09 May 07
It's all about the engine
There are plenty of safeguards built in to Auto Start-Stop to ensure that the battery isn't drained. If it doesn't have sufficient charge, the engine won't cut out. Similarly, it will keep ticking over if the outside temperature is very hot or very cold, or if the engine itself is not at optimum running temperature.
And the flaps behind the grille of the 1-Series? When the engine needs less cooling air, the flaps close for better aerodynamic efficiency. This also improves engine efficiency, by getting up to optimum running speed more quickly.
Hydrogen cars are not for girlie men
Munich's longer-term vision is for liquid hydrogen, as showcased in the Hydrogen 7. BMW doesn't pretend the car's anything other than a work in progress. It's heavy, its range is poor, and in any case there's only one suitable hydrogen pump in the UK. It's a different story in California and Germany, where politicians including Arnold Schwarzenegger have pushed alternative energy further up the agenda.
So BMW is not making a serious attempt to sell the Hydrogen 7 in the UK. Instead it will be giving dual-fuel limos to a handful of high-profile opinion-formers, and seeing what interest it stirs. And in a few years, when the technology has become more compact and there are more pumps, maybe we'll be driving Hydrogen 1s, 3s and 5s.
