Morning Reads: 28 September 2007

[Mika]

Today’s Birthdays / Calendar (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&day=2007-9-25&c=1)

http://www.islandstorks.com/images/birthday.gif


BMW in the News

MCN video of the BMW Sport Boxer
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Ef2bOAkQT8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3Ef2bOAkQT8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

motorcycle-usa.com (http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=5357&Page=1)
BMW 450 Enduro Completes WEC Test

]bbc.co.uk (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7014670.stm)
BMW sets sales and profit targets.

TED (http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/5): Ideas worth spreading
TED Blog (http://blog.ted.com/),Conferences (http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/7), Themes (http://www.ted.com/index.php/themes), Talks (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks) and Speakers (http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers)



Page 2: (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?p=243744&posted=1#post243744)
BMW Press: News and press releases from the official BMW sources




News:

motorevue.fr ( http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A//motorevue.fr/site/voxan-gtv-1200-25765.html&hl=en&langpair=fr|en&tbb=1&ie=iso-8859-1)
Voxan GTV 1200

http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/201218943-M.jpg

thekneeslider.com (http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/09/27/neander-turbo-diesel-motorcycle-is-introduced/)
Neander (http://www.neander-motorcycles.com/motorbike/en/) Turbo Diesel Motorcycle is Introduced

http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/201219007-M.jpg

The fascinating idea in this engine is the dual piston rod concept, intended to eliminate the vibration associated with the normal diesel engine.

thekneeslider.com (http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/09/26/2008-kawasaki-250r-gets-redesigned/)
2008 Kawasaki 250R Gets Redesign



http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/182526939-M.gif Packer News (http://www.packers.com/ )

jsonline.com (http://www.jsonline.com/index/index.aspx?id=44)
Packers Plus Online


The News-Record – Gillette Wyoming (http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/)


Bike Reviews:

infomotori.com.uk ( http://www.infomotori.co.uk/a_ENG_20990_1.html)
Yamaha XT660Z Ténéré


Feature:

In his speech Thursday, BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer referred to the need to deal with the issues of ‘graying markets’. If the US is a graying market, based on this article we should expect high performance bikes to be on there way from Munich.

newtimesslo.com ( http://newtimesslo.com/index.php?p=showarticle&id=2784)
The world’s fastest Vincent
A local motorcycle legend sets a new world speed record at age 80


Blog Update (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?p=225349&posted=1#post225349)

Foreign Language Blogs (http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?p=225351&posted=1#post225351)


Gear:

moto.caradisiac.com ( http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A//moto.caradisiac.com/Dorsale-Spidi-Defender-Back-Chest-197&hl=en&langpair=fr|en&tbb=1&ie=iso-8859-1)
Spidi dorsal: Back and Chest Protector


Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City (http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/)

M.R. Traveler

US Forest Service Fall Color Hotline (http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fallcolors/)

na.fs.fed.us (http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/misc/leaves/leaves.htm)
Why Leaves Change Color?

If you want the latest leaf color reports ...

NY 800-225-5697
VT 800-837-6668
MA 800-227-6277
ME 800-777-0317
RI 401-222-2601
CT 800-282-6863

The Best Fall Foliage Sites in America (http://www.travelnotes.org/Travel/sep16.htm)


Today’s RoadFood.com ( http://www.roadfood.com/)


Woot

Todays Woot ( http://www.woot.com/Default.aspx)

The Blog ( http://www.woot.com/Blog/Default.aspx)


xkcd (http://www.xkcd.com/) A webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math and Language

Sluggy Freelance (http://www.sluggy.com/)


Bike Candy:

http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/198109507-L.jpg

THE END ( http://neatorama.cachefly.net/images/2007-04/andy-singer-nudes-draw-clothed.GIF)

[Mika]

Rolls-Royse Motor Car PressClub

ROLLS-ROYCE CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW SHANGHAI SHOWROOM

A new Rolls-Royce showroom was officially opened Wednesday Spetember 26, 2007 in Shanghai by Colin Kelly, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Regional Director for Asia Pacific. Located in the central business district of Shanghai, in the lakeland surroundings of the Xintiandi area, the spacious facility provides an elegant environment for customers.

http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/201219781-L.jpg
“We are delighted to be here in Shanghai to open this new and larger showroom. It will cater for the increased demand for Rolls-Royce cars in the Shanghai area, which has grown steadily since we began our business here in 2003 in our earlier premises near the Bund Waterfront. Since then, our product range has grown, and now comprises the Phantom, Phantom Extended Wheelbase and our new convertible, the Phantom Drophead Coupé,” said Mr. Colin Kelly.

“The opening comes at an exciting time with Rolls-Royce sales worldwide, year to date, 15 per cent up over the same period in 2006,” he added.

Strong sales in 2007 to date have resulted in the China region maintaining its position as the third largest market in the world behind the USA and the UK.

