A recent addition to BMW’s portfolio of vehicles is the BMW 520d GT, a 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbo-charged diesel, which is essentially a hatchback version of the 5-Series sedan. The 520d GT was released in Australia in July of this year, and is considered by the company to be an entry-level vehicle for BMW’s luxurious yet popular 5-series range.

The vehicle, which features a semi-MPV body, has received a mixed reception. While, the interior of the vehicle has been very well received, with features such as elegant leather upholstery and a full-length glass roof being offered in the standard model, there has been a general feeling, particularly among BMW enthusiasts, that the direction the company has taken with the bodywork is not one of which to approve. 

Having said that, BMW have nevertheless introduced some new features to the vehicle. Driveability has been improved from previous models, with BMW’s patented Driving Experience Control being a standard feature. This enables the driver to select from three predefined settings of steering, suspension and drivetrain configuration. Other new feature included is an upgraded safety system, with BMW’s Active Protection Safety Package also now fitted as standard. This system identifies potential collisions via a front-mounted camera, and compensates with emergency braking or distinctive over or understeering. The 520d GT does not scrimp on power for the size of the engine. The 2-litre engine produces 135 kW (184hp) of power, and enables acceleration from 0-100 kmh in under 9 seconds, and can push the vehicle to a nifty top speed of 212.5 kmh.

The 520d GT features BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology, which has been adopted across the 5-Series range. BMW claim that this system has a significant impact on both the amount of distance per litre you can get out of the vehicle, and carbon dioxide emissions. However, Car Enthusiast Magazine described the 520d GT as “too big, too ugly and too expensive...[BMW needs to] introduce a more efficient, cheaper to buy (and run) entry-level car”. 

However, the vehicle has not met with a particularly enthusiastic response in Australia, with sales apparently pretty meagre. Many BMW enthusiasts consider the 5-Series GT to be a rather ugly car, with none of the practical appeal of the Estate version of the same vehicle. It doesn’t seem to clearly fit the genre of being a ‘family car’, yet it probably wouldn’t really appeal to those wanting something sporty. It does not appear to have either the classic style of some of the older 3-Series vehicles, nor even any particularly enviable characteristics or specification that would mark it out from several existing BMW vehicles.

That said, this particular BMW model appears to be like Vegemite, as while some have criticised the design, pricing and efficiency of the vehicle, others are completely sold on it. Autocar described the 520d GT as “competitively priced, refined, efficient...it is our favourite Five yet”.

So which camp are you in? Is this a refined, spacious, high-spec, powerful vehicle, or an ugly, bulky, superfluous one? 

Textar actually celebrate their centenary year next year, having been originally inaugurated as a company in 1913, just one year before the First World War. The company has seen phenomenal changes in automotive technology over its 99 years of trading, but one thing hasn’t changed; Textar has been throughout this period, in its own words, “the leading supplier of friction to the world´s car and commercial vehicle manufacturers”.

Textar pads are manufactured by the TMD Friction Group, probably the world’s leading producers of automobile brake technology. The TMD Group currently employs some 4,752 people at fifteen sites in eleven countries, spread across four continents.

Textar is not only a supplier for BMW; it in fact produces brake pads for every vehicle manufacturer that you could care to name. The Textar brand has become synonymous with the quality of its equipment, the level of performance and safety it provides, and the length of serviceable life of which its products are capable.

In terms of its BMW brake pads, these have been particularly accredited for their quality. The contrast between a high-quality pad such as those provided by Textar, and some of their lesser competitors can be quite marked, with Textar pads providing a high level of initial ‘bite’ and torque, very low fade for the street, and a high level of feedback to the driver, enhancing the driving experience, and simply making the vehicle easier, more enjoyable and safer to drive.

Textar brake pads are the favoured pad by BMW’s manufacturing and design team, and are fitted straight into BMW’s vehicles at their manufacturing plants. It really cannot be emphasised enough that fitting and utilising Textar brake pads will enhance the driving experience of any BMW car, giving a more authentic feel to the vehicle.

