BMW Indonesia Pindah Kantor

Jakarta, 13 Januari 2010 - Kantor baru PT BMW Indonesia yang berlokasi di The Plaza hari ini diresmikan oleh Graeme Grieve, Vice President BMW Group yang tengah melakukan kunjungan dari Munich, Jerman. Johannes Seibert, Managing Director BMW Asia, serta Ramesh Divyanathan, Presiden Direktur PT BMW Indonesia juga turut meresmikan kantor yang berlokasi di gedung yang moderen dan ramah lingkungan ini.

“BMW Group bangga telah beroperasi di Indonesia melalui anak perusahaannya sejak 2001,” kata Graeme Grieve yang menangani pasar-pasar yang sedang berkembang di Asia, Afrika, Timur Tengah, Eropa Timur, Amerika Tengah dan Selatan. “Indonesia merupakan negara demokratis yang tengah berkembang dengan potensi yang besar. Pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia yang meyakinkan tahun lalu di tengah krisis ekonomi serta pelaksanaan pemilihan umum yang berlangsung lancar berperan dalam mengangkat citra negara ini. Indonesia juga memainkan peran yang kian penting di antara negara-negara ASEAN serta G20 yang menggambarkan posisinya yang semakin kuat di panggung dunia.”

Ia menambahkan bahwa peresmian kantor baru tersebut selaras dengan komitmen perusahaan dalam menjalankan usahanya di Indonesia, dengan serangkaian program untuk menghadirkan model-model yang menarik di tahun 2010 ini. “Relokasi kantor ke gedung yang terbaru dan moderen di Jakarta ini menunjukkan keyakinan BMW Group terhadap anak perusahaan dan bisnisnya di Indonesia.”

Dengan lokasinya yang berada di pusat kota Jakarta dan berdampingan dengan Bundaran Hotel Indonesia yang terkenal, kantor baru ini memberikan kesempatan lebih banyak bagi BMW untuk mengadakan berbagai acara di pusat perbelanjaan kelas atas yang juga berdekatan. Kantor baru BMW Indonesia yang berada di lantai 21 ini didesain memenuhi karakter BMW yang moderen, inovatif, estetis dan elegan. Lingkungan tempat kerja bersifat transparan serta mendorong komunikasi yang terbuka antar karyawan. Bangunan gedung ini mengikuti konsep ramah lingkungan dengan menerapkan teknologi low E-coating dengan tujuan untuk menghemat energi, pengolahan kembali limbah air, serta penggunaan mesin pembangkit listrik bertenaga gas yang menghasilkan emisi lebih rendah.

“BMW Group memiliki strategi untuk mengintegrasikan aspek sustainability dalam seluruh rantai operasionalnya untuk menciptakan nilai tambah bagi perusahaan, lingkungan, serta masyarakat. Konsep hijau pada gedung perkantoran ini adalah salah satu alasan dalam merelokasi kantor kami disini,” lanjut Graeme.

Berkenaan dengan komitmennya terhadap kelestarian lingkungan, BMW Group mendapat predikat sebagai perusahaan mobil yang paling sustainable sedunia selama lima tahun secara berturut-turut, menurut Dow Jones Sustainability Index. BMW terbukti berhasil menekan emisi gas CO2 lebih besar dari produsen kendaraan mobil mana pun yang beredar di Amerika Serikat dan Eropa. Komitmen serta visi tersebut juga akan membawa serta dampak yang positif bagi kegiatan usahanya di Indonesia.

“Kami memahami bahwa segmen mobil mewah di Indonesia tak begitu besar, tapi tetap saja mobil-mobil BMW yang dilengkapi teknologi EfficientDynamics serta kesadaran perusahaan akan pentingnya aspek sustainability dalam tiap kegiatan serta kebijakannya akan ikut membantu Indonesia dalam memenuhi komitmennya dalam hal pengurangan emisi setidaknya sampai 26 persen pada tahun 2020 nanti,” tambah Graeme.

BMW Indonesia memproyeksikan pertumbuhan sebesar dua digit di Indonesia pada tahun 2010 ini. Perusahaan telah menyiapkan investasinya untuk memperkuat brand image, perkenalan 10 model baru, perbaikan showroom dealer-dealer resminya termasuk fasilitas purna jual, pelatihan, serta pengembangan sumberdaya manusia.

