BMW is one of the world’s greatest luxury cars and now offers styles and options more consumer-friendly brands, like Chevrolet, offer. A BMW is an investment and often seen as much more than just a car. If you think of the buying process this way, you are more likely to be happy with your new BMW.

1. Decide on the style of BMW you would like. They offer sedan cars, wagon cars, SUVs and coupe cars. If you aren’t familiar with all the options BMW has to offer, visit their website to check out all the models available and the features they include.

2. Make a list of the features and options that are the most important to you. If you have a lot of custom features you would like to have, consider custom-ordering your BMW and having it delivered to a dealer near you. This option is available both on the website and at a BMW dealer.

3. Choose the top three models you are interested in and do more research. The BMW 650 series is rated negatively as having a rough ride, jerky transmission and throttle problems. The BMW X5 is rated as one of the most luxurious SUVs and has a V8 under the hood that is popular with many car owners. These are important things to know about each of the models.

4. Consider the warranties offered by BMW. The manufacturer offers a 12-year warranty for the bodywork, three years for the paint and an entire automobile warranty that covers original BMW parts and accessories for 2 years regardless of mileage, but not including replacement of worn parts.

Car enthusiasts will often tell you of their undying loyalty to a particular car brand. And for many, that means a loyalty to what is considered to be a high-end luxury vehicle brand. The BMW, by far, reflects the continued support of the public for those cars that are considered to be luxury vehicles. And the BMW M5 is included in the superior product line that continues to be offered by BMW.

Originating in 1913 in Munich, Germany, The Bavarian Motor Works company (BMW), was operated by Karl Friedrich Rapp who desired to create superlative vehicles that would be unsurpassed in performance and quality. Rapp achieved his goals in creating the BMW – a brand that has held vast consumer appeal for over 95 years. As the industry changed and grew so did the design of the BMW, transforming itself to keep pace with the changing marketplace. The BMW M5 is simply another stage in the evolution of the BMW brand.

The BMW M5 is considered a high-performance sedan car for sale and is, in fact, known to be the most powerful sedan in the world and the fastest accelerating BMW model to be built to date. This car for sale features a V-10 engine with five-liter capacity, 10 cylinders, 500 horsepower, and engine speeds of more than 8,000 rpm. The BMW M5 sedan car for sale is one of the most high-quality vehicles on the road today; the car to which all other vehicles are compared.

The models of the BMW M5 include the E39, E34, and E28, as well as a number of unique models highly appointed with luxurious options. The BMW M5 carries with it a high price tag but how much you ultimately pay depends on the specific model that you purchase.

The BMW brand will undoubtedly continue to engage consumers for many generations to come as it expands its product line and consistently delivers high-end quality and unrivalled luxury through the BMW M5 and other models to come.

The reason that it can be a problem to separate the different models is that, being a German vehicle producer, and having a German mentality. BMW seems to have avoided what it presumably see’s as unnecessary glamorous and evocative names for all of its vehicles.

Instead, this manufacturer of some of the finest luxury vehicles in the world opted, with great German logic, to simply number each of different series of models, with a complex set of numbers and letters.

We shall try to unravel the mysteries of the German car manufacturing mind, by listing the different models, so that hopefully you may comprehend the BMW range.

BMW currently produces the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, as well as SUVs that naturally to the German’s, have the letter X and two-seater roadsters, perhaps you guessed that these all use the letter Z.

Each of the BMW designations refer to either the first number or alternatively to the first letter of the name. A good example would be the 518, 520i or the 530i, obviously each model is one of the ‘5′ Series. As the Series numbers get higher, the vehicle will become not only physically larger in size, it will also become more expensive for BMW car leasing.

Therefore, now that we are starting to understand the numbering system, we can examine the subtle differences between each of the BMW series.

Beginning with the lowest number, the 1 Series are the company’s smaller vehicles, which are relatively less expensive when considering BMW car leasing. The luxury cars in this series were conceived to be in competition with cars such as the Volkswagen Golf, and cars of a similar size and stature. All the BMW cars for sale in this series are rear wheel drive models.

Going up to the next number, the 3 series of BMW’s luxury models, were originally designed and produced, to be the company’s most reasonably priced and smallest models. Which for many years they were, until the company designed the 1 Series models.

The ‘3′ models have a very clear and defined target market of younger professionals, on their way up in the world. However, for whom the more prestigious 5 or 7 series vehicles are financially out of reach. The 3 series has proved to be an incredibly successful model and is in fact the worlds best selling ‘Beemer’.

In what the company considers, to be in its mid-range of vehicles is the 5 series. This is the ultimate in junior executive to transportation. For many BMW fans, the 5 is the superior model, as they believe that this series can offer the best value for money, while still retaining the ‘wow’ factor.

