climes.  A choice of tires that provide maximum traction on snow and ice (typically labeled “snow and ice” for that matter) as well as the relatively new high-performance winter tires are available.  There is also a third category, all-season tires, which, although beyond the scope of this review are generally a compromise.

Many countries mandate the use of winter tires from November through March but failing to fit winter tires can have far more significant consequences than a ticket: simply put, one’s ability to accelerate, steer, and brake can be significantly compromised without the right tires in wintry conditions. Cars with summer tires are an accident waiting to happen.

But most winter tires can have a dramatic (and negative) impact on how the car handles.   Especially at speed, they can be less responsive and somewhat mushy compared to the connected feeling one experiences when driving on summer tires.

Enter winter performance tires.  Even if you reside in an area that gets significant snowfall, you’ll probably be driving on plowed roads and this is where the argument for performance winter tires comes in.

To find out what the best tire is for winter conditions, we tested both sides of the equation.  The answer, we came to find out, is “it depends.”  As you will see, winter performance tires are a worthy substitute for summer performance tires in the colder seasons and snow and ice tires simply don’t have the dry grip that many drivers expect when they are not driving in snow and ice.

For our tests, we drove the BMW 335d in a variety of winter conditions, from the Roßfeldhöhenringstraße  near Berchtesgaden at an altitude of 1560 m to the cold and (this year) very snowy streets of New York City.

In Europe, the 335d was shod with Goodyear Ultra Grip winter tires on 17″ Borbet CA wheels, excellent snow and ice shoes which are endowed with superb grip.  But drive over 130 km/h (80 mph) on a dry road and the 335d starts to flounder and the steering starts to feel far less precise.

On snow, however, it was a different story.  For a drive through ski country, we found you couldn’t be on better snowshoes.  The Goodyears were confident and gripped the road without hesitation.

If you see more snow than pavement in winter, think Buffalo or Fargo (or Philadelphia and Washington D.C. this year), this would be the way to go.

Back in the States, we fitted the 335d with Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero winter performance tires on 17″  BMW Style 159 wheels.  Pirelli engineers designed the Sottozero to be effective as the temperatures drop near freezing in autumn until they warm up in early spring.  Did this mean that drivers would no longer dread the day they had to give into Mother Nature and swap tires?  Judging by the 335d’s gains in acceleration and braking compared to the Goodyears, the answer is “you betcha.”

Pirelli explains that the Winter Sottozero tread compound utilizes cap and base technology that combines two different compounds.  The portion of the tire that comes into contact with the road uses Pirelli’s latest generation silanes to bind the silica and polymer to provide greater stability during hard driving in both wet and dry conditions, while the tire’s base uses nano-composites to provide stiffness that translate into enhanced stability and driving precision.

The asymmetric tread pattern has distinct inner and outer elements that Pirelli claims are able to combine traction in snow and ice with drivability on dry and wet roads.

Inside, these tires utilize the same ultra high-performance structures that are found in Pirelli’s summer performance tires, adding to the level of performance that the Sottozero can provide.  After several hundred kilometers in sub-zero February temperatures, we found we got no compromise sports-car like responsiveness on dry roads along with excellent traction and braking in New York City’s latest blizzard.

TIPS FOR WINTER DRIVING

• Use the correct tires (see main article). Store your summer tires carefully (we use Kurgo Tire Totes and label tote and tire each for proper reinstallation in the spring)
• Check tire inflation regularly.
• Know where you are going (and via what route) and check forecasts on the Web before leaving.
• Do not use cruise control on slippery surfaces (ice, rain, leaves, sand).
• Allow for conditions. Accelerate and decelerate slowly.  Slowing down on ice and slush takes longer.
• If you begin to skid, look and steer in the direction you want to go
• Don’t stop as you go up a hill.
• Take supplies along (snack, water, medication, blankets, gloves, shovel, and ice scraper).
• If you get stuck, stay with the vehicle.
• ICE – ICE stands for “in case of emergency” and storing an emergency contact in your mobile phone under the name ICE can help rescue personnel quickly locate a friend or family member if warranted.
  Winter Diesel Driving
  
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The final chapter of our BMW 335d’s voyage to the States has now been written.  The 335d left Bremerhaven, Germany, on 14 January aboard the MV Manon and arrived at  the Port of New York (which, in this case, is in New Jersey) on 31 January, a 17-day voyage across the Atlantic.  The Manon’s first stop was at the pier adjacent to the BMW Vehicle Distribution Center in Bayonne, where the 335d, along with its shipmates, was offloaded by stevedores.  The BMW Vehicle Distribution Center, or VDC (previously called the VPC, or Vehicle Processing Center) is, for all intents and purposes, an extension of the BMW factory in Germany.