Penjualan BMW di Indonesia mencatat rekor pertumbuhan yang impresif sebesar 25% tahun lalu, yang menempatkan BMW sebagai merek mobil premium dengan pertumbuhan paling cepat. Pencapaian ini telah memposisikan Indonesia diantara beberapa pasar di dunia yang telah membukukan peningkatan penjualan BMW secara signifikan, yaitu China, Brasil, dan India.

[Via http://rajufebrian.wordpress.com]

Topless

YES! This IS the infamous JDM Internet celebrity s15 varietta. Tra Kyoto went with an s15 varietta this time, slapped on a Supermade kit with 19″ BMW wheels and Voila!! –> Instant Internet celebrity.. Yes this car was pictured in that very same petrol station where the rest of Tra Kyoto’s creations (namely the s13s, 180sx and the s14) were photographed.

Was never a big fan of variettas but this one looks pretty spot on. Trust Tra Kyoto to come up with the shit everytime!

[Via http://jaydeemmm.wordpress.com]

Leakage! BMW's next M5 rendered

Car Magazine has put out a wonderful rendering of the next BMW M5. People all over the world are drooling in anticipation waiting to get their first glimpse of this twin-turbocharged V8.

This photo is an artist’s rendering; not an official BMW image

The car is expected to hit 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds thanks to 578 brake-horsepower and 530 lb-ft of torque. The great news is that while the new engine is more powerful, BMW is also aiming to reduce the car’s overall consumption and emissions figures by 30%!

[Source: Car Magazine]

[Via http://brakebanzeen.com]

The True Meaning Behind BMW’s Iconic Roundel

Few corporate logos are as recognizable and renowned as BMW’s blue and white roundel. The Planters’ top-hatted peanut guy is pretty recognizable, so too is KFC’s Colonel. But neither logo carries the same degree of respect or ganas, as Edward James Olmos would say, as the BMW logo.

If you asked an aficionado to decipher the meaning behind the BMW roundel, they’d probably tell you that it’s supposed to represent a white airplane propeller against a blue sky. Why? Because the Bayerische Motoren Werke (aka, Bavarian Motor Works (aka BMW)) started out building engines for airplanes. Thus, it’s an homage to their heritage.

Seems like a reasonable explanation, right? Wrong!

The real meaning behind the alternating blue and white colors does coincide with the company’s heritage, but not its engine-building legacy. Instead, the colors were inspired by the flag of the Free State of Bavaria, where BMW was founded. Take a look at the flag:

 

Now that the mystery has been solved, there’s still one lingering question: how did the rumor about airplane propellers and blue skies start? The most plausible theory is that the rumor sprang from a 1929 BMW advertisement. The ad shows a single-propeller plan mid flight, and the letters B-M-W are spelled out in the whirl of the blade. Take a look:

 

Sources: NYTimes.com, 318ti.org  & Motorcycleinfo

[Via http://autoanything.wordpress.com]

Imitation is the sincerest flattery... NOT! How China elevates it to an art-form... ??

As Charles Caleb Colton once said: “Imitation is the sincerest of flattery”, and in China, the world’s largest manufacturing plant, this adage is adopted wholeheartedly… and literally to build brands. Drawing inspiration from the myriad of global brands that have made a name for themselves, and ones that understandably doing well in China, and have a strong brand recognition.

As demonstrated impeccably by Chinese-made car brand: BYD, aptly spelled out as “Build Your Dreams”, impeccably capturing China’s zest for learning the art of car-making fast… wait! Make that super fast! All it takes is, tinker with the original model, BMW, and tinker with the logo design a bit and… presto!! You’ve got yourself a brand. Well, not so fast!

After all, imitation is one of the oldest tricks in the book! In our recent modern history of industrialization, it was the underlying force that drove countries like Japan to rise from the ashes of Post-World War II and innovate their way into global dominance in electronics and automotive, among other economic sectors. Stories of Toyota engineers shipping in American-made Chevrolets, Buicks and Cadillacs by the boatload just after the war, abound. Dismantling the precious cargo, down to the minute nut and bolt, to understand what made these cars tick. Determined to use them as a blueprint and find innovation to make better cars. Fuel efficiency and smaller sized cars are probably the two innovations they introduced early on to the global stage.