Ms. Jenny Zheng, Rolls-Royce Motorcars’ General Manager for the Greater China Region, also attended the opening where a special Bespoke Extended Wheelbase Phantom was handed to its new owner.

The Phantom remains the best-selling super luxury car in the world, with sales in 2006 at a 16-year-high.

BMW Sauber F1: Website (http://www.bmw-sauber-f1.com/en/index.html)

BMW Motorsport (http://bmw-motorsport.com/ms/en/index.html)

BMW Yachtsport (http://bmw-yachtsport.com/ys/en/index.html)

BMW Golfsport (http://bmw-golfsport.com/gs/en/index.html)

BMW Oracle Racing (http://bmworacleracing.com/en/index.html?track.refer=)

BMW Sport website ( http://bmw-sports.com/en/index.html)

[Mika]

BMW Group

27.09.2007
- ad hoc information - BMW Group Announces Future Strategic Realignment

• New strategy focuses on increasing value
• RoCE target for Automobile segment is 26% as of 2012
• Program approved to tap euro 6 billion in efficiency potential by 2012
• Shareholders to benefit to a greater extent from company success
• Automobile retail sales to rise to significantly more than 2 million units by 2020

Munich — The BMW Group has set the course for a successful future with its strategic realignment. In their joint meeting on Thursday, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board of BMW AG approved the cornerstones of the corporate strategy through 2020. The BMW Group’s goal is to resolutely maximize profitability and increase value over the long term. The Group’s strategic direction up to 2020 is clearly defined: The BMW Group is the world’s leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility.

This strategic realignment includes, among other items, the following measures:

Capital-Efficiency Targets

The BMW Group intends to focus even more on the return on capital employed when monitoring company performance. The company set itself the following interim targets: The BMW Group aims to achieve a return on capital employed before taxes (RoCE) of 26% in the Automobile segment as of 2012. This results in an EBIT-based return on sales of between 8% and 10% for the Automobile segment.

Program to tap into efficiency potential

In order to achieve earnings targets for 2012, the BMW Group will launch a program to increase profitability. This will encompass all divisions and apply to both performance and costs. In terms of performance, the company plans to increase revenues and earnings per vehicle, while in terms of costs, it plans to reduce development, production, sales and administration costs per vehicle to achieve a cumulative efficiency effect of about 6 billion euros by 2012. The company intends to employ less capital than today when generating further growth. To this end, the BMW Group intends to reduce its capital expenditure ratio as well as capital employed per vehicle by 2012.

Growth Targets

The BMW Group is going to continue its product initiative. The BMW Group aims to achieve retail sales of more than 1.8 million vehicles by 2012. By then, the BMW Group plans to increase deliveries in the motorcycle business by 50% to 150,000 units per annum. The company intends to increase retail sales in the automobile business to clearly more than two million vehicles by 2020.

Change in Dividend Policy/Significantly Higher Dividend Planned for 2007

The Board of Management is convinced that the BMW Group’s continued strategic development will be successful over the long term. Therefore, the company plans to increase its dividend payout ratio substantially. The Board of Management will propose a first step for the business year 2007 to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting. In addition, BMW AG will keep the option of conducting a share buyback. However, this is not on the agenda for the next twelve months.

Transfer of Pension Obligations

BMW AG will gradually transfer its pension obligations in Germany of about 4 billion euros to an external fund in three steps starting in 2008.

Natural Hedging and Purchasing in US Dollars to be Expanded

In order to strengthen independence from currency fluctuations, the BMW Group will strategically step up natural hedging as well as purchasing in US dollars in particular.

27.09.2007
BMW Group Creates Two New Divisions

New responsibilities for Michael Ganal and Stefan Krause.
Munich. As part of the company’s strategic realignment, the BMW Group will create two new divisions as of October 1, 2007. The new division Corporate and Brand Development, will be headed by our former director of corporate planning, Dr. Friedrich Eichiner. The move underlines the importance of corporate planning, brand management and strategic implementation at the BMW Group. The division will also be home to BMW Motorrad, Financial Services and Softlab. If new business units are created, they will be assigned to this division.

The second new division will be Purchasing and Supplier Network. Dr. Herbert Diess, up to now in charge of BMW Motorrad, will be head of this division. This division will primarily be responsible for lowering material costs, the Group’s major expense factor. This corresponds to the BMW Group’s strategic approach of optimizing the interface between the BMW Group and its supplier network and redefining the share of in-house activities in relation to our strategically relevant technologies.

The BMW Group’s basic organizational structure has remained mostly unchanged since 2000. Due to the new strategy, however, complexity of tasks is expected to increase considerably. This means that all divisions will have to shoulder significantly more challenging workloads. “Strategy implementation requires a high-performance organization capable of handling the complexity of our activities and generating growth,” stated Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, at a press conference on Thursday.