The big boy of the group is the highly prestigious 7 Series, which just screams ‘the boss’s car’. For those that can afford this top of the range BMW contract hire executive saloon, they offer the ultimate in ‘I’ve made it’ driving status. These vehicles are clearly in the same range as the top of the tree, Mercedes and Jaguars cars. In addition, for those can have deep enough pockets BMW car leasing can be a serious statement of ownership, of a piece of high quality German engineering.

Luxury-car maker BMW AG issued a hefty profit warning and signaled a return to more conservative sales tactics, reversing a policy of using steep discounts and cheap leases to win U.S. market share.

The German company said it would cut production and raise prices globally, especially in the U.S., as it disclosed that second-quarter net profit fell 33% to €506 million ($789.3 million), down from €751 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue was down less than 1% to €14.6 billion.

Like other premium German brands selling in the U.S., BMW faces an increasingly tough choice between trying to protect profitability and hold on to market share, industry analysts say.

In recent years, BMW has pushed aggressively to sell cars in the U.S., using discounts and easy leasing terms. That trend accelerated over the past year as the U.S. market turned sour, forcing brutal price competition to draw customers into showrooms.

Auto executives and analysts warn that BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, the luxury brand of Volkswagen AG, all risk losing their most valuable asset — their exclusivity — by copying the hard-sell high-volume tactics U.S. car makers have used for decades. BMW now appears to be struggling to return to its previous sales strategy known as “pull” — making customers line up to wait for cars and pay full price, attracted by the belief they are getting an exclusive product.

“Any premium auto maker that strives to push volume for its own sake, runs the risk of losing exclusivity,” says Vic Doolan, president of Volvo Cars North America until March 2005, and president of BMW of North America until July 1999.

BMW said Friday it wants to “retain its position as the world’s leading premium manufacturer.” In 2005 BMW eclipsed Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz to become the world’s biggest-selling premium auto maker by sales, in part as a result of its aggressive sales tactics. But the Munich-based company said “volume growth will not be pursued at the expense of profitability. In the light of the ongoing weakness of the U.S. dollar and market, sales volumes will be reduced in the U.S. on a targeted basis as part of a new strategy for this region.”

BMW has been among the most aggressive companies in its use of discounts to sell cars in the U.S., offering an average $4,680 per car in June, up 62% from June 2007. Rival Mercedes-Benz offered $4,692 of discounts, roughly 35% more than in June 2007. Audi, which offered $4,085 per car in June, ramped up its incentives by 50%, figures supplied by Autodata Corp. show.

The incentives are higher than those granted by Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., but they’re also higher than those for Lexus, which offered incentives of $1,557 per car in June, and Acura, which offered discounts of $1,841.

Cheap leasing deals have also hurt BMW’s profits. In the second quarter, BMW booked a charge of €459 million related to its leasing business, following a €236 million charge in the first quarter.

A sharp downturn in auto markets in recent weeks means BMW won’t meet its previous profit target for 2008, the company said, warning that 2009 will also be a tough year. BMW said it expects the operating margin in its automotive division to reach “approximately 4% or higher” in 2008, down from the 6.4% in 2007.

BMW’s bid to boost sales volumes appears to have been eroding the company’s profitability for some time. While its auto sales rose to 1.5 million cars in 2007 from 1.05 million cars in 2002, operating margins for that segment shrank to 6.4% at the end of 2007 from 9.2% in 2002. Currency factors, rising investments in fuel-efficient technology, the rising price of raw materials, as well as slumping demand in the U.S., have contributed toward eroding profits, the company says.

Rather than seeking to top the 336,000 cars BMW sold in the U.S. in 2007, sales volume figures are “likely to be lower than a year ago,” the company said. On a group level, BMW has decided to “reduce production volumes and increase selling prices.”

Audi recently reduced its sales target in the U.S. to 95,000 units from the 100,000 in sales it previously had targeted for this year, a spokesman for the company said Friday. Daimler, the Stuttgart, Germany-based parent company of Mercedes-Benz, late last month gave a profit warning and also said it would give increased emphasis to growing volumes profitably.

BMW has unveiled a fabric-covered roadster that can change its shape at the flick of a switch - and it’s the inspiration for propeller-badged cars both current and future.

BMW has revealed a radical shape-shifting roadster concept that has been the inspiration behind its controversial car designs - and will also influence the German brand’s future vehicles.

The Gina Light Visionary Model is a dramatic-looking two-seater sports car that swaps traditional sheetmetal for a near-seamless, stretchable fabric that can contort into different shapes.

The special waterproof and temperature-resistant “hybrid” fabric is draped over a high-strength metal wire structure that features a series of carbonfibre and steel-mesh struts in various locations. The driver can change the roadster’s exterior design by using switches to activate these electro-hydraulically controlled sections.

The headlights, for example, are hidden until switched on, when the fabric at the front of the car prises apart on either side of the signature double-kidney grille to reveal the double lamps.