At Clickable we rate Textar’s products very highly, and consequently we will be adding many more over the coming months. We supply Textar brake pads for the BMW 3-Series E36 and 46, and both the Z3 and Z4. You can begin browsing all of the high-quality brake pads that we have available at Clickable by clicking here or by contacting us.

Bosch is a German engineering company founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany in 1886, which has been involved in the manufacturing of engineering products since its inception over a century ago. Today, Bosch is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of components for the motor trade and automotive industry.

Given its size and German base, with its contemporary headquarters being located in Gerlingen, Germany, Bosch is a natural choice for BMW to forge a strong relationship and partnership with. Consequently, the company has supplied parts for BMW vehicles for decades, and will continue to do so for years to come.

Furthermore, many advances in automotive technology have been achieved by collaborations between the two German companies, for example in the 1980s, Bosch and BMW working together developed the world’s first traction control system. Bosch is frequently chosen by the German manufacturer of luxury cars to join forces to work on major projects, with the companies recently announcing their intention to develop a common data platform for electric-vehicle charging.

Here at Clickable, we know and value the quality and reliability of Bosch’s technology for all of BMW’s vehicle range, and thus Bosch feature strongly in our range. Spark plugs, ignition coils and alternators are just some of the many Bosch products that we supply here at Clickable, so why not check out our Bosch product range today.

There was good news for BMW, as figures released today indicated that its sales in China rose by 59% on the year ending in September. The figure was considered particularly encouraging given the recent slowing down of Chinese economic growth. Figures indicate that the German manufacturer sold nearly 30,000 of its vehicles in China over the twelve month period beginning in September, 2011.

The Chinese market is considered particularly important for car manufacturers – and indeed most manufacturers of goods – owing to the fact that the Asian nation is a huge growth market, and set to become the world’s biggest economy over the next decade. China overtook Japan to become the world’s second largest economy in February, 2011.

While there were previous indications that sales of BMW’s fellow German competitor Audi had also increased, figures indicate that BMW’s growth has been considerably more rapid and that they have significantly closed the gap on Audi in China. BMW continue to comfortably outperform fellow luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz.

 BMW’s stock responded by trading 3.3% higher in the European markets.

The 2012 Paris Auto Show recently took place in France’s très chic capital city. With representatives and buyers present from every major manufacturer, from every nook and cranny of the globe, BMW were predictably well represented.

One of the biggest announcements from the German auto giant at the show was the release of the latest i3 Concept car. The i3 is an entirely electricity-driven vehicle, which features passenger cells constructed from carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The interior also features wood and other materials intended to be 100% sustainable, and overall the i3 Concept is intended to set new levels of environmental-friendliness in a motor vehicle.

In a similar vein, another vehicle which caught the attention of show attendees was BMW’s unveiling of the Active Tourer concept vehicle. The Active Tourer has a compact semi-MPV body, quite unusual for a BMW vehicle, but is more obviously characterised by its petrol hybrid drive-train, which can be powered up for nearly twenty hours to run off only electricity after a charge-up from mains power. Nothing is spared in power terms, though, with a top speed of over 200 kilometres per hour, and a total power output of 190PS. BMW states that the vehicle “presents a real opportunity for the continued growth of the BMW brand”. Above all else, it should be noted that this is BMW’s first ever front-wheel drive car.

 Elsewhere, there was more news on the co-operation between BMW and Toyota, which will see the German firm providing advanced engineering work and diesel engines to some of the Japanese manufacturer’s car models. Furthermore, both companies have agreed to collaborate on the production of petrol-electric hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell technology.

The company also announced that BMW’s most recent three-cylinder engines will be distributed in the United States. There were reports coming out of the Paris show that BMW’s three-cylinder hybrid engine will be used in all future Mini models, as well as the company’s own i8 hybrid sports car.

