Surely you have already seen two or more people bumping at each other in a random place, maybe in a coffee shop or an elevator, and it is not unusual anymore. In this video, it shows how Mika Hakkinen and Nico Rosberg sort of bumped into each other in Monte Carlo. You shouldn’t be surprised, as they live just a few floors apart. Mika Hakkinen has long history with Mercedes-Benz. In 1998 and 1999, he won the world title riding the McLaren Mercedes. Nico Rosberg is driving for the third season since Silver Arrows returned. In the video, you will see how long they’ve been ‘together’, it was long before Rosberg started in motorsports. He was just 11 years old when he met Mika, because Keke Rosberg, was the leader of his management team. Watch the video and hear how these two motorsports champion got in the game and stayed in it, and how they also got in their friendship. For the full story and the gallery, you can see it after the jump. Race Preview Feature Five: A Monaco story: When Nico met Mika Mika Häkkinen was the first Mercedes-Benz world champion of the modern era, and a two-time title winner in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren Mercedes; Nico Rosberg is the first man to win a Grand Prix at the wheel of a Silver Arrow since the great Juan Manuel Fangio, in the third season of the return of the Silver Arrows. On the eve of the race around their home streets, the two men met to discuss their experiences as part of one of the most spectacular events in world sport. The histories of Mika Häkkinen and Nico Rosberg have been intertwined for more than twenty years, when Nico was just a young boy and Mika worked with Keke Rosberg, who led his management team. “I don’t remember when we first met – maybe Mika does!” laughs Nico when the question comes. “Well, I started working with Keke at the end of 1987,” recalls Mika. “I think the first time we met must have been down here in Monaco in the early ’90s. I was visiting Keke, and you were playing in your room! It’s possible I was his first sponsor in karting – do you remember that?” “Yeah, sure,” laughs Nico. “It was 1997, I was 11 years old and competing in the French go-karting championship. I had a poster in my room with all my sponsors on there, and one of...

US tuner Superior Auto Design released photos of the new project they made for a customer who brought to them his Mercedes-Benz SS50. Called the CEO Edition, it is the classier version of the S-Class (as if the stock version is not classy enough!) From silver, it was painted in 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago black, done by full body respray. Then the car was dismantled thoroughly, from interior to the trunk lid, as will be shown in the gallery below. They decided on putting on 22″ Asanti AF156 wheels. No other information was released by the company for now, but you can start enjoying the photos they published through Luxury4Play.com and follow how they built the car from start to finish. Photo: Luxury4Play.com   The rest is here:  Superior Auto Design Presents the CEO Edition

The 40th staging of the 24-hour race gave the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (DE) another opportunity to prove just why it is regarded as the toughest circuit in the world. And it didn’t disappoint. The best-placed BMW Z4 GT3 was car number 29, with Bas Leinders (BE), Markus Palttala (FI) and Maxime Martin (BE) at the wheel, which crossed the finish line in fourth – a successful debut at the marathon in the “Green Hell” for the private Belgian team Marc VDS Racing. Unscheduled pit stops denied BMW the podium finish it looked like getting for long periods of the race. The works-supported teams – BMW Team Schubert and BMW Team Vita4One – showed fighting spirit at the endurance classic, but were hit by several set-backs. Victory in a thrilling race went to Audi Sport Team Phoenix. The BMW Z4 GT3 had emphatically demonstrated its potential in qualifying and the first half of the race. Uwe Alzen (DE) had put car number 19 on pole position and, together with Jörg Müller (DE) and Dirk Müller (DE), had opened up a commanding lead in the race. At about 03:00hrs, however, the BMW Team Schubert car pulled into the pits with a damaged drivetrain. The resulting 52-minute repair stop cost the team any chance of winning. The three BMW works drivers put aside their disappointment and showed their class, lapping in by far the fastest times and climbing back up to a very creditable seventh place. The number 20 car – also run by BMW Team Schubert – was also unlucky. Running in second place, the car rolled into the garage with drivetrain issues. The BMW Z4 GT3 rejoined the race 43 minutes later. Dirk Adorf (DE), Claudia Hürtgen (DE), Dominik Schwager (DE) and Nico Bastian (DE) ended the race in eighth. One place further back was the BMW Z4 GT3 of BMW Team Vita4One, driven by BMW Motorsport test and development driver Marco Wittmann (DE), Jens Klingmann (DE), Pedro Lamy (PT) and Richard Göransson (SE). The second BMW Team Vita4One car experienced the perils of the “Green Hell” at close hand. The number 17 car, with Lamy, Mathias Lauda (AT), Ricardo van der Ende (NL) and Frank Kechele (DE) alternating in the cockpit, retired after a night-time collision in Pflanzgarten. Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “This year’s 24-hour race at the Nürburgring once...