The 335d was  driven directly to a segregated area at the VDC, where it remained until it was cleared by U.S. Customs inspectors, who physically inspect each car.  New cars are cleared through Customs electronically before the ship reaches port.  The 335d cleared customs in record time – within 48 hours of arrival.  Customs clearance for tourist delivery cars can occasionally take up to two weeks.

After the 335d was released by customs, it was checked for any damage by Automotive Visual Inspections (AVI), a private company hired by BMW.  Once AVI finished its inspection, the 335d continued its journey through the VDC.

BMW currently has three VDCs in the United States.  The New Jersey VDC processes ca. 100,000 cars per year and supports 12 states.  The West Coast VDC in Port Hueneme, California receives cars for the West Coast, and Brunswick, Georgia VDC receives cars destined for the southeastern United States.  Another VDC is planned for the Baltimore area, which will process cars destined for Mid-Atlantic states and the Central region.

The New Jersey VDC sits on 26 acres.  Over 87 BMW employees work at the VDC and their day typically runs from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The New Jersey VDC  processes an average of 300 cars per day (and, at times, up to 600)  including new and European Delivery BMWs, Minis, and Rolls-Royces, which arrive from Austria, Germany, South Africa, Spartanburg, and the United Kingdom.  The facility holds 3000 cars, and a recent 10-acre expansion can hold an additional thousand vehicles.

There are five departments at the VDC, not including administrative and management functions:

• Production – processes the car, performs the pre-delivery inspection, installs labels including the Monroney sticker, inspects for damage, removes shipping labels
• Workshop – performs mechanical repairs, campaigns, software updates; installs accessories such as driving lights and power kits
• Body Shop – performs body repair, paint, repairs of scratches and scuffs, paintless dent removal; installs body kits
• Quality – monitors procedures, reports issues to the factory, ensures quality control throughout the facility
• Parts – stocks and distributes replacement parts

But back to the 335d.  Upon entering the VDC, the 335d was washed and driven into the processing area at the VDC.  After its bath, USA-specific supplies such as warranty information and the fuel nozzle adapter (specific to diesel-powered cars) are added.

The 335d was then thoroughly inspected for any damage; for European Delivery vehicles, this includes damage that might have occurred when the car was in use in Europe as such repairs are covered by the special European Delivery insurance program.  No damage was found but damage could have occurred during use in Europe and during transport.  For cars with body damage, the VDC’s repairs are virtually indistinguishable from the factory’s.

Various stickers, such as the accessory installation warning sticker that goes on the windshield and the roadside assistance sticker, were placed on the vehicle.

The VDC is especially concerned with safety-related damage or defects such as a chipped windshield or gouges in wheels.  All defective parts are immediately disposed of to ensure that such parts do not inadvertently end up on a car in the future.

VDC personnel also check for any factory defects such as “airbag light on.”  Any campaigns (normal updates) are performed if necessary and the car’s paper trail is reviewed.

At this point, the 335d was placed on what the VDC calls the “pad,” which is where cars sit waiting to be trucked to the dealership.  Next stop: BMW of Tenafly.

Inside BMW’s Vehicle Distribution Center

Harms booked the 335d on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen MV Manon, voyage CQ002-MAN, which left Bremerhaven today heading for Göteborg, Sweden.

The MV Manon is a PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carrier) built by Daewoo Heavy Industry in 1999. (MV stands for Merchant Vessel.) It was elongated in 2005 by 28 meters, resulting in a 20% increase in capacity, which now stands at 7200 cars or 3700 cars and 600 trucks.  The vessel carries a basic complement of 15 persons.  The deck area capacity is 63,124 m2.  It is a sister ship to the Boheme, Elektra, Undine, and Mignon.

The Manon is owned by Wallenius Lines AB, Sweden and operated by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and flies under the Swedish flag.

All cabins are located on the upper deck and the vessel is equipped with a dining room, TV room/library, gym, sauna, and outdoor swimming pool.  It has a permanent CO2 fire extinguishing system and a number of portable CO2 and foam fire extinguishers.  It has a freefalling lifeboat with a capacity of 30 people, an MOB (Man Overboard) boat, and four life rafts with a capacity of 16 people each.