Finally, the company was also promoting its BMW-themed boutique shop in Paris, located on the infamous Avenue George V. With a location on Paris’ most luxurious shopping district, the shop sells a variety of BMW merchandise, as well as enabling consumers to arrange deals to purchase its vehicles. The company have described this store as “mark[ing] the launch of a new generation of BMW brand stores”.

At Clickable we like things with a simple focus. We feel that being on one side of the fence or the other is a good thing. And when finding the right replacement parts for your car, known quantities you can trust are important. So as we’ve said before — and we’ll most likely say again — we spend a lot of time dedicated to making sure we are only offering the highest quality parts at excellent prices.

MEYLE-HD?  Their focus is simple. Create parts that simply last longer.

It’s not hard to see way we like them. And we’d only wish there were more manufactures like MEYLE-HD that are as dedicated to creating an improved, heavy-duty version of parts for cars, that in some cases that have been out of production for 20+ years. Enthusiasts like us should all rejoice at such initiative.

In developing their parts, a team of engineers at MEYLE-HD assess a bunch of data — like recall statistics and information from workshops — and use their partners at the German technical inspection organisation TÜV to filter down to the parts that are most need a redesign/rethink to how a part was originally developed to create a better alternative. By not being under the same pressures demanded by car manufactures to reduce the engineering cycles and the costs of materials used, MEYLE-HD is able to arrive at a much more sophisticated solution.

Still not convinced? Let’s take their control arm sets for the E46 3 Series for example. Every area has been evaluated and improved upon from the factory pieces — from being made from reinforced aluminium and adding replaceable ball joints to the non-replaceable factory design. So the next time your ball joints need replacing (...Remember, they’ll last longer to begin with!), you don’t need to replace the entire arm, just the ball joints. Stopping there would be premature, so they include control arm bushings with new brackets pre-pressed onto the arms to make the installation child’s play.

The best news about MEYLE’s heavy duty parts — besides a more robust design, higher-grade materials or a better geometry in how the rubber-to-metal is positioned — is that they are all created without compromising ride quality, cabin vibrations or how the car feels. So you get happy motoring ahead. 

On or off the track, maintaining momentum is always important. So last week we released a new website to address some important areas we thought we could improve. 

While it’s true you can’t build the foundations on sand, some tough decisions needed to be made just before our launch in November last year to release our store without the polish we set out to differentiate ourselves in the Australian market.

Frankly, it was embarrassing in some areas and we’re really sorry to anyone who experienced any technical difficulties when using the old site! Hopefully, those days are now behind us.

There’s nothing like common interests. At Clickable we assume everyone shares our passion for quality products and using only the best for our cars. When it comes time to make decisions about what products to carry in our store we go by a pretty simple rule: “if we wouldn’t be happy installing this part on our cars, why sell it?”

So when it came time to decide on a brand of lubricant to put our name behind, Germany’s Liqui-Moly was an easy choice. With Liqui-Moly’s 50 year track-record working with European manufactures to develop, test and certify their oils to the exact standards you would expect from a leading German manufacturer, we were certain they offered the latest in OEM approvals and specifications.

So, it’s finally autumn! What better time to begin blogging and fill you in on all things Clickable.

The response since our launch last November has been exceptional. It will come as no surprise to hear that we’ve been up to an awful lot since then. In the coming months we will be refreshing the look of the website and overhauling its backend to clear up many useability, navigation and browser comparability issues that we’re currently limping around with. Creating a problem-free site isn’t nearly as straightforward as it should be (or we would like it to be!) and we’re sorry for any inconvenience. Maintaining the site’s usability is definitely a team effort, and we’re very thankful to all our customers who have given their time to let us know of a fault or who have suggested how we can improve our shopping experience. We like to think we’re good listeners ☺

It’s fair to say we’re pretty proud of what we do at Clickable, and sometimes we like just to show it off! While we currently only operate online or over the phone, we have been more than happy to accommodate pickups by appointment for customers when needed.

When we moved into our premise in Port Melbourne, we knew we had to do something to make our presence known: and last week we did just that! The results, as they say, speak for themselves.