Voltaire once wrote, “The superfluous, a very necessary thing.” What, then, should we make of a warranty-equipped Ford Mustang with 662 hp and a claimed 200-mph top speed? Is there a deeper philosophical argument to be made about the necessity of a live-axle production car with more power than an overclocked supercollider? Does the vehicle in question—the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500—teach us about the nature of right and wrong, indulgence and restraint? (more…) Here is the original post: 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 First Drive: 202 mph? 662 Horses? The Superfluous Is a Very Necessary Thing Continued here:  2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 First Drive: 202 mph? 662 Horses? The Superfluous Is a Very Necessary Thing

Automakers using social media is nothing new, as many automakers have used different social platforms to unveil new vehicles, run contests, and even live-stream events. But running a public auction of a special-edition car on Twitter? That’s a new one, and Fiat has just claimed the title as the first automaker to sell a new car online using… Go here to see the original:  Fiat Sold A Car Via An Auction On Twitter

The only thing truly constant, it’s said, is change. With the possible exceptions of the Porsche 911 and every model built by the Morgan Motor Company, nowhere is this adage more true than in the automotive industry. We said goodbye to a fair number of cars in 2012, including some that were one-time favorites and others that, frankly… See the rest here: The Death List: What Cars Aren’t Coming Back For 2013?

The Mercedes-Benz R-Class, the six- or seven-passenger crossover vehicle spun from the same architecture as the ML-Class and GL-Class SUVs, is officially off the Mercedes-Benz USA docket for the 2013 model year. The fastback wagon was conceived as a sleeker, lower-riding version of the family of vehicles that are built at Mercedes’ U.S. assembly… See original here:  Official: Mercedes-Benz R-Class Dropped From U.S. Lineup

Today at High Gear Media, we’ve reviewed the 2013 Chevy Silverado–it’s carried over for the new model year–and Jay Leno’s driven some interesting new electrified Fords. A 2013 Ford Mustang raised money for charity and Subaru may have previewed the next-generation WRX. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car Connection… Go here to see the original:  2013 Shelby GT500, Lexus HS 250h Dead, Apple Patent: Car News Headlines

America is in the midst of graduation season, which can only mean one thing: high school graduates across the country are motoring around in their very first cars, taking their first road trips, and buying their first (and last) air-fresheners disguised as fuzzy pairs of dice. But along with those joys comes another, less pleasant first: the very… Go here to read the rest: 7 Things To Remember When Your Car Breaks Down

Here is the full speech of Dr. Norbert Reithofer at the Annual General Meeting of BMW AG. The BMW boss highlights some of the successes and accomplishments in 2011, and what to expect in the future. Ladies and Gentlemen Mobility is what drives us. And this applies to your company too. We not only enable people to move from A to B but we also touch their hearts. Being mobile is and always will be a basic human need. We cannot do without it – in our Western hemisphere, where our mature markets lie. And people in the growth regions are seizing their opportunities for individual mobility – economically, socially and personally. Mobility drives progress. It gives people a sense of freedom and individuality. It brings growth, employment and prosperity. For 96 years, mobility has been the growth driver of Bayerische Motoren Werke Our products stand for motion: automobiles, motorcycles, financial and mobility services. Premium is our business model. And when it comes to premium we are the clear leaders. 1.67 million customers last year – that was more than ever before and more than our competitors. And by we, I mean over 100,000 BMW associates of over 90 different nationalities. They all possess the same passion for mobility and motion. They make our success possible in the first place. They fully identify with our products and with our company. And our customers feel it. They know it is true whenever they purchase a car or a motorcycle from our product range. We are ahead of the competition and we intend to stay there. This is what drives us. We also want to meet your needs and your expectations as our shareholders. Your investment must be profitable. We think and plan long term – just as you do. You stood by us throughout the financial crisis. And you are now with us as we move into a new era of mobility. Your loyalty to this company is appreciated. Mobility today takes on many forms and also faces many demands. The car is now an indispensable element of our daily lives, and this means mobility now encounters new challenges. Just think about the latest Club of Rome forecasts. We ourselves are responsible for the way our world is developing. How can we make it a world worth living in for more and more people? These are all questions we ask ourselves. And all...

