Six technical questions40 41
Head-up Display.
When I am in the middle of rush-hour traffi c, I
don’t want to take my eyes off the road, even for
a second. Luckily, I don’t have to. The Head-up
Display projects Navigation instructions and
other important information on the windshield,
directly in my fi eld of vision. In fact, it looks as if it
is fl oating above the hood. How does Head-up
Display work?
Inside the dashboard support structure, there is
a monitor – similar to the display in a mobile
phone. LEDs generate an image on this display.
Then, like a slide projector, four mirrors project
the image onto the windshield, enlarging it six
times. Due to a clever optical arrangement, it
appears to be about six feet away, so the driver’s
eyes don’t have to keep refocusing. With no
need to move the eyes back and forth between
the instrument cluster and the road, the driver
stays less distracted and more relaxed.
Integral Active Steering.
My new Series Sedan has Integral Active
Steering. I love driving up in the mountains. Yet
even in the middle of tackling the tightest twists
and turns, I fi nd I feel totally relaxed. Why is this?
While Active Steering varies just front-wheel
steering efforts based on vehicle speed, Integral
Active Steering controls the steering angle of
both the front and rear wheels. At lower speeds,
the rear wheels turn counter to the front wheels.
This makes your vehicle feel as if it had a shorter
wheelbase, for greater precision on, say, twisting
mountain roads. At higher speeds, the rear
wheels turn in the same direction as the front
wheels. It responds as if it had a longer
wheelbase, with enhanced control during quick
highway lane changes. In other words, Integral
Active Steering handles a lot of the work for you.
Active Ventilated Seats.
I drive long distances on my job. My BMW client
advisor said that getting Active Ventilated Seats
in my new Series Sedan would make a huge
difference in how I felt. What do they do?
Active Ventilated Seats are constructed with
two hollow cavities in the seat bottom. These
are alternately fi lled and emptied with liquid.
This slow, gentle process raises and lowers the
cushion’s left and right halves by about half an
inch. Although the movement is imperceptible,
it acts to move your muscles, increasing blood
fl o w . D u r i n g l o n g t r i p s , t h i s h e l p s r e l i e v e f a t i g u e .
With the Ventilation feature, multiple fans inside
each front seat blow air upward through the
perforated leather, helping to keep you feeling
fresh and your clothes free of perspiration.
Active Cruise Control.
My BMW center has an all-new Series Sedan
equipped with Active Cruise Control. How is this
different from regular Cruise Control?
Let’s say you’re on a congested highway –
slow-moving traffi c that’s more stop than go.
It’s a situation no driver relishes. But with Active
Cruise Control, it’s a whole different story. As
soon as the vehicle ahead of you stops, your
BMW also comes to a smooth, controlled halt.
Once traffi c starts moving again, so does your
BMW, as if it had eyes of its own. And it does: a
radar sensor monitors the area in front of the car.
Its visual range extends from just in front of the
bumper to feet ahead – more than one and
one-half football fi elds – because Active Cruise
Control is not just for slow traffi c. It also works at
higher speeds, up to mph. The system also
includes the Forward Collision Warning feature,
which uses two warning levels to alert you of a
potential collision.
SIX
TECHNICAL
QUESTIONS.
iPhone
®
and Bluetooth
®
connectivity.
After taking delivery of my new Series Sedan,
I got in, pressed the Start button and my favorite
song started playing through the speakers.
Was this luck – or BMW technological wizardry?
Once they are connected, or “paired,” the all-
new Series Sedan communicates perfectly
with your iPhone or any other BMW-approved,
Bluetooth capable mobile phone. Your address
book and the music library are also automatically
available. It’s all thanks to Bluetooth wireless
technology and the hands-free equipment in
your BMW. You can access phone numbers
stored in your mobile phone via the iDrive
Controller or the buttons on the steering wheel.
To start a hands-free call, simply press a button.
And when you dock your iPod
®
in the BMW
Adapter, your entire music library is also
available, via iDrive.
BMW Parking Assistant.
Every evening it’s always the same: searching
for a parking space. I waste so much time and
energy trying to squeeze into spots that are too
short. My BMW client advisor told me that the
all-new Series Sedan has a Parking Assistant
feature that can not only fi nd parking spaces, it
can even help me park. How does it do that?
When you press the “Parking Assistant”
button, drive under mph and keep within
fi ve feet of the row of parked cars – on the
left or the right – ultrasonic sensors integrated
into the side indicators measure the size of all
parking spaces. If you pass a space that’s at
least four feet longer than your vehicle, a green
light will come on, and it will appear on your
Control Display. Put your vehicle in reverse
gear, take your hands off the steering wheel,
and press the accelerator or brake pedal. The
all-new BMW Series Sedan takes care of
everything else. Park Distance Control or the
Rear-view Camera will always let you know
how close you are to other parked vehicles.
For details on the availability of standard and optional features,
please refer to the Equipment charts at the back of this brochure.
