Chapman BMW on Camelback Blog

What was the first BMW model assembled in the United States to feature in a movie you ask?  Why that would be the BMW Z3! The first modern mass-market roadster produced by BMW that rolled off the Plant Spartanburg assembly line beginning in October 1994.  It was introduced as a 1996 model year vehicle, and shortly after was featured in the classic must see movie ‘GoldenEye’.  James Bond was the proud driver of the Z3 that was equipped with the standard bullet proofing, full SATNAV tracking equipment, satellite downlink capabilities, a rear parachute, all-points radar, a great sound system and oh yes last but not least – Stinger missiles.  And no I am afraid these are not options on the Build Your Own BMW Website for 2012 models!

FUN FACT:

• Pierce Brosnan received a BMW 850 CSI from BMW, for his promotion of the BMW Z3 in Golden Eye. Unable to resist the urge to test the road with his gift, he was caught by the police doing 120 mph. He was not given a speeding ticket, but instead interrogated about the bungee jump stunt in the movie!
• BMW’s have been featured in other Bond movies including: Octopussy, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.

But the fame does not stop there by any means…..After some research and some fun findings our beloved and much admired BMW models are sprinkled throughout today’s Movies and TV shows and are really quite the star studded vehicle of choice whether it be for a car chase, lots of car chases actually, to the chauffeured 7 Series, a little kidnapping, and lets not forget time travel, comedy scenes, being chopped in half by a helicopter……. The list goes on and makes me want to go and watch

All three of the great Bourne Movies feature BMW’s, there are thousands of movies and TV shows, like CSI, Beverly Hills 90210 and Dead Like Me to name just a few.  Literally thousands of U.S.A. and Foreign films and TV shows have BMW’s as part of the cast!

Now, what we would like to know if you can take the time to comment is what is your favorite movie scene involving a BMW?  One of mine for starters is the Tom Hanks movie ‘Splash’ where he takes the car on a wild drive, sliding, cornering and even a jump, it was awesome!  But hands down I liked the chase in Ronin – watch the video here: http://www.spike.com/video-clips/24bxap/ronin and of course I liked it all the more because they show it being driven by a woman….  That’s just my pick, now share yours with us please!

Tell us your favorite or even just one that you noticed and thought ‘hey that’s a BMW’ and drop us a line……  Go on what else do you have more pressing than something fun such as this!?!  Take a coffee break and talk to us.  Chapman BMW on Camelback wants to hear from you!

After dominating PC graphics, Nvidia set its sights on other industries, most recently getting into the automotive sector, powering navigation system graphics in Audi cars. Now Nvidia announces a partnership with BMW to power the graphics in all of its infotainment systems.

In Audi navigation systems, the Nvidia GPU allows rich 3D building and landscape rendering. BMW’s current high-end navigation systems also employ rich 3D maps, but the Nvidia GPU should improve rendering speed. Nvidia says its GPU will enable 1280×600 resolution graphics in BMW’s next generation infotainment system.

A prototype of the new infotainment system will be on display in a BMW 5-series at CES this week.

BMW says it will use the Nvidia-powered systems in all of its models and in the company’s other brands. That brand list includes Mini and Rolls-Royce.

BMW has not mentioned a time frame for the rollout.

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