After leaving Bremerhaven, it set sail for Göteborg (Gothenburg), where it is scheduled to arrive on the 15th.  It will continue on to Zeebrugge, Belgium (January 17), and Southampton, U.K. (January 18) to pick up more cars.  It then starts its trans-Atlantic crossing and will continue across the 50th parallel until reaching the coast of North America.

The Manon should arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 25.  From there, it is scheduled to arrive at the Port of New York on January 27, at which time the 335d will be offloaded at BMW’s Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC).

My 335d’s production started on 2 December with a coil of steel that was unraveled

Press Shop

and cut into plates that were then pressed into the right shape.  The Press Shop handles 600 metric tons of steel plates each and every day and the steel is specifically selected for individual parts in order to meet BMW’s high standards.

Depending on the part, four to six production steps are required.

The parts formed for the 335d were then assembled in the Body Shop starting on 8 December until the car body was completed later that day.

The Mobi-Cell with handling and welding robots.

Large panels simultaneously converge into a central spot for spot and laser welding as well as other joining techniques such as gluing. Robots seem to magically  create the chassis by turning and rotating different parts.  The robots in the Mobi-Cell perform spot welding with exacting precision.

The remarkable “Mobi Cell” Body Shell Concept is a BMW manufacturing innovation.  Mobi Cell stands for “Mobile Standard Fertigungszelle” (mobile standard production booth). It makes it possible it to shift production stations within the body shop  quickly and economically. The individual station can be combined with and connected to larger and more complex manufacturing stations, thereby  improving the factory’s flexibility and ability to cope with changes in demand.

Paint Shop.

The next step in production is the Paint Shop. The 335d’s chassis was cleaned, dipped into a phosphate solution that serves as a foundation for additional layers of paint, and then four layers of color were applied in separate passes. First the primer was applied in the cathodic rotation dip, then filler, base, and clear coat were applied by robots and painting machines.

The cleaning stage was very thorough, using a blow cleaner with high speed airflow and rotating ostrich feathers. The 335d’s  finish could easily have been ruined by the tiniest piece of dust so BMW uses ostrich feathers, which are very efficient at gathering dust, before sending the car to the primer booth.  Click here to continue to page 2.

The Diesel Driver’s editor, Jonathan Spira, took delivery of a brand new BMW 335d today at the BMW Welt (Spira, incidentally, was also the first customer to take delivery of a car at the Welt back in 2007 when the Welt opened).  He visited the BMW Welt the night before to check up on things and returned the following day with several friends.  Here is a quick look at those 24 hours; a more detailed look at the Welt, the BMW European Delivery program, and the delivery itself will follow.

Enjoy the show.

Today diesels are staging a comeback thanks, in part, to low-sulfur diesel fuel and fluctuating fuel prices  The renaissance is being led by German car makers including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.  Car enthusiasts began to take note of diesels last year when BMW announced plans to offer 50-state diesel-powered BMWs (namely the 3er Series and X5), promising no compromises in handling and performance.  In BMW’s home market of Germany, 70% of BMWs sold are diesels.

Until about 10 years ago, Europeans were happy to relegate diesel technology to trucks, buses, and taxis (a common assignment for the Mercedes 240D).  But that changed around 1997, when Bosch introduced the diesel Common Rail System, where diesel fuel is precisely injected at a very high pressure (much higher than in a gasoline engine).   Its name derives from the one common fuel feed pipe – or rail – that provides fuel for all injectors.  The Common Rail System reduces exhaust emissions and lowers engine noise, thereby ameliorating the two most common objections to diesel-powered automobiles.

Anyone who has driven a modern diesel automobile knows of its advantages over gasoline.  Diesels use far less fuel, about 30% less on average, than their gasoline-burning counterparts and emit 25% less carbon dioxide.  They also produce 50% more torque, which translates to higher acceleration at lower RPM.

INTRODUCING THE DIESEL DRIVER BMW 335D

To date I have only spent a few hours in a BMW 335d but all I can say is, “what torque, what torque.”  Just like the 535d (see our review here), the 335d has sick amounts of torque and provides bone-crushing acceleration devoid of any turbo lag.  There’s no question in my mind that this car will establish the BMW diesel line in the mind of the enthusiast.

On 23 December 2009, I will take delivery of a new BMW 335d at the BMW Welt delivery center in Munich, Germany.  I’ll have more to report then.