In conjunction with implementing the strategy, the BMW Group decided to make a castling move, with Dr. Michael Ganal and Stefan Krause taking on each other’s current responsibilities as of October 1. Michael Ganal will be in charge of Finance, while Stefan Krause will be responsible for Marketing and Sales. “We want our executives to be global thinkers, highly skilled and able to apply their expertise in various areas throughout the Group,” Reithofer stated. “Both colleagues have done an excellent job for years. They are now going to give fresh input to their new divisions by sharing their vast experience in leading their respective teams.”

27.09.2007
BMW Group Sets Course for the Future

New strategy focuses on increasing value
New profitability and growth targets approved
Program to tap 6 billion Euros in efficiency potential by 2012
Shareholders to benefit from company success to a greater extent

Munich. The BMW Group has set course for a successful future with its strategic realignment. “We will consistently align the BMW Group to achieve profitability and increase value over the long term,” said Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Thursday when he presented the new corporate strategy in Munich. The Group’s strategic direction up to 2020 is clearly defined: The BMW Group is the world’s leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility.

Return on sales target of 8% to 10% in the Automobile segment

The future strategy focuses on ensuring the company’s long-term success and safeguarding its independence. The BMW Group has set ambitious interim targets for the first five years: Automobile retail is supposed to rise to more than 1.8 million vehicles by 2012. During this period, the company plans to increase deliveries in the motorcycle business by 50% to 150,000 units per annum.

Profitability takes priority over mere volume growth. “We will focus the entire organization on the return on capital,” Reithofer commented. In the Automobile segment, the company plans to achieve a Return on Capital Employed (RoCE) of 26% and a return on sales of between 8% and 10% as of 2012.

The BMW Group’s strategic targets for the time period until 2020 are equally ambitious: The company intends to increase retail in the automobile business to clearly more than two million vehicles.

Profitability program of approximately six billion euros to be launched

The BMW Group will launch a comprehensive efficiency program that will encompass all of the company’s divisions and will apply to both performance and costs. “It is designed to tap approximately six billion euros in efficiency potential by 2012,” Reithofer emphasized. The new program is based on the principle of EfficientDynamics, a strategy that is successfully applied to the company’s automobiles as well: More output for less input.

The BMW Group plans to tap additional earnings potential by starting new business activities, among other things. In addition to new products and markets, the BMW Group has identified potential along the vehicle lifecycle and the automotive industry’s value chain. Another positive effect on earnings is to arise from the consistent positioning of the vehicles in the premium segment.

In addition, the BMW Group has adopted a range of measures that will help achieve significant progress in terms of cost. Besides putting all cost structures to the test, the company will continue to standardize processes. Further targets include a reduction in cost, capital expenditure and capital employed per vehicle in development, production, sales and administration. Cooperation is supposed to lead to economies of scale for components, modules and drive systems. The BMW Group aims for a rise in productivity of at least 5% a year.

Thanks to the targeted productivity increase, the BMW Group expects to be able to achieve the growth planned for the period until 2012 with roughly the same level of personnel as today.

Natural hedging and purchasing in US dollars to be expanded

In order to strengthen independence from currency fluctuations, the BMW Group will strategically step up natural hedging as well as purchasing, primarily in US dollars. By 2012, production capacity of the US plant in Spartanburg will be increased from 140,000 at present to 240,000 units. Plans for the expansion are already underway.

The BMW Group will also raise the Oxford MINI plant’s capacity to 260,000 units per annum, without making additional investments. In addition, the company plans to take the first step to increasing capacities in China from 30,000 to 44,000 units a year.

Increase in payout ratio – Significantly higher dividend planned for 2007

The Board of Management is convinced that the strategic realignment will be successful over the long term. Therefore, the company plans to let shareholders benefit from the company’s success to a greater extent by substantially increasing the dividend payout ratio. As a first step, the Board of Management will propose a significantly higher dividend for the financial year 2007 to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting.

The BMW Group will also keep the option of conducting a share buyback. However, in the next twelve months, the company will concentrate on increasing the dividend payout ratio.

The BMW Group intends to do more for employees as well. In order to safeguard pensions, pension obligations in Germany will gradually be funded out in three phases over the next few years.

X1, Gran Turismo, MINI SAV, Rolls-Royce Coupe to be launched by 2012

The BMW Group will continue its product initiative, making use of modular systems for all new models in order to increase synergy effects. A new X1 model will complement the successful X Sports Activity Vehicle lineup, in addition to the BMW Concept X6 presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Furthermore, the company will manufacture a four-dour Gran Turismo based on the CS concept study showcased in Shanghai. Another result of the new strategy is that the BMW Group will not build a space-functional concept. Instead, the company plans to introduce a fundamentally altered concept called Progressive Activity Sedan (PAS). This concept will establish an entirely new segment, introducing a unique interpretation of the sedan and offering a wide range of intelligent features.