The little Tiger Economies across Asia (starting with South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) followed suit, manufacturing everything cars and computer mouse, drugs to detergents, and refrigerators to roof shingles.

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to box all the newly industrialized countries as imitators. But to a degree, all countries, at some point in their “building-its-foundation-of-an-industrialized-nation” stage, were culpable of copying something. It could be argued that perhaps this was all done with a certain elegant aplomb. Comparing this to what is happening in China is quite another story.

China is literally twitching with international brands, and adopting them for their own domestic markets. Unfortunately very little adopting is done, except make everything from cheaper materials, keeping the look of the product, from the brand name to the physical appearance. China likens it to the fast route to brand building, in what they believe is “borrowing” the positive attributes that are intrinsincally attached to major global (read: Western and Japanese) brands. And voila! … Puff! A Mercedes Benz look-alike magically appears… fooling the eye!

Nowhere is this more evident than China’s Automotive Industry. The need to provide cars fast to a huge domestic market of car consumers who’ve evolved from bicycle to bike to car, faster than the time it takes most countries to clear land to build roadways!

So, welcome to the new world of imitation, China style. Which is more in-your-face, sheer “copy and paste” mentality. Ridiculously silly, its almost seems like an art-form. Enjoy the visual ride of the many examples in this blog.

Inspiration: Friskodude

[Via http://dianhasan.wordpress.com]

spring is in the air!

Well, actually my car is in the air, and lowering springs are the cure. Not only does the car look terrible sitting at stock height, the stock springs are too soft for my taste.  My daily driver has Cusco coilovers, so my frame of reference is different.  This car just doesn’t feel as stable or controlled to me, and the rear shock mounts make a squeaky rubber noise because they are probably made out of decroded rubber dust and spider poo by now.

Since the rest of the suspension’s’ glory days were probably over 20 years ago, I also have some top-adjustable Konis, camber/caster plates, spherical rear top mounts, roll center spacers, and adjustable sway bar links to bring it up to snuff for 2010.

Even after wrestling with the spring compressor for a while and trying to figure out how to remove it after uncompressing the spring, I got the fronts in fairly quickly.  Unfortunately the 26mm roll center spacers were a little bit too thick and the tie rod just barely touched the wheel after a test fit.  Hopefully I can trade someone for a set of 20mm soon. I’ll let it settle for a day before I install and adjust the front sway bar links.

Also, the strut bar mounting plate interferes with the new adjustable shock, so I’ll have to make a notch for clearance so I can keep some of the bling under the hood.

I started on the rear before it got too dark (at 5pm!), and took the old blown rear shocks out, so tomorrow I’ll throw in the rear shocks/mounts and springs.

[Via http://teampogi.wordpress.com]

Tuesday's Obscure Car of the Day

Welcome to another installment of Tuesday’s Obscure car of the day. I know I have been missing in action for the past few weeks but I should pick up on it soon. Today’s car is not obscure however, the way you can order is. If you know the right people and have enough bank you can order you car painted in a Silver Matte called Frozen Grey Metallic from your local BMW dealer. This is possible through BMW’s Individual, Munich’s custom-trim and personalization arm. At the cost of five thousand, if you’re the enterprising/conniving/begging type, you might be able to convince BMW of North America to sell you a car painted in an appealingly shine-free shade of silver as follows.

Naturally, there’s a catch: Individual paint is only available by special order, and many dealers are either ignorant of the process or refuse to admit that it exists. Ordering an Individual color often adds several months to the build and delivery rigamarole. Lastly, only a small number of American Individual requests are granted each year, and there’s often no rhyme or reason to the veto process. So for $5000, if persuasive enough you can gain access to a seemingly endless palette of color choices which is the only way to get a factory-sprayed, matte-finished production sedan in America.

Courtesy of M5board via Jalopnik

[Via http://escoben.wordpress.com]