Indicator and tail-lights simply shine through the translucent fabric cover.

If the engine needs to be accessed, the bonnet can be unzipped down the middle to create a half-metre-wide gap.

Some body changes are automatic. For improved aerodynamics at higher speeds, the Gina roadster will generate extra downforce by deploying a rear spoiler.

The two-seater research car isn’t just responsible for BMW’s controversial convex-concave (’flame surfacing’) design language on current models. The two-seater’s minimalist interior also led to the polarising iDrive menu controller system.

BMW says iDrive was spawned from one of the Gina’s principles - of “displaying only functions to the driver that are relevant to the individual driving situation”.

The Gina roadster’s steering wheel and instruments are even tucked away to allow the driver easier access. Only once the driver is ensconced do the steering wheel and instruments move outwards and the seat (and headrest) adjust automatically for the optimum driving position.

While pictures and details of the two-seater concept have only just been released, the car actually dates back to 2001 - according to overseas media invited to the car’s unveiling. It’s also reported that the Gina research concept sits on the platform of the Z8 roadster that last graced roads in 2003 (sold only in limited numbers as a left-hand-drive collector’s car in Australia).

The Gina’s shape-shifting exterior can certainly be seen in BMW’s 2001 X Coupe concept car - which debuted designer Chris Bangle’s polarising ‘flame surfacing’ design language - as well as current production models such as the Z4 (most obviously) and 1-Series.

The Gina Light Visionary Model is effectively a concept car behind a concept car. BMW calls it an “object of research”, saying that GINA is an abbreviation for “Geometry and Functions in ‘N’ Adaptions”.

Chris Bangle, talking in a promotional video for the Gina research roadster, says the car exists to encourage thinking outside the box not just about how future cars could look but also how they could be built.

“This [roadster] started a whole chain of ideas in the company [to the point] that Gina became not just a model, a shape, or just [an issue] about cloth as a [vehicle] skin … it became a real thinking process about doing things differently,” says Bangle.

“Does [a car’s outer skin] always have to be made out of metal? Do we always have to make it in the same manner?

“In reality, the aspects of crash [safety], [body] stiffness, and ride and handling capabilities can be handled in a spaceframe-type vehicle without the [metal] skin.

Bangle says the Gina philosophy is about being flexible and also creating a greater emotional bond between car and driver.

“Emotion is really the added function to this [concept],” he says. “Really, we want to achieve a higher emotional plain out of this. Gina should be about the human in the loop.”

The research car has now been wheeled into the BMW Museum in Munich for display, although the company says the guiding principles of Gina will continue to influence BMW’s designs a long way into the future.

As the pressure to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions continues unabated, it’s not just gasoline engines that are getting the right-sizing treatment. The diesel engine is set to shrink as well, at least at BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Both manufacturers currently offer diesel V-8s of 4.4L and 4.0L sizes respectively in their top models. However, both companies are likely to start replacing their current diesel model range with newer, smaller displacement alternatives with new boosting technology that will improve the power while reducing fuel consumption. That means following the path BMW has been traveling recently with sequential twin turbocharger systems such as the one on the 123d. These setups use a pair of different sized turbos that help to enhance torque at both low and high revs. This will allow the V-8 to be replaced by inline and V-6 cylinder engines while current six cylinder applications will go to fours. All of these will also likely be combined with mild hybrid systems for even more improvement. Besides the improved efficiency of the smaller engines, weight will also be reduced, further enhancing fuel economy. So far, the one exception to this trend is Audi which just announced production of the Q7 V-12 TDI with its new 6.0L V-12 diesel. That however will be a very low volume application and more mainstream units will probably go the downsizing route.

BMW India, a 100% subsidiary of the BMW Group, is planning to launch its cult premium small car MINI in India to cash in on the growing demand for luxury brands in India.Mini would be priced around Rs.2 million ($49,443.8) and it would be the costliest small car in the country.

“The team that carried out the feasibility study for the launch of Mini has submitted its report. It is being studied by our headquarters,” Peter Kronschnabl, president of BMW India Pvt Ltd, said here at Chennai.

Launching the company’s first dealer outlet in Chennai, he said: “Mini is not just a car. It is a brand. BMW has to study the feasibility of its launch here.” The company is currently looking at launching the X6 model. “Homologation of a vehicle takes at least six months. X6 will not be (launched) before 2009,” said Kronschnabl.

Upbeat about the company’s operations in India, Kronschnabl said BMW has increased its Chennai plant’s capacity by 1,300 units to 3,000 per year at an outlay of $750,000. “With this, the total investment in Chennai plant is $13 million,” he added.

Speaking on the company’s plans of expanding the dealer network, Kronschnabl said BMW would have 12 dealers in tier-one cities. “In the second phase of our distribution network expansion we will set up small outlets in tier-two cities,” he added.