The next MINI model will be a Sports Activity Vehicle. The Rolls-Royce model portfolio will be expanded as well: A Coupe will be launched as the third variant of the Phantom. An additional Rolls-Royce model is in the pipeline; it will be positioned below the Rolls-Royce Phantom in terms of both price and size. Furthermore, the BMW Group will continue to extend the product portfolios under the BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna Motorcycles brands in the years to come.

Dr. Reithofer: In principle, acquisitions will be kept on the agenda

The BMW Group explored all of the options for future growth during the strategic review, including potential acquisitions or the creation of a fourth brand. However, this would require the new automotive brand to be a perfect fit for the company and its strengths. Moreover, rising unit figures would have to result in a decline in unit costs and thus lead to economies of scale. The new brand would have to at least make the same positive contribution to earnings as the existing automobile business. However, an in-depth analysis found that none of the evaluated automotive brands currently meets these requirements.

Nevertheless, the BMW Group does not generally rule out further acquisitions. Accordingly, the successful acquisition of the tradition-rich Husqvarna brand and its sporty profile have enabled the BMW Group to attract new and younger target groups in the Motorcycles segment.

“In principle, we will keep acquisitions on our agenda. We defined clear criteria for potential acquisitions within the scope of our strategic review. This will allow us to act swiftly whenever necessary,” according to Reithofer.

As always, the BMW Group will focus on its inherent strengths and thus on the market for premium vehicles and services, a segment that will continue to grow much faster than the mass market. The company expects the premium segment to increase by about 40 percent between 2005 and 2019, compared to an increase just under 20 percent for the mass segment.

The BMW Group will continue to invest heavily in future technologies with a view to developing entirely new individual mobility solutions, thus guaranteeing the company’s innovation leadership for the next decade as well. With its EfficientDynamics development strategy, the BMW Group has gained a significant edge over competitors, for example in reducing carbon emissions.

“I am firmly convinced that this strategy will lead us to continued business success,” Reithofer stated

[PAULBACH]

Turbo Diesel (http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/09/27/neander-turbo-diesel-motorcycle-is-introduced/) <- Check Out This Link


Looks like a concept that could create one heck of a touring machine. And, belt drive! That should cut down on final drive issues. :thumb

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/PaulBach/Motorcycle%20Pics/Turbodiesel.jpg

Nice catch Mika http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/PaulBach/Smilies/good_post.gif

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/PaulBach/Motorcycle%20Pics/Turbodiesel02.jpg

[PAULBACH]

In his speech Thursday, BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer referred to the need to deal with the issues of ‘graying markets’. If the US is a graying market, based on this article we should expect high performance bikes to be on there way from Munich.


Recently I left my GS for warranty work and MAX let me take a K1200R as a loaner. That machine is a rocket looking for wings. Even in Sixth gear the engine seemed to be looking for 7th or 8th gear. One very powerful machine but not for this segment of this graying market.

What kind of machines does the graying market crave? In my stable are

K75/2 - great for commuting and short tours (200 miles)
R1200GT - with Jesse bags it is perfect for long distance riding and camping. It was perfect for the Salty Fog Rally.

K1200GT - soon to be sold - perfect for long distance pavement eating - two up. But with no pillion and no long haul pavement adventure in sight this machine is for sale.

And then there is the fun ride - the airhead R65.

What are your nominations as the perfect ride for the Graying Market?

[BubbaZanetti]

thanks m1ka, interesting stuff as usual, too bad weather and bland videography combined to make that R12S special look kind of, um, "boring" hahhaha

[wkclark]

What are your nominations as the perfect ride for the Graying Market?

I expect he may be thinking about the stability of a two-wheeled vehicle and how older riders tend to be more careful or less confident. There will no doubt be an explosion in the 3 - wheel market (See Bombardier Rec Products Spyder as an example). Sure were lots of trikes at 2007 Bike Week Daytona and 2007 Americade this year !!

Also may do something with the LT to make it a little more stable at low speeds. Hopefully not too "Goldwing-like" but with a little lower Ctr of Gravity. At the moment I really appreciate my LT "Pamela Anderson's" attributes -- top heavy, pretty to look at, fun to ride -- but can foresee a time when I'll want something a little more tame? :blush

Keir

[rkasal]

All I want to know is when is BMW going to start making an ATV? Boat engines and boats would be nice but an ATV is a logical extension of the brand. All of the essentials are in place starting with the best engines in the world.

Regards,


Randy Kasal

ps Making plane engines again may be a stretch but how about an ATV?:blah

[PAGoldsby]

http://m1ka.smugmug.com/photos/198109507-L.jpg
Harley-Davidson WLAs are made of win and potato-potato-potato-potato.

Excellent work as usual, M1ka!!! I start my MOA day with Morning Reads.