“A company is like a human being. As long as it goes in for sports, it is fit, well-trained, full of enthusiasm and performance.” These were the words of Robert A. Lutz, BMW AG Board Member Sales, back in 1972. They were the words christening the youngest subsidiary of BMW AG at the time, BMW Motorsport GmbH. Today the company is called BMW M GmbH. But it is just as fit, well-trained, full of enthusiasm and performance as it was 40 years ago. The early 1970s were the dawn of a new age for BMW: A new, young Board of Management under Eberhard von Kuenheim had set out to strategically power and pursue the ongoing success of the Company. This included the construction of a new head office – the legendary BMW Four-Cylinder – as well as the establishment of BMW’s own in-house Sports Division. Quoting Robert A. Lutz once again: “With sports always being a driving force at BMW, also while the Company was developing dynamically in the business world, it was only obvious at this point that we should concentrate and consolidate our activities in motor sport.” Indeed, demand and untapped opportunities exceeded the potentials and capacities of the former Sports Department by far. The BMW 1800 TI and 2000 TI, as well as the entire 02 Series, were the most popular competition cars winning one race after the other. But BMW itself was able to meet only a fragment of the overall demand, the vast majority of cars being prepared, run and sold by tuning companies. Since the mid-1960s, BMW had also been involved in Formula 2 – and in the years to come hardly a team anywhere was able to enter this Formula successfully without BMW’s high-performance power units. Countless racing wins and European Championships by BMW dominated the scene. 1972: A team highly experienced in racing forms BMW Motorsport GmbH. BMW Motorsport GmbH, facing the challenges described, took over on 1 May 1972. The Managing Director of this team of specialists originally made up of 35 employees was Jochen Neerpasch, an ex-Porsche works driver and Ford’s Racing Manager in Cologne before moving to Munich. He immediately attracted a whole group of racing drivers destined to leave their stamp on BMW Motorsport for decades to come: Chris Amon, Toine Hezemans, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Dieter Quester....

We had the chance to experience an early iteration of the GT500’s launch-control system during our first ride in the 662-hp beast , and now Ford has finalized the calibration and released details on how it can be engaged. Read full story » Here is the original post: Ford Details Launch Control for 2013 Shelby GT500 Here is the original post: Ford Details Launch Control for 2013 Shelby GT500

The Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class is a compact crossover vehicle and the first smaller utility vehicle from the German automaker. First introduced for 2009 as a 2010 model, it marked the first-ever entry from the German luxury automaker into a segment already occupied by many of its rival luxury brands, with the likes of the BMW X3, Acura RDX, Infiniti… Read more: Mercedes-Benz GLK Class

Fiat has reached the 500,000 fan mark on Facebook and it is looking to celebrate. It is running a sweepstakes for all of its Facebook fans, and 10 lucky fans will win a brand new 2012 Fiat 500. Along with giving away ten 500s, Fiat is also giving the first 500,000 eligible fans $500 towards the purchase of any new Fiat vehicle. To participate… The rest is here: Fiat’s Giving Away Ten 2012 500s To Lucky Facebook Fans

Although both BMW Team RLL M3 GT’s lead the GT class for a significant part of the six-hour American Le Mans Monterey race, they ultimately finished in the third and fourth positions. Bill Auberlen and Jörg Müller completed 232 laps of the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca circuit bringing the No. 55 BMW M3 GT home in third place, scoring their first podium together and delivering the team’s third consecutive podium of the season. Joey Hand and Dirk Müller finished just behind their teammates in fourth place. Both drivers were on the receiving end of aggressive contact by competitors during the race with Hand getting the worst of it while leading. Rear ended by the second place Corvette just past the mid-race mark the No. 56 M3 GT would ultimately lose the rear fascia and diffuser affecting the car’s aerodynamic balance for the remainder of the race. Slowed by multiple caution periods during the first five-and-one-half hours, the race was ultimately decided in the last 15 minutes after the green flag waved following the last full-course yellow of the contest. With Müller firmly in control of fourth, Auberlen restarted the No. 55 M3 GT from second. Before the experienced Californian could make a charge for the lead he was blocked by a prototype entering turn one allowing the third place Corvette to squeeze by for the second spot. Losing more ground on the exit of the corner he had to settle for third. BMW now stands second in Manufacturer points. Hand and Müller are second in Driver points with Auberlen and Müller moving into a tie for fourth. “Our competitors certainly are not making it easy,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal . “We hung in there despite being hit many times and came away with valuable points.” Bill Auberlen, driver No. 55 M3 GT (third): “This was a six-hour race and we treated as a 45 minute sprint. It’s unreal how competitive this series has become. On the last restart I got hung out to dry by a prototype car and Magnussen took advantage of it. It is great to make the podium, but we still have two more steps to climb.” Jörg Müller, driver No. 55 M3 GT (third): “I am happy to be back at Laguna Seca. This was a brilliant week. This was not an easy race, but Bill and I leave with our first podium together.” Joey...